NETHERLANDS: Delft

Delft is the birth place of the famous painter Johannes Vermeer, probably best known for his mysterious "The Girl with the Pearl Earring". 

It is also famous for its ceramic Delft Blue pottery. 

And the city is proud to boast the second highest church tower in Holland.

Construction of the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) started in 1396 and after several renovations the tower reached it's height in 1496. 

We climbed the 108.75 m tower to get a view of Delft and the surroundings. Converted to steps, that is 889 steps, not that we counted.

We did conclude that those narrow winding stairs seemed like a whole lot more!

You can see both Rotterdam and The Hague and apparently on clear days is it possible to see Leiden and even Amsterdam.

It is pretty flat. 

Inside The New Church is the Royal Burial chamber. Prince William of Orange was the first to be buried here after he was shot in 1584. 

Not to be confused, there is also the Oude Kerk (The Old Church). This is Delft's oldest church, built in 1246. Famous Dutchmen are buried in this church, including Johannes Vermeer.

This picture is not on a funky angle. The Old Church leans sideways over the Oude Delft canal. 

When the tower was built the canal had to be moved away from the church as the tower would have been half in the water. 

To compensate for the tilt the upper part of the tower was build with a counter-curve. 

I am purposely not writing anything about Vermeer, who was born and lived in Delft. My commentary and photos would not do him justice. I will include one photo, "The Girl with The Pearl Earring", just so you know who I am talking about. It hangs in the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague. Delft has an awesome museum showing reproductions of his entire work of art. Definitely worth a visit.

The world-famous earthenware, Delftware, has been produced in the city of Delft since 1602.

Delftware is a tin-glazed earthenware in blue and white.  

Delftware includes pottery objects of all descriptions - such as plates, vases, figurines and other ornamental forms. 

In the 17th and 18th centuries the manufacture of Delftware was a major industry, with product exported all over Europe.

Marketing at its finest combines Vermeer's famous painting with Delft pottery. 

Delft pottery is not as popular now and to keep up with modern tastes there are new designs.

We found this in a restaurant bathroom in Delft. It shows "repurposing" creativity. 

To me, the best part about Delft is just wandering the cute streets and canals.

This is Delft's oldest stone house commissioned in 1505. The coat of arms are from 1652 and since 1645 the Delfland Water Authority has been based in it. That is almost 400 years!

The old town hall. There is a new one, but they still do marriages in this one. 

Meanwhile.....

John, the engineer, is still figuring out the calculations for the leaning church tower.