Oh it was busy in Amsterdam’s Vondelpark!
Even the buses were jostling each other - ouch!
We knew Koninginnedag (‘Queens Day’ if you’re not Dutch) was coming days ago. There were orange streamers in the streets, silly orange hats for sale in the shops, flower stalls selling only orange tulips. In Dirk van den Broek supermarket I met a 10 year old boy buying 20 dozen eggs. ‘Making omelettes for Koninginnedag?’ I asked. ‘No, people can throw eggs at my brother. He stands with his head in a hole and people try to hit him. One euro for three eggs.’ Kids can make money in lots of inventive ways.
Just hold a violin and look cute
My favourite this year was ‘throw a smurf’. The country that gave us Vermeer and van Gogh also gave us reality TV’s Big Brother and Vader Abraham’s smurfs. In a Dutch variation on the coconut shy, kids could pay a modest fee to hurl a fluffy stuffed smurf at members of the royal family smiling at them from a pyramid of Droste cocoa tins.
Try your luck at shuffleboard
The royals are still popular though. On the telly we watched as Queen Beatrix led her family through Zeeland to great applause. You may remember last year’s tragedy when someone drove his car at the royal bus, killing himself and six people in the crowd. After last night’s memorial service for the victims, everyone was relieved that this year it was the old Koninginnedag again.
Only idiots who pressed the emergency stop button on a train and striking garbage collectors threatened the fun this year.
At Apollolaan street market there's always a chance of finding the vinyl LP you wish you hadn't given away when you bought your first CD player.
Richard Tulloch's LIFE ON THE ROAD 
Hello Richard,
Your glimpses and narratives of today’s “Koninginnedag” say it all…a vibrant day like no other. The pageantry of orange color was true to its meaning — stimulating the emotion and even the appetite. Fun, fun, fun.
Thanks Edna. Yes, it’s always fun. A bit cold and wet to begin with this year, so the appetite was stimulated towards koffie and Vlaamse wafels.
Hoi Richard,
Nice to see your ‘Konninginnedag’ so soon. It’s a pity now when you look at the big chaos in the streets (we live in the center of Amsterdam). We are wondering if the market on the Lindengracht can take place this morning between the plastic and the rest of old clothes and shoes….
Hello from England, Agnes – we left town the day after Koninginnedag – how is the clean-up going? Is it safe to come back to Amsterdam yet?
Yeah .. Koninginendag is very special for those who live in Holland. I wish that I was there every Koninginendag
Ah well – it’s on every year, so hope you get there before too long.
Gr8 to see your ‘Konninginnedag’