On Friday the campus was suddenly invaded by a high population of tents - that spurted in every available green area. The reason for this was the 40th Batavierenrace :) Over 300 teams and 8000 runners travel through 25 stages and 175 km. Some of my flatmates also joined in the running, having been part of the ESN team.
Me? Well I watched as the people who ran the last 7.5 km (from Enschede to the campus) wore crazy costumes such as animals, surfboards, drums, thongs, etc...
In the middle of it all there was the Portuguese flag :) Of course there were many other flags but it's nice to discover your own.
the tents
In the evening there is of course a party: the Batavierenfeest :) Runners and supporters join together for one big hurra!
This weekend was intense. Having started with the Batavierenrace, Sunday night brought Koninginnenacht! Party was intense in Enschede with many people in the streets. The oude markt and the larger main square became stages for the music while people danced away to the beat... I'm not much of a fan of Dutch music (I think it's kind of an acquired taste) but sometimes they would vary the playlist a little.
Because party nights never finish later than 2 AM - strange, right? - it was possible to wake up early and make our way to Amsterdam in the morning. Following recommendations we arrived at Amsterdam Zuid and walked to the city center. As tradition states, orange was the dominant color, although the colors of the flag were also very present.
The day was fantastic! The sun shone brightly in the sky and it was possible (and necessary) to walk around in a short sleeve shirt. Leave it to the Dutch to have rain all year round and sun on the day when the most tourists visit :P
Considering the size of the streets that Amsterdam has and the fact that most of them were occupied with 'garage sales', there is no better solution than to take the party onto the water and navigate the city with soundtrack music. I mention the 'garage sales' because this is the only day in the year when people are not required to have a licence in order to sell their things in a public space like the street. This means that kids and grow-ups occupy the streets to sell things they don't need anymore...
The day finished early because most of the outside activity ends around 20h (people do have to work on Tuesday). Also, having walked around all day, our legs and feet could not handle anything more...
Due to restrictions and alterations in the system for this Koninginnedag, people were dispersed thus making it possible to have a less crowded Amsterdam. Even though our initial plans were different, I think it was an excellent idea to spend the day in Amsterdam and get the whole/true 'feeling' of the day...
Viva Hollandia!
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