Friday, April 30, 2004
Happy Queens Day
Today as you all know is Amsterdam's Queen's Day and I am suffering at work while all of my co-workers are partying.
(Explanation below for those that are not familair http://www.amsterdam-holland-travel.com/features-columns/queens-day-amsterdam.html)
The current Queen is Beatrix, her birthday is in January, which is not a great time for an outdoor city-wide party. Instead, Queen's Day continues to occur on April 30, which is Queen Wilhemina's birthday. Wilhemina is Beatrix's mother and the previous Queen. There is an exception to this date when April 30 falls on a Sunday, as in 2000. To respect the Sabbath practiced by the Catholics, the 2000 Queen's Day was on April 29.
An important attraction for Queen's Day is the proliferation of sidewalk sales in front of houses all over Amsterdam. Queen's Day is known as the Queen's gift because for this one day no tax is collected on sales made in the street. While visitors think of this as "tax-free" day, this is misleading. Actually, anyone working on Queen's Day is still paying income tax. Those who work in restaurants, bars, and other popular tourism businesses will work on Queen's Day don't feel like they're getting such a gift.
Walking through the town and seeing all the people selling goods on the sidewalk is like going to a flea market where you get to see the Dutch culture. It's very interesting to see the books, clothes, arts, crafts, and everything else a Dutch person might sell. I noticed at 3 different sidewalk sales an inflatable sex doll. This seems to be a running joke for the Dutch, though I don't think the blow-up dolls actually sold. Other attractions include a collection of street food vendors offering varying qualities of food. Often restaurants will setup a grill in front of their store to sell food to the passerby tourist.
Queen's Day lasts more than one day. A few days before the end of April the city workers begin putting up fences to protect grassy and park areas from the hordes of visitors who will arrive. Workers put up advertising banners, balloons, vendor stands, and stages for bands to play over canals. I arrive in Amsterdam on April 22; it was quite amazing to see how the town is transformed into a party scene in just a few days.
The most interesting attraction for Queen's Day is the private boats which come out to swarm all over the canals around Amsterdam. Boats come in all qualities, from new to nearly sunk. The most common type of boat is a small beater motorboat with between fifteen and twenty Dutch partiers aboard. These typically fit into the category of "I can't believe that thing floats!" Another common exclamation is, "why didn't they crash?"
Many of these party boats carry loud stereos playing contemporary music, meaning techno-rave music. Aside from the music on the boat parties, more music wafts out the windows of those holding private parties in houses and aparments. Add to this the various bands setup on stages around town and you will have a musical party experience you'll never forget.
While between 1-2 million people come to Amsterdam for Queen's Day, you will not see a more friendly crowd even at a Grateful Dead show. It's amazing to my American mind how many people can peacefully coexist while being packed like sardines in the streets. Add to this the fact that most people are drunk and the lack of riots is astonishing. It points to a European cultural sensibility and closeness which will not be attained by Americans for at least 200 more years.
You should only visit Holland on or near Queen's Day if you want to see all these attractions. Be sure to book your room well in advance -- rooms will sell out a month or two before Queen's Day. If you don't like crowds or large parties, Queen's Day is not the time to see Amsterdam -- but you will miss out on such a great time that it'd be a shame to miss it.
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(Explanation below for those that are not familair http://www.amsterdam-holland-travel.com/features-columns/queens-day-amsterdam.html)
The current Queen is Beatrix, her birthday is in January, which is not a great time for an outdoor city-wide party. Instead, Queen's Day continues to occur on April 30, which is Queen Wilhemina's birthday. Wilhemina is Beatrix's mother and the previous Queen. There is an exception to this date when April 30 falls on a Sunday, as in 2000. To respect the Sabbath practiced by the Catholics, the 2000 Queen's Day was on April 29.
An important attraction for Queen's Day is the proliferation of sidewalk sales in front of houses all over Amsterdam. Queen's Day is known as the Queen's gift because for this one day no tax is collected on sales made in the street. While visitors think of this as "tax-free" day, this is misleading. Actually, anyone working on Queen's Day is still paying income tax. Those who work in restaurants, bars, and other popular tourism businesses will work on Queen's Day don't feel like they're getting such a gift.
Walking through the town and seeing all the people selling goods on the sidewalk is like going to a flea market where you get to see the Dutch culture. It's very interesting to see the books, clothes, arts, crafts, and everything else a Dutch person might sell. I noticed at 3 different sidewalk sales an inflatable sex doll. This seems to be a running joke for the Dutch, though I don't think the blow-up dolls actually sold. Other attractions include a collection of street food vendors offering varying qualities of food. Often restaurants will setup a grill in front of their store to sell food to the passerby tourist.
Queen's Day lasts more than one day. A few days before the end of April the city workers begin putting up fences to protect grassy and park areas from the hordes of visitors who will arrive. Workers put up advertising banners, balloons, vendor stands, and stages for bands to play over canals. I arrive in Amsterdam on April 22; it was quite amazing to see how the town is transformed into a party scene in just a few days.
The most interesting attraction for Queen's Day is the private boats which come out to swarm all over the canals around Amsterdam. Boats come in all qualities, from new to nearly sunk. The most common type of boat is a small beater motorboat with between fifteen and twenty Dutch partiers aboard. These typically fit into the category of "I can't believe that thing floats!" Another common exclamation is, "why didn't they crash?"
Many of these party boats carry loud stereos playing contemporary music, meaning techno-rave music. Aside from the music on the boat parties, more music wafts out the windows of those holding private parties in houses and aparments. Add to this the various bands setup on stages around town and you will have a musical party experience you'll never forget.
While between 1-2 million people come to Amsterdam for Queen's Day, you will not see a more friendly crowd even at a Grateful Dead show. It's amazing to my American mind how many people can peacefully coexist while being packed like sardines in the streets. Add to this the fact that most people are drunk and the lack of riots is astonishing. It points to a European cultural sensibility and closeness which will not be attained by Americans for at least 200 more years.
You should only visit Holland on or near Queen's Day if you want to see all these attractions. Be sure to book your room well in advance -- rooms will sell out a month or two before Queen's Day. If you don't like crowds or large parties, Queen's Day is not the time to see Amsterdam -- but you will miss out on such a great time that it'd be a shame to miss it.
