May 5, 2009 Liberation Day!

We love our oversize furniture in our apartment....

We started the day by heading out for some Mexican food. I had read about a place called the Taco Shop which was run by Americans and served big burritos like Taco del Mar or some SoCal burrito place. About 1km from our place, we went for a sample, and enjoyed it, though miles from the real Mexican food we craved. On the way back we passed this great sign by a children's play area. It shows that you shouldn't let your dog poop here because of the kids...we need these in the US!

5mei in the Netherlands is Bevrijdingsdag, which is Liberation day. It is the day that the Netherlands was liberated from German occupation at the end of WWII. While Memorial Day is somewhat quiet and proper, bevrijdingsdag is more of a celebration. Its not as crazy as Queen's Day, but it is a party still. There are pockets of activity all over Amsterdam (and the rest of the country).

We chose to walk a few blocks over to the Museumplein which is the large open space in the shadow of the amazing Rijksmuseum. There were multiple stages setup and a carnival atmosphere.
On our walk over, we were standing on Ferdinand Bolstraat, looking at a picture that had been nominated for an award (the diver next to Saviya in the middle-didnt win). All of a sudden a dude on a little vehicle went by, sounding like an organ grinder...i love the look Saviya gives it..

We were sorta late to the festivities, it had thinned out. We did watch one band that was called Boy Named Sue (or Sue's), which of course was a Johnny Cash tribute band. They were actually really good, and prob 500 people gathered at their stage stompin their feet and singin along.

Here is a nice panarama of the Rijksmuseum from the other side, near the canal on Stadhouderskade

Queens Day Posters around the city have Photoshopped other faces in, here is one with Hillary Clinton

-Colin