Queensnight Turns Into Day

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April 29th 2009

Published: May 2nd 2009

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Emilie International

Bicycles on the Dam

A typical sight in Amsterdam

After missing my early-morning flight to Amsterdam (thanks, in part to the 10-minute check-out process at the hostel, and not entirely to a *slight* sleep-in) and spending another day roaming around Prague, I finally made it here Tuesday night. Since the French countryside hadn't offered many opportunities for legendary European partying, I had timed my arrival to coincide with Queensday in the Netherlands - a national celebration of the Queen's birthday that turns all of Amsterdam into an outdoor club on the last two days of April each year. With Koert (already featured in last year's Wrapped Around the World entry) as my gracious host, I knew my visit would be epic and our first day together got it off to a great start.

With one good sleep under our belts, we kicked off our party with a little sightseeing in the company of Koert's other Canadian friend, Simon, passing through the city on his way to teach English in Cambodia. With Amsterdam's mix of artistic, cultural and recreational of activities to choose from, we finally settled on a guided tour of the Amsterdam Dungeons. Enticed by gory screams and a widow crying over the severed head of her husband on our way

Deck the Buildings with Some Orange

Preparations underway for the Queensday party next day

in, the visit promised to provide some unusual entertainment.

Once inside we were greeted by a pale-looking concierge who transported us away from modern-day Amsterdam into the torture cellars, grimy bars, putrid ships and back alleys of olden days, before delivering us to the exit via roller-coaster-in-the-dark. Slightly tense from waiting for unseen spooks to attack us, we calmed our frazzled nerves over coffee (it was a decidedly recreational day) before meeting the rest of our group to kick off the official Queensnight, or rather Queensday Eve festivities.

Our eclectic crew, consisting of Koert and his brother Menno, three Canadians, a Brit, and several Dutch monkey conservation workers, met for pizza at an Amsterdam apartment before hitting the Westergasfabriek for the party of the night. Once the national gas works building, the old warehouse has been transformed into a giant club where lights flashed and Beatfreax pumped out electric beats over a crowd of thousands. We danced for hours until our glow sticks began to fade and we decided to head home for a few hours of rest before the upcoming Queensday dance marathon. Not even at the real party yet, our warm-up had ensured yet another great