Pre-Koninginnedag 2007

This coming Monday is Koninginnedag (Queens Day) in Holland. As I mentioned last year Koninginnedag is the day that everyone in Holland celebrates the Dutch Queen’s birthday and it has nothing to do with men up and down the country putting on dresses and applying a little make-up to make them selves feel pretty.

The whole country joins in on the celebrations and Amsterdam becomes one big party. It is obviously a party with a very colour blind doorman since everyone wears orange (the national colour) on Koninginnedag. There are performances of live music on every city square, second hand sales out side every house and beer tents on every street corner. This means you can buy a beer at one tent, walk around a bit, finish drinking your beer and then find yourself almost magically at another beer tent, ready for a re-fill.

It’s the only time of year when it is socially acceptable to be drunk by 11am, hugging lamp posts by noon and passed out in the middle of Dam Square at 2pm as you’re friends shave your eyebrows off.

Since the drunkest person at any birthday party is usually the birthday boy or girl it raises the question; what how drunk does the Queen gets? Does she end up drunkenly telling each member of the royal court that she really means it when she says she loves them? Do the royal guard desperately try to keep her away from all the canals as she stumbles around? Does Prince Alexander have to act as the designated driver? Can the Queen be found at 4am in the morning at a Febo some where, eating a state kroket? Or is it just me that will end up this drunk?

If both myself and my liver survive Koninginnedag I will let you know what happens and hopefully have a few photos to share as well.