Big Crowds on King’s Day...

The most shocking things about King’s Day were the crowds...

…these boys that peed outside instead of inside the toilets...

…and the insane amount of litter. 

Hopefully teams of cleaners hit the streets that evening to pick up all the trash. 
 

Window Scenes on King’s Day...

An amazing feature of Bob and Lisa’s apartment is definitely this large window in the living room. 

I always love passing these former warehouses with their many windows. 

Throughout the day, we saw lots of interesting things in windows, including: a headless mannequin...

…a reminder to buy alcohol from street vendors since the grocery store was limited to selling one bottle or can per person... 

…guys wearing crop tops...

…many others sitting in their windows...

...and Bob’s neighbor celebrating his 60th birthday with a giant banner across his windows. 
 

Lots of Boats on King’s Day...

This canal looked especially pretty with orange streamers hanging between houseboats...

…and this one was lined with new foundations that made space for flowers to grow.

Not sure what the police would think, but I loved this boat with a bar at the helm.

We watched this boat in awe for several minutes as many, many grocery bags full of beer were passed across the pier and the adjoining boat.

Boat traffic increased throughout the day. 

This was the view from Bob’s friend’s place where we ended up later in the afternoon for a small party.
 

Dressed Up for King’s Day...

As you can see our King’s Day outfits were pretty basic. 

Veronica added an orange dress that she bought for a few euros. 

We eventually ran into Skye, who also went for a simple outfit.

My photos aren’t the best, but we saw some interesting costumes, including these orange spiky plastic wigs...

…three lions...

…a king...

…some fans of leather...

…a future Heineken drinker...

….and a cute couple with their goofy owners.
 

King’s Day in Amsterdam...

After taking Kati for a walk the next morning, Veronica and I took the train up to Amsterdam. 

On our way to Bob’s house (Lisa was also out of town), we saw the usual giant Dutch flag hanging in front of his neighbor’s house.

We dropped our bags at Bob’s and the three of us hit the streets. In addition to the usual flea market stalls...

…there were lots of orange things for sale...

…orange things on display...

…and orange games.

Bob decided to test his luck with a flying ball game...

…which he was pretty good at.

We covered a lot of ground, including making it to the Rijksmuseum, with lots of pretty tulips in front...

…Vondelpark, with this nice reflection... 

…and this building with its lovely murals above a pancake house
 

King’s Day Carnival...

Before the bands started, Veronica and I wandered over to Malieveld to check out the annual King’s Day carnival, not as participants but as observers. 

It was definitely very colorful...

…with flags from around the world.

It always boggles my mind how many people spend money on their chance to win a big dorky stuffed animal...

…or on sugar spun into a ball of fluff.

We swung back by on our way to the train station to capture some night shots.