The Netherlands is a country of orderly ways of living, where rules and procedures are strictly followed. There are however, some exceptional days when all the rules are forgotten when the air smells like party from early morning. When almost all ways of celebrating are absolutely acceptable. One such day is Kingsday.

There is one thing that you can notice very explicitly – orange. Orange costumes, hats, sun glasses, wings, wigs, and all sorts of weird accessories. You might encounter some victims of over partying here and there, but overall the crowd is very friendly and the overall atmosphere is happy, free and joyful. I haven`t seen a holiday to be so celebrated so wholeheartedly and intensely in any other country (even though Norwegians are claiming that their madness on their national day is even bigger, but I haven`t seen it in person 😉 )

It is a lot of fun, so make sure you see it! A few tips from me:

• The three main ways to experience the day are to walk around the city, get on a boat or party on one of the many stages around city. My advice would be to go on a boat if you want to have a good party, or to stay on the ground and walk around if you are more into taking pictures and exploring the flea markets.
• Do not trust the weather forecast for that day- the weather somehow turns out a loooot better than predicted.
• Do not forget that the date is April 27^th and not April 30^th (the day when Queensday was celebrated) any more 😉