Kingsday, every 27th of April it is time to celebrate the birthday of the King, is one of the few traditions we have in Holland, and I believe it is quite unique in the world. It is a day of joy, celebration and a day free of work for most people. There are plenty of festivals and flea markets. We do not feel really that much attached to our king but give the Dutch a reason to drink and celebrate, we will truly enjoy the opportunity. And as we are Dutch, we should celebrate dressed in orange.
My friends and I went to ''platte stenenbrug'' in a town called Alkmaar, since that was one of the festival locations near my hometown. which is a great place to celebrate the birthday of the king(although we rather use it as an excuse to party), we drink beer, dance to the music and talk to many old friends. It was especially enjoyable to me since I met many friends which I had not spoken with since I lived in Austria since December. The festival felt also kind of a reunion for me. Double reason to smile!
And this is a picture of the Birthday boy, the king. Heavily edited of course, as we are a very free country, where it is okay to make fun of the king, and he probably does not mind. Cheers on king willy! (His name is Willem-Alexander van Oranje-Nassau)
We got these flags from one of the party people, a really common thing at Dutch themed celebrations (Kingsday and important football matches of the Dutch team) but my drunk friend put mine upside down, I guess it was the beers
Animated GIF
Not the best GIF, but a good memory ☀️
Orange is the Dutch color referring to the name of the royal family, with the last name being ''van oranje-nassau'' Oranje means orange, and that's why the color orange refers to the Netherlands. It is a color of national unity
How happy one can be with some Fries! It definitely is a good combination with the beers
Another thing that belongs to Kingsday is "The tompouce" is a very common delicatessen in the Netherlands, with a pink coating. When it is Kingsday, the coating is pink and therefore you can only buy the "oranje tompouce'' at kingsday, and when the World or European championship of football is held. Then we reunite, color the country orange, and somehow, we need the orange tompouce to celebrate (and beer)
Meet Sascha, a 23-year-old Dutch girl, who loves traveling, photography and adventure. Right now, she is building her own tiny home on wheels. Which she might use as her home while studying next year, But first, she might go to New Zealand for a working holiday year! Does that sound exciting? Don't forget to follow for more exciting travel stories and to see her van be converted to a beautiful tiny home on wheels!
See you next time!
Regards,
Sascha