Welkom Sinterklaas!!

Sinterklaas made it to town this weekend and we were there to witness his arrival! He and his "zwarte Piet's" (black Pete) arrived via boats, coming up one of the canals. The square was filled with kids dressed up like Zwarte Piets and Sintkerklaas. They were singing what I can only assume to be Christmas songs, in Dutch. The Zwarte Piets (which are grown adults in what appear to be jester costumes, with their faces painted black because they climb down the chimney to deliver presents) throw out kruidnoten, which is like gingerbread. Eventually Sinterklaas got on his horse and rode through the town. 

After seeing him in Leiden, we took the train to Delft to finish up some Christmas shopping. Little did we know that Sinterklaas was making his appearance there as well. We got some great pictures and a short video of Sinterklaas speaking to all the children.