We’d already heard about Giethoorn, its canals and its pretty houses.
But mostly, a lot, a lot, a lot about its tourists.
So naturally, for our first visit, we chose the quietest moment of the year: the big gondola parade.
There were indeed a few busloads of tourists.
There were lots of people.
And it was raining.
And yet, we really liked it.
We were half expecting some kind of Dutch Disneyland. A very pretty village, sure, but completely swallowed up by tourism. Boats lined up one after another, souvenir shops everywhere and people all trying to take the exact same picture in the exact same spot.
But that’s not really what we found.
Along the canal, people settle in quietly. The regulars arrive with their folding chairs. Their blankets. Their umbrellas.
We, of course, had planned none of that.
We just had a dog.
Which, in pouring rain, turned out to be much less useful than an umbrella.
So we invested in an umbrella.
We found a spot along the canal quite easily and settled in as best we could, with our brand-new umbrella, our children and a bulldog that was starting to smell very seriously like wet dog.
And then we waited.
Before the main parade, a few boats pass along the canal.
Local boats, local people, an atmosphere that feels much more like a village festival than a huge tourist attraction.
They are imagined and built by local groups. There are local marching bands, the town’s senior choir, kids from the circus school, the local museum.
It’s simple.
A little homemade.
Very local.
And actually quite special.
Then comes the big parade — around ten “gondolas”.
Residents, families, neighbours and friends spend weeks working on their boats.
Around ten large floating sets slowly make their way along the canal, lit up, decorated and sometimes wonderfully strange.
It’s not a Disneyland parade.
And in the end, that’s exactly why we liked it.
There’s something really charming about this slightly strange mix of local tradition and tourist attraction.
Don’t expect food trucks every ten metres, kids’ activities, merchandising stands or fifty things happening around the parade.
Here, the main event is simply… the parade.
People bring their things, sit by the water and wait for the boats to go by.
That’s pretty much it.
The cafés are open if you want a drink beforehand, but you’ll probably have to squeeze your way in.
By the end of the parade, we were soaked.
The dog was soaked.
The kids were delighted.
And unlike all the sensible people who were probably heading home for a hot shower, we had planned to go and sleep…
in a tent.
Because after Giethoorn, we were off to try another major Dutch cultural institution:
camping.
The next morning, I was still slightly damp.
Adventure is adventure.
