Current celebrations in the Netherlands

Not only are the Dutch are about to celebrate two days of 'Pinksteren' (or in English, Pentecost) on 8th and 9th June, with a national holiday on the Monday (what we would also call Whit Monday) but the country (in fact The Hague itself) is currently gripped by Hockey World Cup fever and is in preparation for the 'next' world cup on the calendar - that of the football world.

It feels as if banners and decorations are going up everywhere. Admittedly, much of the street decoration takes the form of dayglo orange bunting (truly - orange is everywhere) but Wassenaar has taken a slightly different tack - one that brilliantly (and worringly) reflects the northern European summer. I encountered these brightly coloured umbrellas-as-street-decoration this morning, on several central Wassenaar streets. Quite unique, quite disturbing but oddly creative!