Hello! Over the past weekend, the Netherlands (or mainly the South of it) turned into one huge party place. Brazil is not the only country with a huge carnaval, as the Dutch also love to party. During the carnaval, they really let themselves off the hook and go absolutely crazy - no brakes.

When I say no brakes, I really mean it. What happens during these during the carnaval, stays there. It is five days full of drinking, partying, dancing and listening to the infamous Apres-Ski music. Living in the city center, I know first hand that Breda (or Kielegat - as during carnaval, cities of Brabants turn into their alter egos) simply does not sleep. Every night I fall asleep to the sounds of party - and wake up to those as well!

In this post, I'll show you some of the carnaval - I have pictures from 2019, as well as 2022 carnaval. This year was a little more interesting, as we have not had carnaval in 2021 due to lockdown, while this time - the restrictions were lifted just the day before carnaval.

What Carnaval Is Like

First of all, something that needs to be said is that Dutch people, while at work, are some of the kindest and most professional, working smart and pretty hard. I guess this is partially what makes carnaval as wild as it is - they are simply able to let go and unload all of it during that time. It is a completely wild 5 days where people party everywhere - there's home parties, the clubs are full. What makes it the most exciting though, is that there is partying outside the whole time. The main square is full of people, most of the club and bar streets are full of people, there are stands with beer everywhere.

All of this is not just in the evening. Not even just in the afternoon - the ENTIRE day, you can go out, have a beer and go back home to your normal life. Then if you feel like you need some more partying, some more Apres-Ski - simply go out and have fun again. The city turns into one huge party and everyone dresses up into whatever they want. Dutch people already aren't judgy at all about looks, especially compared to Poland or Bulgaria (or I assume the rest of that part of Europe), but carnaval is a whole different beast. You'll see everything: Winnie the Pooh, walking hand by hand with a slutty nurse; people in pajamas, people in barely any clothes, dressed as animals, wearing crazy onesies. Some will dress like for a Gatsby-themed party, others will wear swimwear.

Personally, I've never been a big fan of dressing up like that - probably because I was shy about it as a kid, as I would see a lot of judging around me. For carnaval though, I hate to miss out. This year I didn't really have a costume, so I just wore accessories, but I do have some interesting looks in my lookbook.

Something exciting is also the fact that many workplaces allow their employees to dress up too! I worked at a big fast-food place and we were allowed to do pretty much whatever we wanted. We had very loud music on while working in the kitchen, so it was almost like a huge party - making burgers while nearly dancing in all kinds of costumes. It is honestly fun to do whatever you are doing during carnaval, because.. everything just feels so "in the mood".

The Mess

There is a much less beautiful part to carnaval though and it is that - with all the crowds and beer drinking, the trash has to go somewhere. In Kielegat at least, this simply happens on the street. It is universally accepted to do so, as I don't believe any kind of trashbins could even hope to have as much capacity as is needed.

That said, what is even more impressive is that in the brief break from partying between 4-5am and 8-9am.. Everything is gone. Every morning the city makes sure that everything is completely clean - of course, some stuff gets stuck to the ground and is left there - confetti-like things, etc. Other than that though, it looks just like nothing happened.. Until everyone wakes up and it's rinse and repeat all the way from Friday till Tuesday! Keep in mind there are also pre-parties both on Tuesday and Thursday night.

Can't take a step without stepping on trash.

Even if you do step on clean ground, chances are your shoe will get all sitcky with beer and whatever else has been spilt. I've slipped tons of times myself.

Us

To finish this post off, I would love to show you some pictures of how we look like when we go to celebrate carnaval! Here goes:

Let's say we're Mickey and Minnie Mouse, although I just look like a creepy mime.

This is what was done to my face this year.

Luckily my girlfriend tends to take all the attention!

The next day we took our friend!

My girlfriend was dressed as herself - a crazy flamingo lover. Me, on the other hand.. I just had a beer on my head.

The more flamingos, the better.

Closing Words

Carnaval is an amazing experience, although it can get extremely overwhelming. You can have a great time, provided you don't mind crowds. If that is not your thing.. Perhaps just come and take a look - it always happens somewhere around the end of February and beginning of March. There are parades and great costumes to look at.. And once you see all these people, maybe you'll be lured in for a beer anyway.