Carnival in The Netherlands

Streets filled with partying people, Dutch traditional music everywhere, and most importantly: lots of beer. The South of The Netherlands celebrated Carnival last weekend, and several EUR Internationals celebrated along. The festivities officially ended yesterday evening.

IBCoM students Fleur Poiesz and Sophie van Kuppeveld, and exchange student Fábio Salmoni from Brazil, all emphasize the good atmosphere in the cities they visited. “Complete strangers invite you for a drink with their friends”, Fleur – from the States – says.

Sophie and Fleur went – separately from each other – to Breda with friends from their sorority RVSV, Fleur on Monday and Sophie on Friday. Fábio went to Den Bosch on Monday. All went to bars to celebrate. The amount of Rotterdam students in Breda was noteworthy. Sophie: “I’ve met many people from RSC” – Rotterdam fraternity Rotterdamsch Studenten Corps.

Fleur (on the right) with her friends in Breda.

The Joker

It’s tradition to dress in funny clothes: Sophie as a tiger and Fleur as a cat. “I didn’t wear anything special, but my friend went as The Joker from the Batman movie”, Fábio adds. “Make sure to dress in clothes you don’t care about a lot”, Fleur hints. “Other people might accidentally spill beer over your outfit”. 

Unexpected party

The festivities during night take mostly place inside. “A bit unexpected to party at a club at 5pm”, Fábio laughs. “I couldn’t understand the lyrics of all the traditional Dutch songs, but the atmosphere was great.”

Fábio (on the right) with his friends in Den Bosch.

Lots of beer

It’s a good tradition to drink a lot of beer during carnival, which can be difficult with appointments during early hours the next morning. Fleur: “Luckily I drank water and ate soup before”. Sophie had a harder time: “I had to start work 8.15 am the next day. When I got home, I fell asleep at the couch immediately.”

Sophie (on the right) taking shots with her friends in a bar in Breda.