Prince's Day 2012

Today is the start of Parliament here, which is called 'Prince's Day'. This is a big deal and one that is full of ceremony! Even the schools are closed so that kids can experience the queen's parade.

We had recently learned about an expat group called 'The American Women's Club' and today I (Melissa) joined our new friend Shannon (who recently moved here with her husband from Colorado) at a luncheon to watch the queen's parade. The American Women's Club hosts a luncheon every year, during the parade, at a local Indonesian restaurant that is perfectly situated alongside the parade route. Our luncheon was up on the second floor (this is actually what we consider to be the third floor back in the U.S.) and it was a great spot for taking photos! You will see below that I went crazy with Carrie's camera!

Today's events lasted from around 11:00am until around 2:00pm. You will see at the beginning of my photos the various military personnel and police all positioned for the parade. Then you will begin to see several photos of parade participants heading 'away' from where I was located. They were heading to Parliament, which is where the queen delivers a short speech prior to opening the new session of Parliament.

Among the photos, you will see two black carriages and one golden carriage. The black carriages are transporting the queen's family... a brother and I'm not sure who else. The golden carriage is the one that transports the queen (queen Beatrix), her son (Willem Alexander - Prince of Orange) and his wife (Princess Maxima). You will see some close up photos of the queen as she was being transported to Parliament. You will also see a close up photo of the princess on their return back to the 'working palace'.

Needless to say, I was able to take these photos because of the close proximity of the restaurant to the parade route and because Carrie happens to own a great camera!

I am told that everything in the parade has meaning... unfortunately though, I have no idea what any of it means. Also, it is my understanding that the golden carriage only comes out once a year, for this event.

By the way, although I did not see this, the day began with a leader of parliament delivering a briefcase to the queen that contained the government's fiscal budget. Also, don't be surprised to know that Shannon and I rode our dutch bicycles to the event and then afterwards I rode mine to my third dutch language class. (My head is spinning... big time!)

Enjoy the 100+ photos! This was an amazing experience and one that I am glad to share through these many random photos.

First... a few photos of the Indonesian food... which was absolutely delicious!