Queens Day

Queens Day (Koninginnedag) is a national holiday here in The Netherlands, celebrated on the 30th April each year to celebrate the Queenie's birthday. The day is celebrated all over the country by flag-waving, orange-wearing Patriots and is quite a sight to see. Makes me really proud to be here enjoying my first Queens Day in my new home country. The largest celebrations which all the tourists flock to see are probably in Amsterdam though it is also tradition to have a good booze up and celebrate the night before (Koninginnenacht) in Den Haag and probably numerous other cities around the country.

The weather was absolutely beautiful today, glorious sunshine. We had toyed with the idea of going to Amsterdam or maybe Apeldoorn as this is where my other half Jaap was born and where many of his relatives still live, thank goodness we didn't after the events which took place this year - the assassination attempt on the Royal family resulting in 7 deaths and many more seriously injured.

We were celebrating the festivities in our local town of Vlaardingen, oblivious at first of the attack in Apeldoorn, mingling amongst the crowds proudly displaying our Orange wristbands. We stumbled across a classic car show in the Oranjepark whilst walking into the town centre, which was a pleasant surprise for me, as I'm such a geek when it comes to old cars. Not so entertaining for Jaap who looked a little bemused at my excitement, taking snaps from all angles of every car! Yes I'm a complete geek. Small selection of the best snaps below for you.

The day is also known for it's free markets (Vrijmarkt) where people sell their belongings in the street, a giant jumble sale or flea market. The streets of Vlaardingen were strewn with childrens toys and other bits of bric-a-bric. I don't think much money exchanged hands, I think it's more of a social event rather than a profitable one. The town also played host to a funfair, fun run and all the other typical carnival celebrations.