3 October

I think I neglected to inform you all about 3 October last year, but that may have been because we were out furniture shopping instead of taking in all the drunken craziness (I mean, festivities).

3 October is only a holiday here in Leiden, where in 1574 during the Eighty Years' War, the Spanish were finally run out of Leiden (and also Holland) because the Dutch broke the dikes to allow the water to flood the city. Once the Dutch were free from the Spanish, ships brought herring and white bread, and they found leftover mashed potatoes mixed with carrots and onions (called Hutspot) at a Spanish campsite. Therefore, the people in Leiden eat herring and white bread (yuck! it's raw!) and hutspot every October 3 to celebrate! There's also always a huge carnival that fills the streets of the city center.

This year we went out with friends at church to see all the festivities- the concerts, carnival, fried dough (called oliebollen, or oil balls!)! What fun!