Den Haag Diary: Queen's Day!

Of course we watched the Royal extravaganza on BBC yesterday. But like the Netherlands' Queen Beatrix, we had to politely decline our invitation to the wedding of Prince William as it is a national holiday in her honour and one of the most important dates in the Netherlands' annual calendar.

On Queen’s Day on The Fred (Fredrick Hendricklaan) the crowds swamp the street and we couldn’t move. It’s the one day of the year for the free market where people can sell whatever they want without tax, where you can buy a rusty typewriter, a teapot without a lid or someone’s moldy old shoes. The street is closed to cars as kids sell their old toys; old ladies sell their knickknacks; dreamers sell bits and pieces of old appliances, vinyl records and videos of bad movies. Before we left the house I could see through our window the early birds taking home the good stuff: shop mannequins and dolls houses balanced on the front and back of their bikes. I bought an old Douwe Egberts koffie tin: priceless.

The entertainment on The Fred on Queen’s Day this year featured a number of painful violin child prodigies and one little girl standing on a box above the crowd in a princess dress who would flutter her fan and curtsey for a coin donation.

Braadworst broodje (sausage on a roll with mustard), poffertjes (mini pancakes with powdered sugar) and orange coloured food sustained us.