Sinterklaas in town

It is that time of the year, and no child would ever want to miss it: Sinterklaas arrives. I am not quite sure what it is all about. Everybody talks about it, but the whole meaning is beyond me.

This morning is stormy: rain against our windows and later hail. We pick up some hail stones from our window, and it melts in my hand. Strange...

It looks doubtful if we can go into town... but then it clears up a bit in the North, where all hail this comes from. We dress with everything we can find and go on the bike. Even the old Babybjorn (babybag) goes with us. We can hear the music even from our house, it comes with the wind from the North.

There are lots of people in town, lots of children. I look wide eyed. Mama points out Sinterklaas on stage. He arrives with the steam boat over the Rhine. There are big and small Zwarte Pieten everywhere in the crowd. We sing a couple of songs and then Sinterklaas mounts his white horse to ride around town. He passes me very close by and I am actually quite scared. Now I want to go home - I am cold too.