Koninginnedag

Today was Koninginnedag in the Netherlands, otherwise known as Queen's Day. It's a day where the entire country celebrates the Queen's birthday. Yes, you may not have known it but the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy, meaning they have a royal family. Queen Beatrix is currently the reigning Queen.  This is her

So, every year, the country throws a huge party and the Queen shows up in some random cities. Everyone dresses in orange, bands play, and there is a countrywide yard sale. No joke. It's mostly kids stuff but we did get a few antiquey type things. 

We had a good time walking around Leiden, experiencing our first Queen's Day. The real parties are in Amsterdam and The Hague, where people fill the streets and canals and party into the wee hours of the morning.

A few things you'll see in my pictures is Dan using the bathroom in an "outdoor urinal". He's not really using it, only for artistic purposes:) But the urinals are set up all over the city during big events like these and they are definitely outdoor. It's very weird, to say the least. Also, we found a Wheel of Fortune game. . .IN DUTCH! Naturally, we had to buy it, even if we can't play it because all the phrases are in Dutch. Maybe by the end of our time here, we'll know enough Dutch to win that game too:)

Overall, our first Queen's Day was a fun experience but not really sure what all the hoopla was about. I'm pretty sure my mom would've loved it though, as it really was one big yard sale. Not sure how she would get everything back home though :)

* Remember, click on the photo album to make it full size!