The Queen of good times

Amsterdam has been hugely popular as the sex capital of the world, and is also known for its intoxicating moments thanks to the open sale of marijuana, making it THE place to have drop dead fun, especially for single revellers. But there are few (mostly Europeans and few from other parts of the world) who have attended the party of the year-Queen's Day Celebrations, or Koninginnedag (कोनिंखेंदाख) as is known in the Dutch Land.

The Queen's Birthday party begins early, starts a night before, much to the glee of party animals. There are the private house parties which are much more popular. Foot tapping music, dancing, beer and barbeque, dominate the scenes.

The next day, is even more lively. A concert at Museum plein grounds is the main stay where a number of people (around 500,000 to 800,000 visitors) can enjoy. In addition, makeshift arches of heights of a floor, where the DJs blast music or every possible genre (but the slow mushy numbers),cheap beer and good food dot the streets of Amsterdam. Whats more! The canals are dotted with private boats, with groups of people enjoying their own noise and tipple. The whole experience is out of the ordinary....few minutes on the road, and even a non-party person, will get up and dance.

The streets are filled with tourists and locals alike, all dressed in Orange, from head to toe. People wear orange clothes, and eccentric orange accesories........the funda being, the weirder, the better. They might also drink orange coloured drinks at times. This is known as the oranjegekte or orange craze, where the colour orange is a ubiquitous sight, and refers to the name of the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange.

Queens Day is also the day for vrijmarkt (the free market) and many of the streets, side walks, and parks are lined with a wide variety of stalls selling everything from second hand toys and discards to clothes, food and jewellery. Since the day being a Dutch Government holiday, sellers need not pay taxes on their sales.

(Only on Queen's Day will the cost of Beer be cheaper than the cost to pee)

The best way to enjoy this day is to dress in orange and walk across the streets of Amsterdam, drinking beer and soaking in the party weather. So make sure, you visit Amsterdam around April End next year.

Till then,
Cheers 

A little bit of History:
According to information on wikipedia, the present-day celebration of Queen's Day started with the celebration of the birthday of Princess Wilhelmina on 31 August 1885. The day was not only the birthday of the Queen, but also the last day of the summer vacation, which made the celebrations popular with children. However, after Queen Juliana ascended to the Dutch throne, Queen's Day celebrations moved on to her birthday on 30th of April every year. When her daughter, Princess Beatrix succeeded her mother as the Queen on 30 April 1980, she decided to keep the holiday on 30 April as a tribute to her mother.