June 25 - Delft

Saturday, June 25 - Delft

Of course, this post has to be written in blue. This is another place I visited with my family when I was a child. 

We always had lots of Delft blue stuff around the house. I have a few things left, but the nature of this stuff is that it breaks. One of my Delft tiles has a classic crack that adds character, but the others are still intact. 

And, although my dad was Dutch and liked Delftware, we never did decorate a Christmas tree like this!

I began this day the same way I started out yesterday -- on the train. This time I debarked at den Haag. 

It was Veterans Day, and there were army guys (I didn't see any women) and vehicles everywhere. That was kind of interesting. There was even a guy in a kilt. He was nice enough to pose for me, as long as I photographed him from the back. Ha ha 

It was another gloomy day, but by this time I felt like I was used to the rain and cooler weather. I had bought a few items to make me more comfortable -- leggings and a warmer sweater -- so I was ready for anything the sky might deliver.

After a quick look at the military exhibition, I made my way to the bike rental shop. This shop was somewhat less salubrious than the others, and the bike I was offered seemed a bit rickety, but I swallowed my misgivings and signed the contract. (It turned out to be just fine.) 

Then I asked the rental guy about the best way to get out of town and onto the bike path to Delft. 

He told me, but once I got away from the station, I had no idea what he was talking about.

One of the military guys saw me looking puzzled and asked if he could help. I told him I wanted to ride to Delft. He said, "That's a long ride," (it's about 12 km, so not that far) and sent me in the opposite direction.

I ended up by some streetcar tracks and a multitude of choices as to bike lanes. There were no signs, but finally, using my maps app I figured out the general direction I needed to go. The nice thing about Dutch towns is that there is always a safe place to ride a bike, so at least that is not a concern. Being lost means riding on the wrong bike lane, not on a busy street with four lanes of 80 km/hour traffic. So, in other words, I think I was on the wrong bike lane, but I rode in the general direction until I finally came to some signs, one of which pointed to Delft. The street I rode on was kind of interesting, with Polish, Turkish and African shops. It didn't seem to be the nicest neighbourhood, but when you are on a bike, that is not such a big deal.

I finally got onto Delftweg, which is absolutely delightful. It runs along a canal and again, there is something new to see with every pedal stroke.

I loved all the waterlilies on this stretch of the canal.

The square here was quite busy, and there was even a traditional market underway, but first I wanted to head for the tower. I wasn't taking a chance on its closing earlier than expected.       This tower is the second highest in the Netherlands and has 376 steps, and I must admit, it is quite impressive looking. 

This is a caveat from the website: 

Physical fitness

The tower has 376 steps and reaches a height of 85 metres, so it is only appropriate for visitors with good physical fitness. There is no lift. The tower itself has a total height of 108.75 metres. 

Fortunately, although I am not as young as I once was, I am still reasonably fit, so I was ready to tackle the climb. The first set of stairs is made of wood, and this is followed by a set of stone steps.

And once at the top... the view is marvelous.

The Nieuwe Kerk (new church) from down below

I parked my bike beside the church, just behind the statue of Hugo Grotius, or Hugo the Great. He was a Dutch judge who, as far as I can tell, introduced the idea of "just war." 

The Town Hall seen from the ground

All around the square are shops featuring Delftware. The selection is quite overwhelming, so much so that I couldn't decide what to buy and ended up with just a few small things for souvenirs. 

You can get almost anything in Delft blue, it turns out!

I couldn't decide whether this delftware Nativity set was unbearably vulgar or kind of nice. I do know one thing -- it was expensive. 

To buy three pieces: Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, you would have to part with €395.00! 

I went into this shop, one of the few remaining workshops where traditional hand-painted Delftware is still made. Most of it, like almost everything else n the modern world, comes from China.

And I wandered through the market. There were the normal stalls with cheese, fruit and vegetables, baked goods, fabric and other things, but there were also a lot of used items -- lots of Delftware, some wooden shoes, Indonesian handcrafted items, etc. Prices were good and there was a pretty awesome selection of some really beautiful things. Of course, I didn't have much room so I was not tempted to buy anything, but it was fun to look.

And finally, it was time to head back to den Haag. The ride back along the canal was lovely and peaceful. And then I was back on that same street, with the ethnic shops and this temporary bike lane through a construction zone. Around here, they would just post a sign saying "sidewalk closed" and let cyclists and pedestrians tough it out, but I imagine that in a bike-dominated place like the Netherlands, that would not go over too well.