Monday August 30th – another windy chilly rainy day! 59 degrees with huge dark clouds rolling in from the west.
I miss the bright sun and warmth of Turkey…..
Breakfast at the Hampshire Hotel was excellent with freshly ground Italian coffee. It had all the usual fresh breakfast buffet offerings, including tomatoes & cucumbers similar to Turkish breakfasts. However breakfast at the Hampshire Hotel was elevated to a new high level with two chilled bottles of Prosecco standing in a large silver bowl in the corner of the breakfast counter. Champagne glasses stood brightly next to the bowl. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the nerve to try some, but I promised myself I would indulge tomorrow morning. We’ll see…
Delft Market Square Looking at the New Church
It was very windy and the rain starts and stops intermittently every few minutes. I wanted to finally see the historic city of Delft which is famous for its beautiful tiles and porcelain. It is also the city where Johannes Vermeer was born and lived his entire life. There are two major churches and are the famous landmarks in the city of Delft: the Nieuwe Kerk and the Oude Kerk.
The 12th Century Old Church
The New Church was built in 1381 and contains the crypt of the Princes of Orange. The Old Church is the oldest church in Delft and was built sometime in the 1200s and has a memorial stone dedicated to Johannes Vermeer.
We walked around for a while and had a warm cup of coffee in a cafe which was decorated with old music posters of John Coltrane and Elvis Presley.
A Coffee Shop Selling Coffee, Tea, & Pastries
We stopped into one of the three shops that manufacture real Delft pottery. A man was glazing some pieces and it was interesting to see the unfinished work. The woman in the shop told me how to tell real Delft pottery from the many imitations and she said that all the shops in the main square sell imitations.
“De Candelear” Delftware Ceramics Factory
In the afternoon we decided to take a drive to the city of Gouda to find some cheese. The traffic was moderately heavy and the land is very flat. We reached Gouda in about 30 minutes and found a garage near the ” Markt Centrum”. We walked to the main square of the city and saw the picturesque Stadhuis in the center. This is a lovely Gothic town hall which was built in the 15th century.
The Gouda Stadhuis (Town Hall)
Towering over the city are the spires of the huge Sint Janskerk (St. John’s Church). The guide said that the original church was built in the 13th century but was destroyed by fires three times over the years. Each time the church was rebuilt, it was extended so that today it is the longest church in the Netherlands. Saint John’s Church is famous for its stained glass windows which were made in the 1500s, but the church was closed. We walked around the large church and explored the neighborhood.
St. Janskerk Behind Buildings in Gouda
We had been hoping to find a shop that sold Gouda cheese, or even a cheese maker in Gouda, but there were no cheese shops in the main square. It was getting late so we decided to return to Delft. Tomorrow we’re moving on to another city. We don’t know where, we’ll decide later. I will continue to write about this trip and post it when I have access to the Internet. The weather forecasters predicted more sun than rain tomorrow, so we’re hoping for a better day.