Day Fourty-Four: Prinsjesdag 2010

So Sorry I've been a little lax on the postings reccently. I have a piece that I'm working on for the Show, and it's taking up all of my spare time. So, no major adventures in the past week, just thousands of fiddly bits of folded, woven paper. I'll post pictures in the blog, but first, AN ADVENTURE!

On Tuesday Jos took me to Den Haag to observe the Prinsjesdag (Prince's Day) Parade which is a procession taking Queen Beatrix from her palace to Ridderzaal for the ceremonial opening of parliament. It always takes place on the Third Tuesday in September. Of course, she does this in a golden carriage drawn by eight gorgeous horses that would have Cinderella in fits of jealous rage! Armed with my camera, we joined the throngs of patriotic Netherlanders along the guard-lined route for the parade. Jos pointed out the canons that would later be fired.

It took us a few minutes to find a decent spot along the road. Apparently people start getting set up in key locations early in the morning so as to get the optimal view. As it was, we were about an hour early and the pickings were slim for a good spot. I keep forgetting how tall Dutch people are... you don't want to be stuck behind too many of them in a crowd. Anyway, we found a pretty good location with short older women in front, so we could see what was going on. Apparently Prince's Day also has a tradition of Outrageous Hat Wearing... women were their most eye-catching hats to the festivities, which definitely gave me something to look at while we were waiting for the parade to start!

Something else that Jos drew my attention to were the flags. I hadn't noticed before, but you don't see a lot of Dutch flags flying in Holland. Not compared to the States or even Canada. The flags are mostly only flown on holidays or for special occasions, and apparently it's disrespectful to leave the flag flying over night. I asked why this was, but Jos just said that that's the way it's always been. I did some of my own research after, but could find no mention of that point in the Dutch flag history (which is actually very interesting in itself!) Anyway, I enjoyed seeing the flags flying today. I'll continue my research on flag etiquette and see if I can figure it out.

Anyway, the parade was about to get underway when we noticed that there were a a few sad-looking cadets who needed to take a rest from standing for hours on guard along the roadside. It looked like maybe they were just dehydrated (they must have been warm in their uniforms!) and needed a sit, but I felt bad for them since everyone (including me) was taking pictures of them 'wimping out'. However, when the real stuff started and the marching bands had done their thing, they stood like proper cadets and did themselves and their country proud.

A few different coaches drove through, followed by various regiments of mounted officials and cavalry and whatnot. The coaches were transporting "important people", as Jos said, probably royal family and politicians... I never quite found out.

And then, THE QUEEN! Of course, our wonderful, limping, injured, dropped camera not only decided to turn off, but tell me that the batteries were dead at the exact moment that I was taking the picture of the Royal Golden Coach... I got the picture, but then the camera didn't store it properly and the file was corrupted. SO, in lieu of MY picture, here's one I found on the internet. I feel the need to show a picture of the coach because it really is quite stunning.



After my moments of disappointment over the lack of a Royal Picture, I realized that the crowds around me were dispersing. Just like that. It was over. I had missed my chance... sigh. However, I was able to watch the Golden Coach on the jumbo tron that was set up where we were standing, and we watched the coach maneuver through the arched gate into the Ridderzaal courtyard. We walked over there later and you can see the arch I'm talking about in this picture; near the left there is an archway with a gold and red lion emblem over top. Apparently the coach squeezes through every year with only a few centimeters on either side. No small feat, if you ask me!



Of course, there were hundreds of people hanging around there to get a glimpse of the Royal family, so Jos and I moved along through the streets of Den Haag. He pointed out old buildings to me, and steered us through China Town, which seems very small in comparison to the city sector designated for China town in Toronto. Here, it's just a humble intersection, 2 blocks deep by 2 blocks wide, but the entrance from either side are adorned with two beautiful gateways that were built in the Chinese tradition with no nails or screws. They were quite pretty. Although we didn't take time to explore China Town, I'd love to go back and explore the shops a little. Maybe get some rice wrappers and make Gyozas for Rob...

Well, I'll post about my art piece soon, and starting next week we have a whole new line-up of destinations in store, so there will be no shortage of interesting things to blog about!