Yesterday was Queen’s day.
I sold no macarons, or cookies, or anything for that matter.
Instead, we walked the length of our village centre, and I hunted bargains….wisely of course. More on that in a minute.
First off, as to be expected, everything from bodies to body parts were covered in oranje (orange)….
– hair, lips, and nails (men and women!) too
Shop windows too….have sweets in every colour but today, especially in orange, red, white and blue (for the Dutch flag)
If you know the Dutch, they are gek over snoepjes (crazy about sweets). Some say, a Dutch child is born with sweets in their hands.
The streets were packed with people and stalls see this is the day when everything possible can be sold (with some exceptions, of course)without license. Everything from bikinis to
cupcakes, which were superb. They were orange flavoured but it was the frosting which took the cake. Made from creme fraiche and butter, topped with silver dragee and edible glitter.
For a lot of people,this is an avenue to rid themselves of the products from their spring cleaning.
Perfect for me, seeing photo props, at low cost :-). I got a few things, like this decorated bowls, for 1 euro;
a set of wine corks for 50 cents, 2 teacups with decorated silver rims, inset in silver cups; antique forks for a euro too and a set of small teapots for 2 euros 50 cents. I also got tapas bowls, flower pots and a wooden stand of sorts. A fine day out I say :-).
For the kids, we got a stack of books for a couple of euros, and my husband bought me a Julie & Julia DVD, at full price from one of the main street shops (and not the flea market) which was open!
There was loads I didn’t buy. This sewing machine for example,
And this Christmasy spade;
The poffertjes pan wasn’t on my list, so it stayed back too, along with the woman having a game of golf and the other things. I did take the teapots though.
But it isn’t all old stuff on sale – new products are also sold, like this Dutch sport shirts.
And these souvenir clogs;
And t-shirts, celebrating Princess Maxima, wife of the Crown Prince Willem Alexander.
There was loads of music, provided in truck bands and in various small squares.
Mostly pop songs and quite enjoyable. These kids were ‘wicked’ on the drums – quite remarkable.
There were guys with street organs, bubble machines and loads of beautiful tulips on display.
There were also loads of food stalls. My girls enjoyed orange candy floss, called suiker spin (sugar spin, in Dutch).
And we watched Lahmacun made fresh, even if we didn’t get to try them, the long queues seemed a testament to their tastiness. Next time perhaps.
I tried some freshly squeezed orange juice – steep in price and lacking in taste. A warning that all that is orange on this day isn’t necessarily good!
I couldn’t resist this beautiful Alsatian…..so I took him (or her) a photo.
In the market place, where traders fill every Tuesday with wares, there was a wealth of sellers, of things…
old
and new.
There were loads of beautiful flowers on display, and for sale. From your regular tulips
to the not-so regular ones, with coloured strips down the length of the petals and curved/frilly edges.
I found them intriguing.
There were other pretty blooms too – a real sign that spring is here.
This year, the kids didn’t milk the orange cow for juice.
Others did though.
Olieballen (Oil balls, literally translated) took a leave of presence, from the Traditional New Year’s eve and appeared garnished in snow.
As did Appelflappen, battered and fried slices of thick apple slices stuffed with kirshy cherries in the centre. Not bad at all
I had fun, as expected. We all had fun.
Till next year, Lang zal ze leven (Long shall she live – The Queen!)
[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Koninginnedag 2010 – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
[…] Make Dutch Appleflappen – deep-fried thick slices of apples wrapped in pastry, stuffed with kirshy cherries in the […]
[…] Sales were slow but the learning was good…for them, plus it was warm – the sun continuing the streak of good weather we’ve enjoyed for the last week. 2 hours later, we closed shop and went wandering ourselves. On the lookout for things to buy and eat. If you happen to wander down the street too…into the city centre, you’ll find all manner of things. Beer. Cupcakes. Olieballen. Even burgers and fries. This year and every year. […]
Looks like fun! I love those stripey jelly sweets. All that orange looks so cheerful!
Thanks. It was a superb orange celebration, which we enjoyed despite the slightly rainy start to the day! Next year, y’all should come over!
Did you bring me back an appelflappen? Those look mighty good 😀
I love all the pics, very festive glad you had a great time–great buys
sweetlife
Oh just check out the Appelflappens! Def something I’d like to sink my teeth into. And that orange fairy floss… nom nom nom
Oh my gosh! I love the humongous orange cow! That’s hilarious.
The tulips are so very, very stunning. As are those multi-colored, layered gelees. They look like candy heaven!
Oh my god, oh my god – those are some wonderful pictures and a wonderful day, and wonderful people and wonderful country. I love it! The orange meringues, and candy floss, and milking a cow for orange juice… oh my…! I didn’t know fairy-tales were for real… 🙂
Have a grate day! Petra
Great day out! All those props were gorgeous, and an absolute bargain!
Such a great post. It is as if I was with you the whole time.
What a fun day! Wonderful photos!
Lovin it, wish I was there!
What a great look at a wonderful day – it certainly looks like you enjoyed yourself. I loved the pictures of the food (or course) and the tulips – so gorgeous!
How colourful and fun looking. Love those cute teapots
happy queen day !! Pierre de Paris
Nothing makes me happier than looking at pictures of a gorgeous market with lots of great food, and great bargains!
Love the photos! Orange everywhere!! 🙂
Magda
That’s a whole lot of orange. You have a fabulous eye behind the lens.
Ozoz,
What a feast for the eyes… thank you for sharing such festive photographs. Keep them coming 🙂
I love the community spirit this day and how everyone seems to embrace the orange! What fun!
Well bought, I particularly like the forks! Remarkable: I found your blog because of the recipes, you could have lived anywhere in the world. Then you turn out to live within cycling distance…
Isn’t life amazing,…..save for me not having a bicycle!
What a beautiful array of pictures! The tulips took my breath away, my father always planted tulips in our garden when I was a child and I’m always taken away by their beauty. I know I could not resist a glamorous cupcake!
What a fun place!
What a fun festival! Your pictures made me feel like I was right there with you 🙂
It looks like you had fun and you scored some nice goodies! I didn’t join in the festivities this year but enjoyed a quiet day at home 😉 Still, looking at your post I suddenly feel a tiny bit of regret! 😉
What fun! Great pictures.
Oh what fun. I love festivals that offer so much. Where I grew up in west Michigan there is a lot of Dutch. This weekend in Holland, Michigan they have the Tulip Festival. You wouldn’t believe all the tulips they plant for that each year(well actually you probably would, being in Holland yourself). When we were kids all the Dutch would wear orange on St Patrick’s Day.
I love the props that you got. The cupcakes are beautiful and look like they would taste so good. I sure miss good Dutch cheese. And I never knew that about Dutch and sweets…so that explains a lot why my mom likes sweets so much (so did I as a kid). I used to love “cotton candy” as a kid, but my favorite now is still the stroopwafel. I have to learn how to make it.
This was so fun thanks again for taking us along!
Ha ha ha :-). The cakes were superb and I’ll be sharing my stroopwaffel recipe later on this week!
Hi!
Funny to see my home made cupcakes back on your website! And thanks for the comment that they were superb! I’ll let you know if my website is ready.
Lisa, the cakes were uitstekend. Really. When next I come to Breda….I’ll knock on your door
How fun! Clogs are cute. What I like the most is the tea pots.