King’s Day Amsterdam 2024
On the 27th April, I went to Amsterdam for King’s Day and while the actual day was a great celebration, by the time night had started to fall, the day took a sinister turn.
On the 27th April, I went to Amsterdam for King’s Day and while the actual day was a great celebration, by the time night had started to fall, the day took a sinister turn.
My trip to Amsterdam was a last-minute decision as a friend who lived there invited me in the week to go and stay at his for the weekend. I accepted and was excited to see what the weekend had in store.
I had a bit of trouble with the flight being delayed (as seems common now) but I arrived in Amsterdam on the Friday evening in time to enjoy a few beers and soak up the atmosphere. The city was jovial as the bars seemed lively and everyone was keen to have a merry time.
On King’s Day, Amsterdam was packed and in a sense it was nice. Streets were entirely pedestrianised, and you could sit out and enjoy a beer while watching the world go past. People were all dressed in orange and boats filled the canals as the city was in a mood of celebration, there were street parties galore.
However, as day turned into night the mood of the city changed. What had once been a welcoming and friendly mood changed into quite a hostile environment and this is where my problems begun.
We had been in the centre of Amsterdam and had decided to go to Vondelpark to enjoy whatever sunset we could’ve had in the park but ended up having to pass through Reguliersdwarsstraat (the city’s gay village) to get to Vodelpark. The area was so busy, I felt uncomfortable with how many people were in the area as trying to even pass through the street was difficult and the whole street was like a nightclub. It sounds fun, but I didn’t want to be stuck in the street and everyone was taking themselves very seriously. Even trying to get passed people was difficult.
The what seemed inevitable happened and I got split up from the group that I was with and because the city was now so busy, even trying to stay still to find my friends was difficult. I then decided to try and find a quiet area but it was difficult and now being on my own, things started to get weird.
There were big groups of lads just pissing on the side of the street and once they had finished their beers, they were just throwing them up in the air not caring where they landed. I was even spoken to in Dutch by people I passed and when I replied in English they shouted aggressively back in Dutch. Perhaps it’s a response to Amsterdam’s tourist problem and the feeling that tourism is destroying the city. Similar to current feelings in Barcelona.
When trying to then find a bar to regroup with my friends, I felt an empty bottle of wine wizz past my ears and then in front of my face. I looked behind me and a group of lads stared back at me with an empty gaze. It was a bit worrying as I was still alone at that point.
After that, I managed to meet back up with my friends and I decided enough was enough and went to bed. After a great day, the night had certainly ruined my mood but I will say that I had other friends who had gone to Amsterdam for King’s Day had no problems so maybe I was just unlucky which unfortunately can happen.
So would I recommend King’s Day? Yes, but I’d try and make the most of the day and have solid plans for the evening. Another option could be to go to another city in the Netherlands for the day where there may be less tourists and you can have more authentic day.