Our last 3 vacation days we will be spending it further south in the Netherlands, in the Province of Holland. We have a B&B booked for 2 nights in Delft, which is about an hour train ride from Amsterdam.
Delft
Delft is home to the Royal Delft Museum. The museum is almost 400 years old and is where the Delft Blue pottery is produced and crafted so beautifully. I have so many Delft Blue pieces in my house. Some are handed down in our families, some are gifts from our Dutch relatives, and some I won at a silent auction in the North (and my dear friend Susie drove to pick it all up for me!) I felt like I won the lottery!! I am looking forward to visiting the museum, and I am saving room in my suitcase so that I can take something home from here!
Delft is inbetween Rotterdam and the Hague. This is a part of the Netherlands that I haven’t been to before. The King and his wife and 3 daughters will be in Rotterdam on King’s Day, April 27th and who else will be there? – US!!!! I am told that we will never forget our King’s Day experience! We will have to buy orange clothes from the Bloemarket in Amsterdam, so that we can deck ourselves out in orange on King’s Day, otherwise we will look like tourists! lol. but that is in Rotterdam, and I will save that for my next blog…….back to Delft!
Delft is a picturesque canal-ringed town, Delft is known first and foremost for its signature blue-and-white Delft Blue pottery. In addition to its namesake Delftware, the city was also the birthplace of Johannes Vermeer, a painter from the Dutch Golden Age who was best known for his work depicting women in everyday domestic scenes, most notably the mysterious Girl With The Pearl Earring.
Delft has a beautiful town square.
Someone mentioned that if you only have a short time in the city (which we do), that we should consider taking a canal cruise. This way, they say you will get to admire the city the way it was designed to be admired – from the water. They suggest beginning our cruise from the city’s Koornmarkt canal, where our boat will navigate through the historic network of canals. We would take in the impressive Oude Kerk (Old Church) – also known as the Leaning Tower of Delft – which is also taller than its counterpart in Pisa, Italy. End your tour at the Nieuwe Kerk, and enjoy a stroll of the charming streets of the neighboring Old Town. Hmmm…….this sounds like something we should maybe try to do while we are there.
The Oude Kerk nicknamed Oude Jan (Old John) is a Gothic Protestant church in the old city centre. It was founded in 1246, it has 3 pipe organs, and the 2 bells chime every hour and 1/2 hour. I am looking forward to hearing the bells. There are many people entombed in this church, including the famous painter Johannes Vermeer who died in 1675. I think I would like to take a peek inside this church!
If you have been to Delft, let me know! Tell me what we should see and do!
Leave a Reply