Sunday, April 22
We got a more leisurely start today, planning for a shorter, less hectic day in the nearby town of Delft. Our first stop there was at a Delft pottery. It was on a narrow street, clogged with 8-10 tour buses and a large number of people waiting to get in for the tour and demonstration. Since we were more interested in seeing the products than the process, we were allowed to go into the store. It was interesting to see that they have now done some of the pottery in colors other than the Delft blue.
John Anton
We then found a place to park near the Delft windmill
John Anton
and walked into the city center and had some beautiful views of the Oude Kerk along the canal. Yes, the tower really does lean-about 9 feet off the vertical at the top!
John Anton
In the central square we could see the Nieuwe Kerk, completed in 1381.
John Anton
and the Stadhuis, or town hall, burned down in 1618, and was rebuilt two years later. The present building is dwarfed from behind by the old 15th century keep, all that remains of the original stadhuis.
From the opposite side, we can see the keep and the tower
of the Nieuwe Kerk.
We headed for a restaurant on a canal for pannekoeken and enjoyed them, sitting in the sunshine. We then walked around the city a bit, seeing various views.
From there, we walked to the Lambert van Meerten museum-a 19th century patrician's mansion with a magnificent Delft tiles collection and other ware. We also saw a man there painting a Delft plate.
We returned to our motel and went for a short walk to a canal where we saw a couple of barges tied up.
On to Gouda.