Delving into the Charms of the city of Delft

Never have these feet of mine walked as much as it has these past three weeks in the streets of cities and towns here in the Netherlands!

Canals, tall narrow buildings, historic churches and town halls, bicycles, cheeses, appeltaart, stroopwafels, pannenkoeken, oliebollen, drops, bitterballen & kroketten; bicycles, and canals, yes, again and again, and of course trains, and trams, as that has been our mode of transport!

I you ever visit the Netherlands, don't forget the umbrella as the weather changes in the blink of an eye, from frequent light rain showers to sunny skies.
The beautiful Delft Station building gave us a foretaste of what was to come.

I will tell you what we found when we went delving into the city of Delft last week.
Not surprisingly, a canal runs through Delft, and I learned that the city's name comes from the word 'delven', meaning to dig, of course, they were digging canals, really beautiful canals I must add!

Delft experienced a devastating fire in the sixteenth century that led to extensive destruction. Then roughly a century later, many lives tragically were lost when a gunpowder storage warehouse exploded. A new Kruithuis was later built far outside the city walls.

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What I find really charming in all the towns and cities of the Netherlands is how the restaurants and cafés spill out onto the sidewalks. Now that the air is becoming a tad crispy, firepit tables make it look even more inviting. Locals and tourists alike fill up the tables soon after opening times, soaking up the sun, and the fresh air, and enjoying the Dutch cuisine.

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The Nieuwe Kerk can be seen way in the distance beyond the canal. This church with its tower and chime of bells is in the Delft Market Square, opposite the town hall. It has a rich history and is the burial place of the Princes of Orange.

The beautiful Renaissance Delft City Hall with red shutters and a clock tower is in the middle of the Delft Market Square, but we were shocked to hear that the clock tower houses what used to be a jail and torture chamber!

I was curious when we walked past this large stately building with an IFE flag and learnt that this is the Delft Institute for Water Education, the world's largest international graduate water education facility.

We were there to see the city's famous Delft blue and white pottery, an industry that dates back to the seventeenth century when the city had no less than thirty earthenware factories!

We walked into the very first Delftware store we saw. It was filled to the brim with the usual traditional Delftware, some at steep prices, but they were offering reduced prices on others. We bought some of these 'bargains', were happy with our purchases, and continued our walk through the pretty city, admiring the architecture and shops.

Our glee with our purchases soon turned into disappointment when we walked into Heinen Delfts Blauw, where we found traditional as well as stunning modern Delft pottery, at much lower prices. Thankfully we had not spent too much at the first store, but a lesson learnt, look around before buying, especially if you're in a strange town or city, and especially if you're using a currency like ours which shrinks once it's exchanged for Euros!

Heinen Delfts Blauw store is well-laid out, and the very helpful assistant directed us to their bigger store where one can also see the artists at work, hand-painting the stoneware. We did not take any photos, but one can go for a workshop or a masterclass.

I learnt that the difference between the blue and white Chinese and Delftware, is that Delft blue and white pottery is made from composite clays, paints, and glazes, unlike the expensive Chinese porcelain.

Heinen Delfts Blauw was founded by Jaap Heinen from Spakenburg whose work shows Japanese and Chinese Imari style scenes and Delft blue.

This bigger store displayed many modern designs, and one also finds items for the home, from dining to decor ware. The blue and white designs are now available not only in stoneware but also in candles, jewellery, and home textiles.

Judge for yourself and tell me if you like the traditional designs or the modern ones; this is one of their brand new designs, very different to the traditional Delftware!

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They also have an indoor restaurant, we were hungry after all the walking, and the food being served looked really delicious, so we sat down amongst Delft stoneware and enjoyed a really good meal.

I opted for a delicious, warming Courgette Soup garnished with smoked Salmon, and the kiddos chose a very good Egg and avocado open Sandwich.

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We were staying in an Airbnb in Gouda, and believe it or not, we did not do any cheese-tasting there, we did it here in Delft!

Henri Willig Kaas was founded in 1974, by none other than Henry and his wife Riet. They took a cheese-making course, run an organic dairy farm, and make delicious cheese from various breeds, but believe that their new stable of Jersey cows makes the best cheese because of its high fat and protein content.

We were amazed at the different flavoured cheeses, a real feast for any cheese lover. Really nice cheese gift sets were on display, very tempting to take home, but they are heavy and above my budget!

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Now for the cheese tasting tables - from Cow Cheese to Goat Cheese; organic Jersey, baby Gouda, Lavender, Cumin, Truffle, Smoked Barbeque, Garlic and Herbs, and more.
I did not want to tempt you too much so have not shared all the photos, it was an excellent, almost never-ending cheese tasting!

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into the charms of the city of Delft, and if I've made you crave a slice of deliciously creamy Dutch cheese, I have succeeded in giving you a tempting taste test!

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Thank You for Reading! ♥

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