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Geo: 52.0119, 4.36026
I really should have thought through the best dates to take this tour. I've always wanted to say, "If it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium."
So not fair. 😉
I forgot to mention that when we were all walking to dinner last night, we came across a group of boys sitting out in front of their house on some chairs and a sofa eating pizza. Rolinka started to ask them questions. They are all students at the university here, and they all live in the student house. They seemed like really typical college boys - baseball caps, ratty t-shirts, pizza - but they were all studying things like water management, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and even aerospace. They all spoke excellent English (of course) and seemed happy enough to talk to us, though perhaps a bit bemused by a large group of curious Americans.
Our guide for this morning, Renee, is also a student here in Delft, and she is studying what she called Systems Management, which turns out to be infrastructure engineering. She was very enthusiastic, and this was her first time leading a walking tour for Rolinka. She did a pretty good job, I thought. She walked us around the canals, showed us the first iron bridge in Delft (which was originally erected in honor of a Mr. Fish, and during the bridge's first year, only Mr. Fish was allowed to cross it), competed with a very loud coot in the water below us, and took us into the Oude Kerk. The church was very chilly inside, and Rolinka pointed out the light fixtures that double as heat lamps. Each pew also has foot heaters. How very civilized! Vermeer and van Leuwenhoek are also buried in the church, though Vermeer's grave is marked by only a plain plaque in the floor.
We went to the Vermeer Center to use the restrooms and have a "kopje koffie" for 15 minutes. The Center itself doesn't have any Vermeers, but it does have a display of all his works in chronological order in the basement. I went later, and it was nice being able to get right up close, even though it wasn't original art on display. I'm convinced that his male model occasionally doubled as his female model.
Renee took us into the Nieuw Kerk after that to see the tomb of Willem I of Orange, the father of the Dutch royal family.
His tomb is quite ornate and the only interesting thing in the church. Willem himself is depicted twice: once seated in his armor, and once lying down with his dog at his feet. He is surrounded by figures representing Justice, Liberty (who seems to be holding a gold cowboy hat), Religion and Strength, and he is backed by the Angel of Fame. Who knew there was an angel of fame? The crypt beneath him holds dozens of royals, but only royals and specially invited people are allowed to go down. When ex-Queen Beatrix (who abdicated just a few days ago in favor of her son, who is now King Willem IV (but he just wants to be called Willem)) dies, they will have to shuffle all the royal coffins around just to make room for her as the place is full up.
Our next stop was at De Candelaer, one of only three factories left in Delft that produces true Delftware. Steffan showed us how he goes from clay to finished product in his workroom, and we were also able to watch the painter working on a piece. I'm not going to say who, but a few people will be getting
(very small) Christmas gifts from Delft!
We were free after that, and after I went back to the Vermeer Center I got some lunch at a panini place. I don't know why I rarely have ham and cheese sandwiches at home but in Europe they just taste great. Top it off with a Fanta, and you've got yourself a happy lunch.
I did a little shopping and then wandered back to the hotel to work on this blog and to rest up for a while. I've been entertained by the goings-on in the square outside my window. It's been another sunny and very warm day, but apparently it's supposed to start raining tomorrow. Bummer.
Walked back out to pick up some souvenirs (fridge magnet!) and ran into Dawn and Jeff who had just come back from Den Haag. We sat in a restaurant across the square for a little while and had Pepsi and beer (not combined, that would be gross). I had bought a three-pack of Kinder Eggs (Hi, Yvonne!) earlier, so I gave Dawn one because she likes quirky little things. I got an otter, and she got the Tasmanian Devil. I am jealous now. There's one more egg left, and
Delftware
From right to left: just out of the mold; out of the mold for several hours; first glaze; finished product.I'm kind of hoping for a polar bear.
Rolinka and Heidi hosted a happy hour in the hotel lobby at 6:00. There were different kinds of jenever to try, as well as advocaat and a liqueur that tasted like cookies. There was also a small buffet of Dutch cheese, Amsterdam onions, liverwurst, salami, and these delicious fried meatballs with cheese in the middle.
Dawn, Jeff and I went to Albert Heijn (grocery store) and got picnic food for dinner, which we ate on the terrace in front of the hotel. The little unimpressed cat was suddenly very impressed with us, but she gave up eventually and elected to look picturesque on a plant-filled bench instead.
Am now going to put some quality time into trying to pack my suitcase without squashing or breaking anything. Good luck to me.
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Kate
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Sounds like we could learn a few things from the Dutch! Wonder if the family who hosted and fed your entire tour does that as a volunteer thing, or if they get paid. Or maybe you addressed that but I'm reading while I'm eating my lunch...
Looks like a lovely place!! I would be interested to see the Vermeers--loved what he did with light.