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"Koninginnedag"
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As we have seen above,
Koninginnedag attracts many people. This photo was taken near the railroad
station and shows visitors from outside Amsterdam. "Provincials," they
are sometimes called, or -to use the expression from the Amsterdam
dialect (with its Yiddish influences)- from the Mediene. Typically,
more than 500,000 people visit Amsterdam on 30 April.
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One million guests is not unheard of. This means big business in one
particular quarter of the city: the famous (or notorious) Red Light District,
where prostitutes entertain their customers. Other Amsterdammers are less
happy with the hundreds of thousands of visitors. To some extent, city-dwellers
are always a bit prejudiced and needlessly hostile toward people from the
countryside. But there is indeed a difference between the people of the
large cities in the west (Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht), which
look to Britain, and the rest of the country, which looks to Germany and
Belgium. Many provincials are insensitive to the subtle, unwritten laws
of a cosmopolis. This sometimes creates minor tensions
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One incident of Koninginnedag 2006 can illustrate this. Close to the
Museumplein, I watched a group of people, dressed in orange, who were singing.
But not the usual songs: they were chanting the mantras of an Indian sect
that is called the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The
Amsterdammers smiled at their fellow-citizens, whose dresses were for once
very suitable. (Empty batteries in my camera, sorry.)
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I heard a boy asking who these people were, and his father said, with
all the geniality of the Limburgian dialect: "Those people, they are Jehovah's
Witnesses." Our Hare Krishnas did not like it, but everything was explained
with a smile.
Sometimes, however, the city-dwellers can be really upset by the visitors.
They are enjoying a nice day, often drink one beer too many, and then suddenly
have to urinate, often in somebody's garden. The word wildplasser
("wild pisser") is the latest Amsterdam contribution to the Dutch language,
and you can believe me that there's little geniality to that word. This
photo shows a brilliant solution; a euro is about $1.25. (I do not know
why the sign was not written in Dutch, but for this webpage, it's a lot
easier.)
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Another complaint about Koninginnedag used to be that it was becoming
too commercial. That was in the late 1980's. Several pubs had erected stages
where bands were playing, and the festival was becoming too massive, and
many people said that the eve of Koninginnedag was nicer. Perhaps, the
people of The Hague, who traditionally celebrate what in their dialect
is called the Kewnenginnenâch, have better understood that
smaller is better.
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In recent years, however, the municipality has decided that one needs
a permit to erect a stage, and the festival is now nicer than it used to
be. Still, there will always be people who find something to disagree with.
These orange helmets in SS-style are indeed not the most tasteful of all
products, but it must be noted that they were not meant for Koninginnedag.
They belong to the World Championship Football, which in 2006 was in Germany.
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Another perennial lament is that at the end of the day, the city is
one big mess, because not everything is sold, and the litters are not big
enough. However, on the first of May (which we do not commemorate), things
look spic-and-span again. The people of the sanitation department are among
any city's unsung heroes. This photo shows another municipal service that
facilitates a nice Koninginnedag: the fire brigade. As you can see, the
engines are not in their garage, but parked on a square that is carefully
kept open.
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It shows that the town regulates all sort of things and is far more
active than the people generally realize. Fortunately, Koninginnedag is
really a day of joy, and I can remember only one serious incident. A couple
of years ago, the railroad company was unable to transport all visitors,
and some drunk provincials made havoc. This photo is more representative:
two cops enjoying their leisure. Note the coffee cups in the car.
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In the past quarter of a century, Koninginnedag has become part of
the Amsterdam tradition. It is debatable if it is really a celebration
of the monarchy. The people who are dancing on this boat, dressed in orange,
are probably also critical of queen Beatrix, who is less popular than her
mother Juliana, her late husband Claus, or her son Willem-Alexander. I
think the best way to understand Koninginnedag is to see it as an enjoyable
spring festival.
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Finally, a photo of a rock concert on the Museumplein. In the background,
you can see the Rijksmuseum. When I took this photo, I was unaware that
two of my friends were standing right in front of me; nor did they see
me, even though I had climbed on transformer kiosk. I discovered Suzanne
and Matthijs only when I was preparing this picture for publication.
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©
Jona Lendering for
Livius.Org,
2006
Revision: 29 April 2007 |
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