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This was my third time visiting Amsterdam, here is a little info of my trip and Queen’s Day.
Background Queen's Day (
Koninginnedag in Dutch) in Amsterdam is a unique night and day carnival-like event at the end of April each year. The event includes a huge party (all people wear orange) across the whole city and is combined with the market throughout the streets. This year was the last Queen’s Day as the Dutch know it, this is because at the end of January 2013, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, the longest reigning Dutch monarch, announced her abdication after 33 years on the throne. 75 years old Beatrix said she would abdicate on 30th of April and her oldest son Willem-Alexander will become the King of the Netherlands. From now on the King’s Day will be held on April 27 each year.
Accom The Flying Pig Hostel, Downtown- This hostel is great for people who are either travelling solo or in a group. The hostel is located 2mins walk from the Central train station and minutes from The Rd light District.
We arrived early Sunday morning to a pleasant day with the
sun shining but only a high of 12 degrees. Amsterdam is easy to get around by foot or there are plenty of trams that can take you around the city for a couple of Euros.
My few days in Amsterdam Day 1-Arriving early in the morning we spent the first day doing the touristy thing around the city and walking around the Red Light District, stopping at a couple coffee shops along the way. We then proceeded to taste many of the cleverly situated bakery, pizza and hotdog joints.
Day 2-This was the day before Queen’s Day so we began to see a lot of orange balloons and streamers hanging around the main streets. The night before Queen’s Day it all kicked off with people heading out to the bars and streets to listen to free outdoor gigs by local bands.
Day 3-Queen’s Day started early, the main square and street were flowing with people early in orange all hoping to catch a glance of their new King. As we walked around the streets throughout the day we were surrounded by a sea of orange. The people were all friendly and welcoming with all ages out on the streets for the party. On each street we found that people had opened up the use of their toilets for the public at a small fee of 1 euro. The canals were full of boats packed with people dancing.
Check out my video from my trip
This was so much fun and it was great to be there for the last Queen’s Day and see the King come out and greet his people for the first time. If you want to visit Amsterdam then I suggest visiting on a future King’s Day, but you would need to book in advance to get central accommodation and a good price on flights. If you are not so into big crowds of people and street parties then avoid travelling to Amsterdam end of April.
