What country has a national holiday for a massive birthday party? The Netherlands! That day is today, 30th April, Queen's Day or Konninginnedag. One of my favorite days in Amsterdam! Koninginnedag dates back to 1885...first on 31 August for Queen Wilhelmina's birthday, it then moved to it's current date in honor of her daughter Juliana's birthday who [...]
I really do love Amsterdam. We had the great pleasure of living in this wonderful city (feels more like a town or village) for four years. Amsterdam was never on my list of places to go but when I made my first visit, I fell in love. It was a gorgeous sunny day in May...locals [...]
This was always one of our favorite mornings of the year when we lived in Amsterdam...the second Sunday in November, Sinterklaas arrives via steamship from Spain!! People gather on bridges, streets and boats to celebrate his annual arrival! In the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas' Eve (December 5, he also shares my birthday!) is THE holiday tradition [...]
In today's travel world, its hard to 'fly the friendly skies.'  Airlines are too busy cutting costs, increasing fees and merging to take care of their customers. The bright fluffy cloud in the friendly skies for me is KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, now celebrating 90 years in the business making them the oldest airline in the [...]