After Keukenhof we refolded ourselves back into our car and headed over to Amsterdam. From what I’m told, Amsterdam is a little crazy every day. We happened to visit on the absolute craziest day of the year: Queen’s Day.
Said to be the largest outdoor street festival in the world, Queen’s day is a national holiday that celebrates Queen Wilhemenia’s birthday. Although she died in 1962, the holiday carried on and grows bigger with each passing year.
As you can see, people flood the streets garbed in the national color: orange.
We obviously felt the need to join in.
So…what do people do on Queen’s Day? (Other than party on the streets for 24 hours?)
The sell their crap no longer needed “treasures."
It’s part of the day’s traditions. A no-holds-back junk circus. Er, I mean flea market.
Although the sheer massiveness of the crowds prevented us from doing a lot of the sightseeing we normally would have done, we still saw quite a bit of the city and her attractions.
Actually, there’s a lot more to Amsterdam than legalized marijuana and prostitution.
I’ll be honest- Amsterdam is actually a really beautiful city. I’ll prove it to you:
Our final impression? Amsterdam lively, unique city filled with contradictions. It could easily be brushed off as licentious and dirty (which it is), but once you stop and look around you at the beautiful churches, winding canals, and unique architecture, you’ll see this this is a city that thrives off of juxtaposition. It is a hot mess of contradictions, which is probably why the city feels so unique and alive.
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