King's Day in Amsterdam

One of the most important holidays in the Netherlands is Koningsdag or King’s Day. The holiday is exactly what it sounds like: a celebration of the King’s birthday. The unofficial requirement is that you have to wear orange for the Royal House of Orange-Nassau. It is the one day a year that people can sell things on the street without having a permit. So the city turns into one giant flea market. People take to the canals on their boats, and the next day, it’s almost guaranteed that you will see videos of boats capsizing on social media. The streets have festivals and DJs, so the entire day is one big party. 

The holiday started out as Princess Day in 1885 to celebrate then Princess and later Queen Wilhelmina’s birthday. Once she ascended the throne, the day was changed to Queen’s Day and has been celebrated on the monarch's birthday since then. It remained Queen’s Day through the reign of Queen Juliana (1948-1980) and Queen Beatrix (1980-2013) before becoming King’s Day for King Willem in 2013. 

King’s Day is something that everyone in the Netherlands looks forward to, and my friends and I started preparing for it weeks prior. Since we had to wear orange and none of us owned any orange clothing, we took to the flea markets and thrift stores. Waterlooplein is a great place to go as it’s open every day except Sunday, and as King’s Day approaches, many stalls and stores will highlight their orange products so they are easy to find. Some of us, including me, wanted to DIY our outfits, so we knew we had to start early. 

I love to embroider, so that’s where I started for inspiration for my outfit. I found a pair of white jeans at Waterlooplein for only 5 Euros and then headed to a thread shop to buy the materials I needed. For the design, I knew I wanted to have Dutch symbols, so I started with the Dutch flag on the back pockets. Amsterdam’s flag has three X’s, so I embroidered orange X’s on the left thigh and finished with orange tulips on the bottom of the right pant leg. It took me forever to finish, but it was totally worth it. To finish the outfit, I found an orange button-up that I paired with a white tank top, and the local grocery store was selling orange hats that said Queen on them, so naturally, I had to purchase one. 

While Saturday, April 26th, was actually King’s Day, the street parties often occur the night before. My friends and I headed to Reguliersdwarsstraat, a street in centraal Amsterdam known for its queer night life. The street has a long history of queer cafes and clubs since the 1980s while the street was constructed in 1585, making it the perfect combination of history with modern culture. There are also several widely renowned restaurants. It’s a great place to go to on any weekend, but on King’s Day, the street is absolutely packed with people, vendors, and DJs. 

The next morning, we headed to Vondelpark, which is one of the larger parks in Amsterdam, located in the West. In the morning, they often have carnival games and vendors. Another important thing the park has is free bathrooms. Stores will often let people use their bathrooms for a small fee, so finding a place with a free bathroom is key. Unfortunately, more often than not, the free bathrooms are porta-potties. So you can either pay for a bathroom or use a porta-potty, depending on your priorities. 

Walking along the canals anywhere in the city, you will definitely see packed boats. And I wasn’t kidding about boats capsizing. Thankfully, I did not see any on King’s Day, but they were a little funny to watch on Instagram the next day. The canals are a great place to sit and watch the city, especially on King’s Day.

The second place we went to was Museumplein, where many of the museums are located, including the Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum. There’s an open quad where they play music, but it’s also big enough that if you want to sit there and relax, you can do that too. My friends and I sat there for a while, enjoying the sun and playing games. They also have a lot of food stalls and other vendors, so it’s a great place to shop and have lunch. It’s also not directly in Centraal and is not as overcrowded and overstimulating as other places. 

There is definitely not a holiday like this in the US, and everyone should definitely partake in King’s Day in whatever way works for them. Whether you’d rather sit along the canals or go to a music festival, there is no wrong way to do King’s Day. Except if you don’t plan. Public transportation does not run into Centraal on King’s Day, and the lines that do run are often delayed. Make sure to plan the places you want to go the day before. You’ll probably have to walk, so make sure it's doable. Check which lines are running and make sure you bring water and anything else you’ll need throughout the day.

Local holidays like King’s Day are a great way to immerse yourself in any city. Even if you are not in Amsterdam, look up any local traditions and holidays in your study abroad location. You’ll have an amazing time and make some great memories.