Wish You Were Beer! or Holland Days Sauced!

We made our first visit to Amsterdam in eight years and finally were able to leisurely tour the Rijksmuseum, Holland's preeminent art showcase, closed the last time we were in the city during a ten-year renovation. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

We landed at Amsterdam's Schipol Airport on King's Day, a national holiday that was, according to Wikipedia, initially observed on 31 August 1885 as Prinsessedag or Princess's Day, the fifth birthday of Princess Wilhelmina, then heir presumptive to the Dutch throne. On her accession in November 1890 the holiday acquired the name Koninginnedag, first celebrated on 31 August 1891. In September 1948, Wilhelmina's daughter Juliana ascended to the throne and the holiday was moved to her birthday, 30 April. The holiday was celebrated on this date from 1949. King Willem Alexander’s birthday is 27 April and King's Day was moved to that date in 2014.

Bikes were stowed away for the day; the massive amount of people flooding the streets would have made getting across town an arduous task. We joined the throngs to buy beer and found a spot outside to watch party-goers travel down the canals in overcrowded boats of all sizes. Tourists and locals mingled with orange shirts, orange suits, orange hats and, in at least one case, an orange head.

I had to try out one of the outdoor pissoirs the city brings in for the holiday. Relieving oneself in public has never been more fun!

Our accommodations were a bit off the beaten track. The Air b&b advertised the one bedroom apartment as close to the city center, but wasn't really. The trip back and forth cost the four of us 30 Euro each way!Eight years before we had stayed at a canal house that dated back to the 18th century. The rooms were tiny, stairsteps were shallow and our luggage was pulled up to our room by pulley.

We rode into the city where we would walk everywhere else. One of our favorite stops was Rembrandt Square where you can people-watch to your heart's content. In the square is a life-size depiction in brass of Rembrandt's most famous work, Night Watch. The mass transit system in the Netherlands runs right through Rembrandt Square and through train stations and buses, ties the country together for easy travel, making day excursions to Keukenhof Gardens and Delft a must-do.