Haarlem is one city that finds its way back to my heart no matter how unlovable my heart seems to make itself. The air itself feels different. I could walk the tiny Dutch roads, the comically sized bridges, and the shades from the green trees for days on end if the chance came.
And well, it did.
Luckily, King's Day also was exactly on the only warm day of the week. A shy sun out, the winds taking a break, and orange everywhere.
On the way to Haarlem I'd have to transit through Amsterdam. What a city, eh? With the special occasion, it was more packed than ever and people were in full party gear.
A small part of my heart was relieved that I'd no longer be stuck on a packed train and hold my breath as my nose'd get wedged into a tall man's nondeoderized bacterial colony cultivating armpit. In those moments I wonder would it be easier for universe to give me taller genes or have someone buy a deodorant.
But I was wrong, Haarlem is getting more popular. Especially among locals.
The train from Amsterdam to Haarlem was also packed, to my surprise. And walking into the city made me realize that the occasion is just as incredibly celebrated here, just a few decibels lower than in Amsterdam.
The main square was almost impossible to walk through. At a point, I was just hovering. Being pushed around by the crowd and heading whatever direction.
The air filled with smell of bbq, broodjes, fries, and all other street foods. House and techno music blaring from multiple stations and multiple speakers. In a group of 4, everyone dancing and tuning to a different beat. But it's all good and fun.
This is exactly where the Kermis happened. A post about Kermis in Haarlem is on my blog if you want to revisit.
I had a company of 3 more. But since everyone is wearing orange, you can imagine how easy it was to lose each other and how difficult to find each other.
Even the quiter sides were quite busy. But the beautiful castle and the untouched buildings along with all the orange made it all very bearable.
We decided not to stay too long in the crowds. There were more than 4 "stages" in the city. We only went to the main one in the square, then walked by the canals for the ceremonial King's Day ice cream and headed to another King's Day market and stage towards the south.
Like most, in this market also the items being sold were mainly for children. Some really cool stuff and some....unique. Like one ice skate. Not a pair, just one. A bargain for a euro, I say.
A few makeshift carnival games and my favorite was the one where you have to hammer down on a sausage as it rolls down a long pipe. Fun seeing how many people missed.
It had rained in the morning, so the park was basically a sludge of forbidden chocolate porridge topped with grass. And very packed, which made it a challenge to navigate the few dry and solid patches of field.
We had a few snacks and finally stood on line to take Polaroid photos on the carriage dressed in plastic royal accessories.
Oh the king and queen? Those were my friends. Funny how friendships work. I met this king almost as soon as I entered the Netherlands. I wanted to learn the Dutch language and found him online as a volunteer buddy. He has the stocky body and hair of the king, although his crown was an orange bucket hat. His girlfriend has the hair of the queen and her top said "queen for a day".
Good enough.
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