Not Feelin’ Blue in Delft

Today we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast here at our B&B. The owners put out food and let their visitors help themselves. After breakfast we walked to the train station, bought tickets and boarded the train for Delft. The train was pretty full, but we found seats without any real problem. We enjoyed watching the countryside and relaxing.

We got to Delft around 10:00 and managed to find the right tram to take us to the Delft Pottery Company (De Delftse Pauw). This is not the big Royal Delft, but a smaller independent factory there in Delft. We could have visited Royal Delft as well, but Rick Steves (in Rick we trust) suggested this factory as a better and less commercial alternative. We had a short tour with just three of us taking part. There were a couple of people hand painting pieces prior to firing. After the tour we were able to walk through the showroom where—surprise!!—stuff was for sale. I didn’t know that we needed any Delftware, but apparently we did… We had it shipped so it’ll be a month before we get our tulip vase! I’m hoping that we can live without it for that long.

Vicki:  The tour of the factory was interesting but brief.  We were shown how clay is poured into a mold.  It dries and is released from the mold.  The piece is allowed to cure then fired for the first time.  It is painted, glazed, and fired for the second time.  It was a 15-minute tour literally.  I did find a tulip vase that is very pretty.  Happy anniversary, George!

We were going to take the tram back to the city center, but we asked the lady at the factory about walking. She told us that it was a 30-minute walk along the canal, and directions were simple: “Turn right at the second bridge.” It was a cool day with a nice breeze, so we strolled back along the canal to the old city.

In old Delft we walked around a little and found a canal-siderestaurant with tables set up on a barge that looked nice. We split a big Dutch pancake with apples and bacon. Vicki had mineral water and I had a 7 ounce diet Coke for $3—not like any size for a dollar at McDonalds!

After lunch we walked around Delft, visiting a couple of churches, the Old Church and the New Church (built between 1396 and 1496—obviously new). All of the monarchs of the Netherlands are buried in the New Church—from William of Orange in 1651 to Queen Juliana who died in 2004. The Old Church (first built in 1246) contains the graves of Johannes Vermeer and Anton von Leeuwenhoek of microscope fame.

After our walk we managed to stop once more for an apple tart and coffee before walking back to the station to catch a train back to Amsterdam. The train was more crowded than before, and we had to wait until the train stopped at the next town and people got off before we could get seats.

We’re now back in our room, having stopped at a grocery along the way to get some bread and cheese for a simple supper here after our long day (step count 13,538).