Amsterdam looked wonderful on the occasion of the abdication of Queen Beatrix and the investiture of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands on 30 April 2013.
I arrived in Amsterdam on the 29th and in the afternoon spent some time having a look at the area around the Royal Palace. The city looked very festive with the national colours red, white, blue and orange all over the place. Many souvenirs and on top of the big department store De Bijenkorf there were two huge gold crowns of plastic. Lots of curious people in the streets too. It was not too warm, but at least the sun was shining.
Around the Royal Palace in Amsterdam everything was being prepared on 29 April. The canopy was being placed between the palace and the Nieuwe Kerk (new church) next door, on the side of the Dam Square. Equipment and other items were brought in and out of the palace and the church. The microphone (no it is not a bird) was already placed on the balcony, covered with plastic. No flowers yet in the afternoon.
On the other side of the palace, a friend and I just managed to catch a small glimpse of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands entering the palace with her best friend Renée Smith-Röell. But we were quite far away, so you’ll hardly find her on the picture.
