Queen’s Birthday
Orange craziness
On the last day of April the Kingdom of Netherlands gets really crazy. According to the edict of Queen Beatrix everyone is exempt from the tax on her mother’s, Juliana, birthday anniversary. What does it mean in practice? We cannot imagine how much energy it can unleash and how practical the Dutch can be on this day. You can perfectly experience it in Amsterdam.
The night before the Queen’s Feast thousands of people leave their homes and mark their area, crossed square, with a chalk or a tape on the pavement. The morning after their private stalls will stand there. You don’t have to pay the tax so you can trade with no limits. This is the main idea of this festival. The whole Holland transforms into a huge bazaar in which one can get rid of old children’s sledge, worn Wellington boots and unfashionable television, not mentioning clothes, books, records and even broken vacuum cleaners.
Inexhaustible crowds, freed from the fiscal burden, hang around the stalls looking for a good bargain. Then hungry shopoholics need to eat and drink. On the Queen’s Birthday an Indonesian dish called satay is widely served. It is one of numerous signs of the Dutch colonial past. Yummy!
Loud music can be heard almost everywhere. And of course everything is orange since Holland is ruled by the Orange Dynasty.
Other tourist attractions in Amsterdam:
- Amsterdam canal tours
- The Amsterdam Sex Museum
- Red Light District
- Queen’s Birthday
- Cannabis Coffeeshops
Back to Amsterdam Fun Home