As spring season comes about in the Netherlands, you'll hear the word "Kermis" more often. During this time of the year, there are plenty of holidays to celebrate in the Netherlands. Among more popular suggestions, "Kermis" finds its away to the top of the list.
A few days prior to King's Day, I visited the popular Dutch city Haarlem. It is a city that is the closest definition of the unexplainable Dutch word "gezellig".
The Kermis in Haarlem boasts itself as the best in the Netherlands. But is it? It is tough to say since there are not just one, but two Kermis in this city. There is one near the city center at the Grote Markt area and another a little further away into the city at Zaanenlaan.
At first, I had just stopped at the city to learn a little more about it. Stumbling upon the Kermis was a pleasant surprise.
Haarlem is a smaller and quiter city not too far from the energetic Amsterdam. However, even after being close to Amsterdam, Haarlem paints a very different picture.
After a quick walk through the calm and quiet city, I suddenly was encompassed by loud cheerful music and excited laughs. Oh, the famous Kermis.
There are many Kermis that pop up in different cities. This would be the first one I could visit. This Kermis was celebrating the King's day event and will stay on for about 2 weeks.
The entire square was decorated in Dutch flag colors and the obligatory smell of freshly popped popcorn surrounded the area. There were plenty of bright colors that brought a new life to the city. Otherwose, the city is more saturated with traditional architecture.
The Kermis attracted a lot of people. I can only assume they were locals but there were others that clearly fit the tourist look, too.
Many stalls with all sorts of games that you'd find in a fair and plushies and prizes of all types and attractions hung eagerly to be won. Did they hang too long? Considering the amount of people up for the challenge, I think many prizes went to new homes.
It was hard to hear anyone standing in the loud music. At one point I thought a ride had defected and got scared for the people atop the large ride. Turns out, it was just a smoke machine. It caught everyone's attention. I didn't linger around that corner for too long as smoke machines aren't my favorite way of corrupting my lungs.
I also had a small hit of nostalgia when I saw the stall of cotton candy. Man, is inflation very bad. The sizes are so tiny now, and the prices are crazy. There were many other treats at the kermis - sweet popcorn, corn on the cob, candies and what not. But no actual food stall. Sugar is all the energy one needs at Kermis.
The largest attraction was the ferris wheel. It had a huge board saying "Kermis" on it. If I were payong more attention to the clouds than the architecture, I'd have caught on much earlier that there's a fair ahead.
The ferris wheel had the longest line conpared to the other rides. A lot pf people lined up to go around the wheel. I bet it's a nice view from up top. The city is beautiful as it is. And an eagle's eye view would be just great.
While most of the rides were for children, there were a few that could entertain adults. For one - the popular shooting range. I see not much has changed. The rides I have seen when I was younger are still here. The disko, the sail boat, the octopus, and so much more. Granted they are all much safer now and aesthetically so much more pleasing.
Now about the coin dropper, a perfevt game for all isn't it? I enjoyed watching many get challenged by it. Such a simple looking yet tricky game.
I loved the kermis was right by the museum of architecture and in front of the De Grote of St. Bavokerk. Both which are of huge significance and carry a lot of the history and part of the culture of the city and the country.
I took a shot at the claw machine before leaving. I wanted a squirtle. 5 tries to get one. It made only one thing very clear. The claws are never tight enough, no matter where or when.
