The international’s guide to carnaval (part 5)

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 the fifth and final part: Extra bonus tips and information about Dutch Carnaval

Firstly: Dutch carnaval music. Good luck, that’s all I can say. Get used to hearing the same Dutch music on repeat in each bar you visit. This is not any old music either: this is Dutch Carnaval music. It’s sort of like Christmas music, it’s fun to listen to at the start, but once you’ve heard the same song on repeat you’re happy to see the back of it.

If you haven’t been able to learn Dutch yet, this is a fun time to learn some of the lyrics. The locals will happily translate them for you. They might go something like: “Have sex with a bald guy” or “There is a horse in the hallway”. Really random lyrics that are either dubbed over a recent chart song or a rip-off of a German classic with a Dutch twist.

You have to dress up
Don’t even think about not dressing up, you would look like the odd one out! The whole point of Dutch carnival is to become someone else, let yourself go and have a great time. This is why all Dutch people will dress up in crazy costumes, the more creative and home-made the better.

You simply can’t get away with it and you have to dress up, so don’t hide, be creative and come up with something fun to be for the week. Many fancy dress shops will pop up around the time of Dutch carnival to supply costumes, no point in renting as it will get damaged. The cheapest place to buy a costume will be Action: it sells a variety of costumes for cheap prices.

Just remember you will be wearing it for a whole week, so make sure it can stand the test of time or purchase a couple of costumes to play around with.

Prepare to drink a lot of beer and Schrobbelèr
If you think you have drunk beer in large amounts before, just wait until you survive a Carnaval. Beer prices in the Netherlands are the same price as Coca-Cola and you are pretty much able to locate beer anywhere you go. Beer taps seem to pop up magically all around the Netherlands during carnival in bizarre places, anyone who is willing to make money suddenly has a tap and offers beer for sale, even outside sushi restaurants, weird!

Just know your limits, Dutch people drink a lot of these small 0,2L beer cups, don’t try and keep up with them, you will fail. Be sure to never drink alone, join in with a group pot and offer to collect the beers from time to time, another Dutch sport, balancing 12 beers on a cardboard holder through a crowd of tipsy Dutchies, good luck!

Schrobbelèr is a local liquor from Tilburg, it’s very common to drink during Dutch carnaval and it’s sort of like a sweeter Jagermeister, worth giving a try. I’m sure you will, they even have a Dutch carnaval song for this drink: “Drink Schrobbelèr la la la la”.

Buy A local Dutch Carnaval scarf
This helps in busy situations, Many bars become packed and its hard to move around, for this reason bars may start to restrict entry. I found one bar in Den Bosch not allowing people in, but because I had a local scarf on, they let me in.

You can buy a local scarf at a number of local bars in each city, just ask around with the locals that you notice wearing them where you can buy your own, they will happily point out the closest bar to pick one up.

Each City around the South of the Netherlands has their own colors and design, In Tilburg the scarf is orange and green. It makes a wonderful gift to remember your time at Dutch carnival and will keep you warm too during the cold nights.

Dutch Snacks
You will find it hard to stop and eat most of the time because you will be too busy partying. Dutch snacks are quick, cheap and easy during Dutch Carnaval and will mostly be your staple throughout the week. Enjoy your Frikandel XXL speciaal, kaassoufflé, krokets and if your lucky you might spot a loempia van for some authentic tasty spring rolls, yummy!