A Good Ride

For all you non-football fans out there, I promise this is the last post I will make about the World Cup. The problem is, when you live in a country as football crazy as Holland, and the team actually makes it to the Final, it's seriously all you live and breathe for four weeks. It has been hard to contain our excitement even though the Orange ended the tournament with a loss against Spain in the Final.

Here are some pictures from the atmosphere in Amsterdam during the Final match on Sunday followed by the Dutch Team homecoming celebration on Tuesday.

Watching the World Cup Final at Museumplein

On Sunday, over 120,000 Dutch fans dressed in orange filled into Museumplein to watch the World Cup Final between the Netherlands and Spain on five massive screens. It was a disappointing last-minute overtime loss for the Orange, but the experience of being a part of the atmosphere and anticipation made the whole thing worthwhile. Even standing for over five hours to reserve our spot in the crowd was worth it!

Our location in the crowd.

The Van Gogh Museum's tribute to the team.

Was this sign meant for the players or for the crowd?!?

The gang in position, dressed in orange, and ready to watch the match.

Homecoming Celebration

Even coming in second place, there was no shortage of celebration in Holland. When the players arrived back from South Africa on Monday, their plane flew over Amsterdam escorted by two fighter jets to let everyone know the team was home. Their arrival was followed by a massive homecoming celebration on Tuesday, which included a visit with the Dutch Prime Minister and Queen Beatrix, a parade via boat through the Amsterdam canals, and a massive dance party and celebration at Museumplein to wrap-up the festivities. It was truly an amazing experience and confirmed without a shadow of a doubt that Holland is beyond football crazy. It was the biggest homecoming party we had ever seen for a second place finish in our lives.

A great video from the payers' homecoming parade and dance party in Museumplein can be found HERE. This proves that there were definitely no poor sports or sad faces here...such a refreshing approach to coming in second place!


We have to admit we are feeling a little knackered after all the anticipation and excitement of the last four weeks. It will be nice for our lives to return to normal even though we would never trade in this once in a lifetime Dutch experience for anything!


See you in four years, Orange!