mybluebicycle: Leidens Ontzet - 3rd of October celebrations

3rd of October is the Leiden's Relief and the celebrations have started on friday! everybody is on the streets, celebrating the relief. There is a biig funfair in the middle of the city with a roller coaster, mini London eye, something like bungee jumping, carousel, bumper cars and many more funfair games. having tried couple of them, I think the best was the mini london eye at night as when you are at the top, you can see the whole city and it is an amazing view.
Besides the funfair, there is a lot going on in this weekend in Leiden. There are concerts, competitions, dinners and some of the museum entrances become free in this weekend. One of these museums is where the 'hutspot pot' (this pot is left by the Spanish on 3rd of October when they are escaping from the city) is exhibited. Some part of the canals are closed so that people can stand on it and dance, eat, drink and speak to each other. A variety of music is played at nights. You can find 4 different concerts at the same time along the same street! most of the restaurants are turned into open air clubs with different dj every night. Moreover, bars, pubs and cafes come off the streets. Restaurants took their kitchens in front of the doors.
In terms of food, there is all kinds of food for every taste from Greek food to Thai, from Chinese to döners and lot of hamburgers, hotdogs, waffles, candies and fish. The city Hall gives free herring on the 3rd to people who are registered for it. However, as there is high demand, registration must be done at least 1 or 2 weeks before the 3rd of October. Other traditional Dutch food is Hutspot which is actually mashed potatoes with carrots and onions in it. It is quiet delicious though. They serve this with meat and you can find hutspot in almost any bar or pub.
and of course, BEER! a lot of beers. Heineken is what you drink all weekend.
It can be said that people hardly go to their homes. Everyone is out. Number of tourists, students and people who would like to see the celebrations from other cities such as Den Haag, Rotterdam or Amsterdam should not be underestimated. When this is coupled with restaurant kitchens, bar tables, bistros, parked bicycles on the street, it becomes even more difficult to walk.
The quiet, calm city is gone, now we have a loud, super dynamic city!