Postcards from Emily and Gloria
Heart of Belgium and Holland in 11 Days
Delft
You've probably heard of Delft before, even if you didn't know it was a city in the Netherlands. Delftware pottery is the most famous export from the town, and the blue and white patterns can be seen all over the world. We arrived just as the sun was setting that evening, and the streetlights cast beautiful reflections on the mirror-still waters of the canals. Where Ghent and Bruges had felt more bustling and active, my first impression of Delft was one of stillness and calm. It wasn't a long walk to the hotel from where the bus dropped us off, but we couldn't see the hotel until the last minute when we rounded a corner, and we were met with a magical square just in front of the Hotel de Plataan (which means the plain tree).
Most of the water of the canals was dark and smooth, perfectly reflecting the lights. Our hotel wasn't right on a canal, but it DID have this 15-or-so foot tall Delftware-style lamp sculpture in the square that the hotel opens onto... and the whimsy of that alone was enough to make me smile.
TRAVEL TIP
Give that night photo a try. Even if your camera or your phone doesn't SEEM to be taking a great shot at the time, you might be surprised when you look at the photos under different lighting. Sometimes they turn out like this one, full of a warm glow.
The Delftware designs have even made it onto the bicycles! (Just kidding, it's an advertisement for a shop, but I thought it was very charming nonetheless.)
Up until now, I'd spent a lot of time thinking that Dutch sounded a lot like English when I looked at a lot of the words... but then I learned that Hotel De Plataan did not in fact have anything to do with bananas (I thought it might, because it sounded sort of like plantain, which I know, is a stretch), it means 'the plain tree'. Every room in this hotel is different, with some of them having special surprise themes like Egypt, an African safari, and a rainforest. Mom and I didn't get one of the themed rooms, but ours was still very pretty with an autumnal leaf theme throughout.
Plataan does not mean banana!
I mean, look at the colors on the beef tartare with whipped goat cheese that was my appetizer choice... mwah! Chef's kiss!
Mom's appetizer on the top left was a
vegetable risotto that she said could have been
a meal all on its own. She had the filet of trout with
roasted root vegetables, and I had the steak with fennel.
That strange looking orange dish there at the bottom was our dessert, and we were all puzzled about it at first. But after we tried it, it was delicious, and not overly sweet. It tasted like a ricotta-based sweet pudding, topped with cocoa nibs, granola, and very tart little berries that Nico told us are native to this region of the Netherlands.
A new "home base" city means having dinner together the first night there for our group. So after we checked into the hotel and took a little time to relax in the square out front, we walked a short distance to the night's restaurant. This particular dinner was probably my second favorite of the tour, with the absolute favorite coming up in Amsterdam later on. Our restaurant was named De Kurk (The Cork, in English), and contains both an interior seating area and bar... and a converted greenhouse. We were very lucky, and our tables were right in the middle of the greenhouse and the atmosphere was gorgeous. Almost as pretty as this food! As an artist, you know I appreciate the beauty of vibrant colors and contrast, and this was easily the most aesthetically pleasing meal we had anywhere.
Nico wound up sitting next to me tonight, and I finally tried his favorite beer - Duvel! He taught me the proper way to pour your Duvel, because in Belgium every beer has a very specific glass that goes with it, and there are nearly 1500 different beers produced in Belgium; so that's a lot of glasses. To correctly pour your Duvel, you have to do it in one fluid movement, starting with your glass at about a 45 degree angle, sliding the beer down into the bottle along the edge of the glass. When you've poured half of the beer, you straighten the glass and pour the beer straight down to create the head of foam. He said to turn the glass in your hand while pouring, and because the glass was so round and I have small hands, that was harder than it looked!
TRAVEL TIP
Try your guide's favorite things! You can't get a much better endorsement for a food, drink, or sweet treat than what they would recommend to you.
Today's itinerary: a morning walking tour with a local guide, ending at the De Candelaer Delftware workshop. We would have the afternoon free, so Nico had given us a few ideas for possible ways to spend our time, including taking the streetcar into The Hague. Mom, Lori, and I decided we wanted to go see The Hague! Nico had asked the group at dinner the previous night if we'd be interested in gathering outside of the hotel the next night for a sampling of typical Dutch treats, so many of the group went to do that. We did go, but I mostly used the time to catch up on my travel journal and finish painting the postcard of the Bruges Bear that I sent to my good friend Beth. I almost wound up holding an impromptu journaling workshop - several of our group wanted to know how I was doing things. I hope they were inspired to try their hand at their own!
Our local guide met us bright and early in the main square in front of the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church). The Dutch people have many wonderful qualities, but I'm not entirely convinced that creative naming is one of them!
The wall to the left here is a map - but not just any map. This one is a giant mosaic made of thousands of tiny pieces of pottery, made here in Delft.
The New Church is a protestant church constructed in 1381. Even today, when members of the royal family pass away, they are interred here in the royal vault under the New Church.
Above is the tiniest house in Delft! I'm not a huge person, but I feel like even I would struggle to find enough space in a home that narrow.
The Ould Kerk (Old Church) is known for its leaning tower. The tower began to lean during construction due to unstable foundations, so the people building it attempted to correct the leaning by laying the remaining bricks in lead, and at a slightly different angle than the lower part, to try and balance the weight.
The Staadsbakerij de Diamantenring (State Bakery of the Diamond Ring) has many delicious goodies for sale in their cases. But they are known to produce these butter cookies called Scheve Jantjes; named after the leaning tower of the Old Church "Leaning John". If you like shortbread, these could be for you! Nico bought a few boxes so we could all try one while we walked.
I like any tour that includes a mid-tour coffee break. Nico and our local guide treated us to a coffee or tea of our choice. The coffee shop was next to the oldest art supply store in Delft - and I wanted to pop in really quickly during our break but sadly, they were closed on that day. But the cappuccino I ordered was delicious!
Our intrepid group of travelers gathered together where you can truly see the extent of the lean of the belltower of the Old Church. Leaning John is right!
De Candelaer is one of the last companies in Delft to truly hand make and hand paint their Delftware. According to the owner who told us some of the history of the famous white and blue pottery style, and the process of making it, most pieces now are stamped with their designs in factories, not family-owned businesses like this one.
Each piece of Delftware that De Candelaer makes is stamped on the bottom with the signature of the artist who painted it. This lady was painting pieces in the shop as we were there! I envied her masterful brush control as she painstakingly painted the designs and made it look easy. Also, her name is Shirly!
Just a few of the many
pieces De Candelaer has available for purchase. They offer everything from simple thimbles and Christmas ornaments to massive vases and decorative pieces. They also offer custom work! Artist side-note: One of the colors that I had to bring in my palette for this trip is called "Delft Blue" by Schmincke. I love a beautiful deep blue, and I had a lot of fun making a few designs in Mom's journal for her that emulated the Delftware look.
If you aren't careful, this can end up being an expensive place! Not because their prices are unreasonable for the quality and care put into each piece, but because they're so pretty that you'll want to bring them all home with you! Mom and I selected Christmas ornaments for ourselves and a few loved ones that looked like the famous wooden shoes of Holland.
Hey look, a kindred spirit! Although he's painting with oils and I prefer watercolors, we both clearly agree on one thing: this was a lovely park near the museums to paint in, and I would have happily found a shady spot to paint all afternoon, but we were starving and ready to find a place for lunch. My personal opinion: If you're looking to start out in travel painting, watercolors are the way to go! You can really trim down a kit into a tiny package, and if you use a waterbrush (a brush with a barrel that screws on, containing water, that you squeeze out through the bristles to wet your brush instead of dipping into a water source) you will basically have no mess!
We might not quite be the Three Musketeers, but we're definitely not the Three Stooges, either! Although as the designated navigator of the group, I might be the ringleader Moe if we were. As busy as it is, The Hague can be a little overwhelming compared to the previous cities we'd been in, so it's much more fun to visit with friends.
According to Nico, vegetarian foods and sushi are very popular in Belgium and the Netherlands right now, so there has been a boom in restaurants that serve one or the other. With that in mind, I chose to have a poke bowl for lunch with tuna, avocado, and pineapple. It was a very warm day this day, so it was super refreshing!
After the visit to De Candelaer, we had the afternoon to ourselves. Having decided we would take the streetcar to The Hague, we navigated the public transport system, found hand-rails to hold onto on a very busy tram, and made it there without too much hassle. But boy, was the energy shift from Delft palpable even with the two cities being so close together. Where Delft feels calm and collected, The Hague feels incredibly metropolitan and business-like. Which makes sense: Amsterdam is officially the capital of the Netherlands, but The Hague has been described as the 'de facto' capital of the nation. The Cabinet and the Supreme Court are located here, as well as the palaces where King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima live and work. And of course, the International Court of Justice, which sometimes gets nicknamed "The Hague".
Across the little lake here, in the tan square building, is the Mauritshuis Museum - home of the Girl With A Pearl Earring, the most famous painting of Johannes Vermeer, who lived and worked in nearby Delft. Sadly we couldn't get in, because the Vermeer exhibit was so popular that even weeks ahead of the tour, they were completely sold out of tickets!
On the way back to the streetcar station to take the train back to Delft, we spotted what we initially thought was the International Court of Justice... but then we figured out it was actually the former Ministry of Justice.
Sometimes simple things like empty sugar packets and train tickets can be great additions to your travel journal! Often they have names, places, dates, or businesses on them, which can help you more easily remember the places you were!
Once we found our way back to the hotel, it was time for our sampling of Dutch treats. Well, mostly treats, possibly a few tricks, depending on your tastes. Some of the sausage and cheeses were tasty and fairly tame, but then Nico surprised us with something traditional in this part of the Netherlands - whole herring! One of our group was adventurous enough to join Nico in what he said was the proper way to eat the fish - in they go! - head first. Now I like fish and seafood - but the whole thing like that was where I draw the line! I'll stick with my wine and cheeses please! Nico had a few other surprises for us that didn't involve fish. King's Day had just passed in the Netherlands, so there were orange decorations still displayed in many places. The holiday celebrates the birth of King Willem-Alexander, and the color is a reference to the House of Orange, which is the house of the royal family. The House of Orange dates back to William of Orange, who led the Dutch revolt against Spanish control, and is considered by most to be the father of the nation.
Now that's a hair-do! The orange wig was a bit of fun in honor of King's Day.
Down the hatch! The Dutch love their herring, but I think if you don't grow up with it, you might have to be the most dedicated fish lover to enjoy this particular local specialty! Nico enjoyed his though!
On every tour we've been on, our guide usually selects and gifts everyone a little something at the end of the tour to take home and remember their trip by. In Ireland, we got little ceramic cottages. In France, a booklet that was given to soldiers arriving in Europe from America during WWII. In Italy, a locally made tealight holder. But the Netherlands was a little different: Nico had told us on the bus that there were some cultural differences between Belgium and the Netherlands. Belgium is known for being "Burgundian", named after the luxurious court of Burgundy, and referring to an enjoyment of life, good food, and extravagance. The Netherlands however, he affectionately referred to as notoriously frugal. So his gift to us was a jar-scraper, a product sold in stores in the Netherlands in order to get the last little bits of food out of jars. According to him, this is a common household item here! We'll never have to struggle with the last bit of peanut butter again!