Queen's Day

April 30 is national holiday here in the Netherlands. It's Queen's Day. This is the official celebration of the Queen's birthday. The current Queen's birthday falls in a winter month, but she chose to keep the celebration in the Spring when the tulips are blooming and the weather is nice.

My husband and I have actually seen Queen's Day before - about 12 years ago when we were in Amsterdam for a business trip. Amsterdam was pretty crazy - people selling their junk on the sidewalks, lots of stages with bands, and gallons of Heineken beer. I was sorry that my husband wouldn't be here this time.

At any rate, being 12 years older, I decided to stay near home rather than venturing into Amsterdam. Here in Bussum, the celebration was quite a bit more family-oriented. There were little block parties with stages and concession stands all around town. In the town center, there was a good sized flea market. There were lots of children selling their used household goods for pocket money. I found a coffee maker and a hand blender for the kitchen. There were also more professional stands selling clothing, shoes, and other stuff. I found a cheap pair of shoes to wear in the house.

For entertainment, they had 5 stages set up and a rotation of 10 different singing groups. Each and every singing group performed sea shanties. Yes, the "yo ho yo ho blow the man down" kind of sea shanties. Each group had about a dozen singers - all men over the age of 50. Maybe there's an age requirement for this type of music. All joking aside, I actually like sea shanties and was really enjoying the music. Later in the afternoon, the rock bands started up and volume quadrupled. Obviously, I'm old because I found this terribly annoying.

Before the loud obnoxious music started, I found time to taste some of the food concessions. The profitijes were wonderful, they are little cream puffs warm from the cooking iron served with butter and powdered sugar. I had some grilled chicken satay and some Spanish Churros. I took a pass on the herring, though.

Now that it's later in the evening, I can hear the music from the stage near the train station. I walked over to see what was going on. Basically, it was a more young adult scene, with a lot of beer involved. It was very crowded - and of course not much fun for an old lady alone. Even if I wasn't alone, I'd still be too old. So I went back to the house to finish my laundry and see Baywatch. It was an older episode with Billy Warlock and Erica Elaniac. This is a test: if you know what I'm talking about, you're old, too! Gotcha!

Obviously I'm feeling sensitive about my age this week. On Monday I was working with a college student who is doing an internship project. She was dressed in jeans (a bit low-cut), a form-fitting shirt (a bit too short to reach the top of her jeans), and new shoes that were neither practical nor comfortable. I noticed that she developed a limp in the afternoon, you know, that limp you get when your feet are killing you. All day I kept noticing the guys watching her waist as she flashed her muffin tops. Her outfit was cute for a college campus, but not appropriate for work. She made me feel old. Not because I would never be able to wear that outfit, but because I was offended by it!

Tomorrow, May 1, is also a holiday. This one is a religious holiday, Ascension Day. Most of the stores will be closed. Although, the garden centers are all open because this is the high season for them. I don't have any plans besides getting the house ready for my husband and the cat. They arrive on Friday morning and I'm very excited for them to arrive. They don't make me feel old.