Kingsday!

After three generations of queens we now have a king in Holland. His name is Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand van Amsberg van Oranje-Nassau, but we tend to call him Wim-Lex or Willem. He has nicknames too, like King Pils, since he likes to drink a lot of it. We like him though, he is not very formal when going out in public, and he has a beautiful wife. Her name is Máxima and her father has a somewhat shady past in the Videla regime in Argentina, so he's not invited to the first Kingsday. It still sounds a little weird, Kingsday, since we always had Queensday before. But that won't be a problem I guess, since King Pils will help us build a good party I think.

King Willem on the right, drinking a beer with one of his friends.

Kingsday is the national birthday celebration of our King. It is one of the occasions where the Dutch loose themselves in so called Orange Madness. We dress in orange, wear weird orange glasses, hats & stuff, die our hair and paint our faces orange, and some even paint their cars, houses, bikes & pets. Most people hang out the national flag, which isn't orange, but red, white and blue, and some add an orange sash. The flag is also perfect to paint on the cheeks. Personally I think it is also perfect to paint on tits, but I have never actually seen that yet.

Kingsday celebration on the Museumsquare in Amsterdam.

On the day before Kingsday a sports tournament for the kids is organised. This way, the parents are sure the children are very tired in the evening so they can go out and party. And then there are the rumours about the medals. People who have contributed to the general good, like doing volunteer work for the sea scouting and stuff like that, can get a medal from the King. They are not allowed to wear it except for Kingsday, but they do get a nice certificate with it they can hang in their livingroom.

On Kingsday all people are allowed to sell stuff on the streets. In most towns there is a big free market, with lots of antiques, clothes, books, but also with funny stuff like throwing eggs to a student for a small coin, or play chess, or children dancing. There are also bars and beer stands allover the markets, to ensure the party will keep going. While negotiating about prices people make lots of jokes which really makes it a fun experience. Until it gets to crowded after a few hours, and you have to fight yourself through the masses to get home safely.

Kingsday market in Eindhoven.

While most people are out celebrating and buying stuff they will probably sell themselves next year, many stay at home and watch television. All day long there is a live report of the royal family visiting two towns, who have done a lot of work to make it a very special Kingsday. The mayor shows the royal family the best parts of the town, and they get presents and do traditional or just weird made up games. A few years ago our King (then still the prince) did an amazing job in the toilet throwing contest.

King Willem in a toilet throwing contest.

It's pretty cool that our royal family goes and mingle between the people, knowing that a few years ago their was a tragic attack on the royal bus during the festivities. Some lunatic tried to drive his car into the bus, and hit several people before he crashed into a fountain and died. It was very shocking for everyone, since the whole country saw it happen live on tv. The festivities were cancelled then, but we are all very happy that the years after this tragedy the royal family chose to keep celebrating Kingsday like they always have.

King Willem, Queen Maxima and the princesses.

In the bigger cities Kingsday ends with a massive party. There is live music and DJ's everywhere, and huge amounts of people go into Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague, and in the south to my town, Eindhoven. Extra trains are arranged, but even then the trains are very crowded and the train stations are flooded by people, and a lot of them are drunk. Back in the day when I didn't mind crowds so much, I loved it. For some reason the weather is great on Kingsday every year, and being on a party with over 200.000 people which lasts at least 24 hours, is awesome. I remember when I was young I lasted for almost 30 hours in a row, something I will never be able to do again, I think.

Kingsday on the Amsterdam canals. Can you see the water between the people on the boats?

When the party has ended and people walk home intoxicated, there is one more amazing experience to be had. A lot of people who didn't sell everything on the market just leave the stuff on the streets, free to take. I remember I found some amazing books and a beautifull lamp once, but even when you don't find anything you like, you can have a lot of fun looking at drunk people trying to move found furniture.