Saturday August 14th, 1999
Already on August 13th cameramen from all kind of German TV-channels tried to find the best places for their cameras, to have the best shots of Queen Beatrix the next day. On August 14th I woke up early and walked to the Oranienburg Palace. For miles around the traffic was ordered to take another road. The main road through the centre was closed, and it was just 9:30am. You could pass the police walking, and that was just what I did. I reached the Oranienburg Palace and found some other curious people who were looking what was going on already. The press was busy again. The red carpet was laid down already so I could easily find out where the Queen was supposed to enter the Palace and I looked for a good place to stay later that day. Near the Palace there was a stall where you could buy stamps of Princess Louise Henriette and get a stamp on it of the Palace, a special issue of today. Next to the Palace the flags of the Netherlands, Germany, Brandenburg and Europe were waving. Around 11:00am the police arrives and walks around a little. Some are going to stand behind the fences, which are placed along the route of the Queen. After 12:00am it is going to be more interesting: the invited press and the guests are arriving one by one, well dressed most of the time. Cameramen are taking their place behind their cameras, policemen take their place in front of the fences. I decided to take my place behind the fence, and not one hour later I am happy I did, as more and more people are coming to find a place. Many people think they can get the best place in the Palace Park, where the helicopter will land, but I don't think so. People pass by and try to sell Dutch flags for 70 Pfennig (in the Netherlands on such occasions you get them for free). One of the selling ladies is fully dressed in orange, although she was German. Further away in the public I see some orange-dressed people with a Dutch flag, of course real Dutch people. At about 1:15pm some German policemen arrive with some Dutch colleagues from Apeldoorn, Venlo and Nijmegen. They will be in line next to the carpet in front of the Palace, which is at the entrance now decorated with two orange-trees. Finally at about 2:45pm some 5000 people are around the Palace to watch the Queen of the Netherlands, a huge event for this little town in the north of Berlin.
Earlier that day Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus were welcomed at the Bellevue Castle in Berlin by the new President of the German Republic, Johannes Rau. From there they take helicopters to Oranienburg and at exactly 2:45pm the first helicopter was seen in the air. The sphere became better and better down on the ground. The Queen stepped out of the third helicopter. She wore an Indian silk-tripartite red-beige ensemble with a crème-coloured hat. She was welcomed by 20 Kita-children of "Flax und Krümel" with handmade paper-flowers. Further the choir "Oranienburger Rentnerspatzen" sang the song "Tritt ein zu dieser Schwelle - willkommen in diesem Land" (come in in here and welcome in this land). The company left the park and ran between all those enthusiastic thousands of people, along the statue of Princess Louise Henriette, to the Oranienburg Palace. She was flanked by amongst others President Rau, the Minister-President of Brandenburg Manfred Stolpe, and the General Director of the Foundation of Palaces and Gardens Berlin-Brandenburg Hans-Joachim Giersberg. As the Queen walked very near the public everybody could see her well. At exactly 3:00pm she entered the Palace. We had to wait for a long time, but the weather was OK and it was good to be outside.
The Queen opened the exhibition Onder den Oranje Boom. Niederländische Kunst und Kultur im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert an deutschen Fürstenhöfen (Under the Orange Tree. Dutch Art and Culture in the 17th and 18th century at German royal courts). On the inner court of the Oranienburg Palace the orchestra Hellendaal played for the Queen. After some mostly dull speeches the exhibition itself was visited. One of the guests was Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia (of course I didn't see him!) who said: "It is a good opportunity finally coming to Oranienburg. I am related to Queen Beatrix, but I have never met her before".
Finally after more than one hour the police suddenly said to the people near the gate of the palace (also me) that when we wanted we were allowed to go on the little square under the balcony in front of the Palace. Not long after I arrived there the Queen, Prince Claus, President Rau with his wife, and the mayor came at the balcony, and I was able to shoot some photos (unfortunately not very sharp). After about two minutes they went back inside and we, the public, waited again. I stayed between the fences and the square and waited what was to come. At about 5:00pm the people in front of the fences were summoned to go behind it, but another policeman told we could go on the square again. They only told me I couldn't make a photo of the cars waiting for the royal company anymore (one carried the royal standard of the Queen and the one of the German president). So that is what I did: I re-entered the square and waited. I talked a little with a German man and with a policeman who told us what was allowed and what not. We were not able to go on the carpet. When the Queen left the Palace we found ourselves in a great position to shoot photos. And that is what we did. The photos on this page are made by that German man, who was so kind to send them to me by e-mail.
When the Queen left the Square I said to her "I see you in the Netherlands" and guess she looked right into my eyes and smiled at me. When I wanted to find out what happened further near the cars, a German camera-team asked me if I was Dutch and wanted to interview me. When that was finished the cars had reached the park. I was just in time in the park to see the helicopters leave Oranienburg. See you next time Queen Beatrix (and that will be on September 21st, on Prinsjesdag, in the Hague).
After the Queen left the German, Ralf, and I ran to his girlfriend and her mother, and guess they were that Dutch people in orange shirts and Dutch flag, and they were from the Netherlands. We decided to have dinner together; it was good to hear some Dutch again after one and a half week. We turned up, very suitable, in the Oranjehus (orange house) hotel-restaurant. We talked to two Dutchmen, of which I had seen one (Oscar) before as he is known as the biggest Orange-fan in the Netherlands and is on TV a lot. They came to our table and I found out very quickly, as I had heard the name, that the second Dutchman, Johan, had been my pen friend for already a couple of years, and we had spoken on the telephone a few times. What a co-incidence and that in this small town called Oranienburg, miles away from home! The most stupid was that I had send him a postcard from Potsdam a few days before, and that he had just written me a postcard from Oranienburg and hadn't even send it yet. After dinner we went with them upstairs to see the summary of the visit of the Queen of the Netherlands to Oranienburg on TV, and Ralf and I even saw ourselves on TV.
Photos: Ralf Graefenstein, Berlin