Februari Feesten

Carnival comes early to Maastricht this year: Feb 7-9. My PT tells me that, since the mayor has to parade through the Wyck atop his float in early January, the Christmas garland had to come down the day after New Year’s to make way.

 

I missed the parade, but there is an unusual amount of prep going on well ahead of the usual time.  Store windows are already being boarded up, the painted murals appearing along the ‘skade.  Bert and Benthe are putting up real Venetian masks at Le Cle, next door.

In the middle of gearing up my Carnival thinking, I got a message from a US friend: Did I know what the February Kruikenjacht celebration is? 

She sent this helpful picture of a trophy.

This took some digging.  The Kruikenjacht seems to be a winter competition held in woodlands north of Amsterdam.  Web sites indicate a cold February weekend in the , a mix of orienteering and pub-crawl.  Teams of two or three sleeping out overnight, hike from pub to pub,during the days.  There is a party at the end and awarding of a stone-bottle trophy. 

The video summary raises more questions that it answers for me.  

I likely prefer Carnival, but has any reader done this, or knows more about it?

Carnival 2015

Carnival is the annual pre-Lent party and the biggest thing going in Maastricht, late winter.  Sometimes it snows, other times rain, but all times it’s a feast of bright colour, boundless creativity, diluted beer, and questionable taste.

This year dawned cold and clear: when I went out early to ick up milk and croissant, there were only a few costumes tumbling along the cobbled streets, scant tricolours hung.

 

But at the Vrijthof, the square was filling quickly with families, themed groups, carts, and music.

 

The ‘t Mooswief rolled in and the crowds swelled.

 

The Raising was a bit anticlimactic because the confetti failed to deploy, so the mayor fired a few extra cannon shots for effect.

Then back to the ‘skade to watch the parade pass beneath the windows.  Its one of the best things going about my apartment, especially when a beer truck sets up just downstairs.

      

And the revelry, the oompah music and the Brazilian drums, the bier en frites, laughter and shouts, rolled down every street and echoed through each alleyway, all the night long.

Many more, and many better pictures on my Flickr site.

Amsterdam @ Twilight

Business ended as the sun set; my flight was hours away.  Better time taken strolling than sitting.  Dusk brought out the city’s lights and color, reflecting in the still canals and along the rain-slick streets.

‘Not an evening to be rushed; ‘not a time to be lost.

Sighting royalty (and the food fair)

The Dutch Anniversary event was a good one, all sunny skies and broad smiles filling the Markt Square.  The Royal Bus delivered the entourage at midafternoon beneath the gantry’d gaze of Dutch televising, relayed to a jumbo screen along the perimeter of the Square.  For most of the ceremony, it seemed that the crowd had it’s back to the event, preferring the grainy images on the Big Screen.

 

There was a brief signing ceremony in the City Hall, then everyone took their seats for the fashion show and musical performances.  It was hard to see much: the Royals were seated well down in the Orange Box Seats.  Maxima was easiest to spot beneath her enormous hat, King Willem-Alexander, similarly, beneath his big-handed wave to the crowd.

A presentation coach once advised me to watch how professional politicians give a speech, the way they use their hands and gaze, how they switch from factual to personal modes of connecting.

There is similarly an art to working a receiving line and a crowd: Does each person’s anticipation yield to satisfaction, had how is the trick turned?  It’s a study of how the King pauses, smiles, makes a remark, shakes hands, moves on.

Of course, as king, he is shielded by protocol and security.  There will be few hostile encounters, nobody in line who wouldn’t be elevated by their moment alongside royalty.  Unlike a politician facing a mixed crowd, the King is assured of friendly passage, he likely becomes more panda than panther within that bubble.

The pageant continued, twirling gowns and singing schoolchildren behind layered rows of security watching the crowd’s every movement.

 

A few signs advocated abolishment of the monarchy, and a burst of red, white, and blue streamers tangled on the speaker system, but otherwise the event was postcard perfect.

  

I have to admit that I was wrong about the military vehicles arrayed along Kesselskade.  They were part of an armed forces exhibition put on in conjunction with event, evident when children started crawling over the troop carriers and a specialist showed off the gyrations of the bomb-disposal robot.

 

After festivities, the Royals briefly visited Preuvenemint the annual food festival in Vrijthof Square.  A few booths closest to the Theater were cordoned off so that the entourage could sample a couple of items.  But most of the event was undisturbed, a festive mix of music, fashion, nibbles and drinks.

   

I didn’t try much food this year, instead favoring a couple of café’s closer to my apartment.

 

But I still like taking advantage of late summer evenings to get out and mingle, to see how much Dutch conversation I can understand while eavesdropping, and to look for a good bottle of wine to share with friends at their ‘mix ‘n mingle’ dinner.