Just when we thought this trip couldn’t get any better, we find ourselves in Delft for our last three days! This little town just south of Amsterdam is full of old buildings with picturesque facades, small canals, inviting cafes, and cultural history involving Johannes Vermeer, the House of Orange, the Dutch East India Company, and of course Delft Blue pottery.
Delft is also know for its markets, especially the Sunday flower market. As we arrived via train and sat at pretty much the first street corner cafe we could find, we witnessed nearly everyone carrying bouquets of flowers either by foot or on bikes! We ourselves were too tired to find the market or do anything but sip beer, but we sure enjoyed the people-watching scenery.
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| Delft Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) door |
And today, semi-recovered, we took off on a bike ride (yes, another bike ride!), this time on our own to the nearby town of Den Haag (The Hague). I was rather on a pilgrimage to see certain famous Dutch paintings, and Kent has become quite an art appreciator himself. At the Mauritshuis, we viewed masterpieces such as
The Girl With the Pear Earring (Vermeer),
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp (Rembrandt), and, amazingly,
The Goldfinch (Fabritius)! Not a bad haul for a 13.5 mile bike ride!
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| Kent & the crowd appreciating a very famous painting at Mauritshuis in Den Haag |
Our hotel room in Delft has wide windows opening up to stunning views of a canal and Nieuwe Kerk built in the 1500s
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| Flowers in Delft |
It’s been fabulously wonderful weather these past few days and we are soaking it all up.
We hope everyone back home is enjoying some nice sunshine by now.
We know we won’t be seeing any 500+ year old buildings when we get back, but we are definitely looking forward to springtime with the home folks!
Tot ziens!
