The international’s guide to carnaval (part 4)

Say Tilburg, say carnaval! If you are an international student in The Netherlands, it is a tradition that might look strange at first. International student and travel blogger Dave Brett has celebrated the traditional Dutch party for two years now, and he wrote the ultimate guide to celebrating ‘Carnival’ in The Netherlands. During the countdown for carnaval 2015, we will publish it in parts. Today part four: The ultimate day to day plan for Dutch Carnaval, Sunday – Tuesday.

Sunday – Eindhoven, Lampegat bar crawl
Every Sunday of carnaval, Eindhoven plays host to the longest bar crawl along Europe’s longest bar street: Stratumseind. All you have to do is ensure you purchase your pub crawl tie (ticket) online in advance. Then, for one low price, you can visit the 15 bars that are named on your tie and in each bar you can get a beer or shot, and one free snack at the end. Each bar on your tie (ticket) will be struck off and the aim is to start at lunch time and finish visiting them all by the end of the day. Great fun, a lot of beers and a lot of bars to explore around Eindhoven. Be sure to gather a fun group of friends, grab the train in your dress up and have a cracking time.

Monday – Den Bosch float parade and street party
On Monday Den Bosch (‘Oeteldonk’) plays host to a wonderful float parade throughout the day, head there before lunch time. If you are brave enough, you can try “haring happen”, eating a raw fish by lowering it in your mouth by the tail. Haring is a traditional Dutch delicacy along with uncooked onions (good luck!). The float parade on Monday is one of my favourites and you won’t be disappointed. After the parade the main square, all the streets and bars fill up with locals. It’s great fun and the perfect party spot for your Sunday antics.

Tuesday – Cuijk Kuukse Kroegentocht – The ultimate end party!
Now, by this stage of the week you must have consumed a large amount of beer and you’ve been forcing yourself awake each morning to get onto the next day. By this time, you can’t be bothered to take a shower as your costume smells like a bar floor. But get up, kick out that Dutchie dressed as a frog you picked up the night before and jump on a train to Cuijk. Trust me, just do it, you’re almost at the end. Make sure you plan to go with some Dutch friends who will encourage you to be on time in the morning at the central station so you’ll be able to make it on time. You can sleep the next day or on the train! Get up and go! First of all (just like all the other days): please buy your ticket in advance online, this event always sells out and without a ticket you can’t get into the village.

Yes, I said that right, the village has a population of less than 25,000 and for Dutch carnaval the whole city is surrounded by a metal gate and everyone that enters is locked into the small town until home time. Without a ticket, you simply cannot even enter so don’t bother turning up, be sure to arrive in the morning as well as the city has a maximum capacity and they will turn late comers away if the town gets too full, how awesome is that! Being locked in a small town because the party is too big!

Zombie film set
The population increases by 10 and the whole city turns into a massive party, it’s like walking around a zombie movie or film set and it feels surreal that a whole city is taken over by people dressed up in funny costumes. The aim of Cuijk is to visit all the bars on your ticket as quickly as possible to win a prize (notice a carnival theme here). Once you have finished collecting all the stamps from each bar, you have completed carnaval and you will receive a prize. Congratulations, be sure to celebrate this achievement with all of your friends.

Some brave party animals aim to always be the first to complete the bar crawl and every morning once the gates of the village of Cuijk open, ambitious groups aim to be the first to complete the crawl, wearing roller blades and attached together with rope. They roller blade to each bar, take a beer and shot before quickly racing to the next point. It’s crazy, fun and exciting all at the same time and visiting this random enclosed city of Cuijk is the perfect way to end your carnaval adventure.

Once you’ve had enough beers in Cuijk, try to head home before the rush. Cuijk is connected to the major cities by smaller sub city trains that connect to the largest rail network. Make sure you tap out your OV chip card and tap into the different system to avoid paying a fine, the only way out of the city is by this train station so you don’t want to get stuck!

When you’re back in Tilburg, you might be able to catch the closing ceremony in the city centre, see if you can make it back in time!