Edam to Haarlem – King’s Day

A massive national holiday, King’s Day falls on the birthday of the current king or queen of The Netherlands. Today was the day. Signs of the party showed up Wednesday afternoon with flags and orange decoration everywhere, but the sounds were in the air beginning around 8 a.m. with a marching band practicing outside our hotel. Then off on the bikes again, through the swamplands outside of Edam on narrow paths, then narrow roads, then more swamplands, which were suddenly spattered with the ancient windmills that have come to be the symbol of Holland. As it turns out, Zaanse Schans’ famous windmills exist because some good Samaritan rounded up several around the country to preserve them here. It is a big tourist attraction, but some are still at work, churning out oils and various other products that can be produced by slow churning blades.

We had a yummy lunch (Fish n' Chips and grilled cheese/tomato soup) at BrowerijHoop in Zaandijk, crossed a couple of large canals – we called them ‘moats’ -  via a barge ferry, onto which drove a huge tractor after we pedaled our bikes off. We pedaled through a couple villages where King’s Day revelry was afoot – everyone wearing orange, live bands (and an orchestra) playing, people oddly selling their second hand items on a blanket like a communal yard sale – and then when we finally reached Haarlem – a large, gothic city that is considered the capital of North Holland – people were drinking in the streets all over the place. We had an amazing Indonesian dinner at De Lachende Javaan – super spicy fish for me and ginger pork for M.  Then we called it a night after a gelato cone. The DJ outside is still raging.