April 30th is Koninginnedag (Queensday) in the Netherlands. This holiday originally started as a celebration of the birthday of a former queen. Her successor decided to keep the tradition going on the same day because her birthday is in January when the weather is too cold for an outdoor party. Many cities have their own celebrations, but the big event is in Amsterdam. The canals are filled with party boats and the streets with a huge freemarket. There are also several musical performances. Everyone is decked out in orange in recognition of the Dutch royal family--the house of orange. No, the city has not been taken over by Florida Gator fans! However, Rick said that it did resemble a UF football game to some extent. We only had a few hours to wander around and soak up the party vibe. It was very interesting to see, but we could not participate in the party because we had to drive home. It's the type of thing that would be more fun with a group and, of course, if we could spend the night. Rick already tried to get Deloitte to sponsor a boat for next year, but he was told that it is prohibitively expensive.
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