@hermann thank you :-) the red bunting on the locomotive and the pennants around the station are in celebration of the Sinterklaas festivities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas which is held from the 11th of November until the main celebration on the evening on 5th of December. This steam train brings the children to meet Sinterklaas on his ship in the harbour of Medemblik.
For a couple of years there has been a lot of controversy about the way Sinterklaas is celebrated. Which is sad because it overshadows the original innocence of the festivities. But the celebration has been commercialised and professionalized which I think has certainly something to do with the controversy. It's age old local tradition (it went through many changes) which has trouble adjusting to the globalising of the world. (Just as many people have that problem).
@hermann Your welcome, I could write about the Sinterklaas tradition and what I think about it for awhile. But this is most likely not the right place for that :-)
For a couple of years there has been a lot of controversy about the way Sinterklaas is celebrated. Which is sad because it overshadows the original innocence of the festivities. But the celebration has been commercialised and professionalized which I think has certainly something to do with the controversy. It's age old local tradition (it went through many changes) which has trouble adjusting to the globalising of the world. (Just as many people have that problem).