VISIONS OF VERMEER

 [Trip date: June 24. 2019]

After rising and shining, we opened the door cautiously so as not to bump into anyone's breakfast tray, and had a plain but plenty breakfast.  Once everyone had eaten, and the girls were prepped for the day, we headed off for the Vermeer Museum.  He lived out most of his life (1632-1675) in Delft, and almost all of his paintings are set in two small rooms of his house.  Both of us have long admired his work, re-kindled by the film "The Girl In The Pearl Earring."  So, this was a must-see on this trip.  His output wasn't that extensive, and his works are in museums around the world, so what we were seeing were reproductions. 

Not a problem; from several feet away I can't tell the difference.  The display materials were excellent, pointing out details and stories about each painting that made them much more interesting.  The 3rd floor showed modern interpretations of his style, while the 2nd floor had a setup of his imagined workshop, including a place to pose for a picture in the lighting style of his girl by a window.  Here's Isla doing her best impression.  Our girls were given a treasure hunt to keep the interested.  When they found all the objects, they got a cookie and a picture postcard.  An excellent museum!

 

Our next stop was the "new" church, which was quite plain when compared to Romance catholic churches, but it was lovely with its wood ceiling and 3,000 pipe organ.  Queen Wilhelmina commissioned 16 colored glass windows for the "altar" area, which in reality is a monument grave site for William of Orange and his progeny.  The relative plainness is because the Protestants, when they took over, stripped the interior of all the Catholic trappings.

The new church sits on the town square opposite the impressive town hall (below)
 

After the church, we had to bag out of our planned walk to the Delft Museum as Loni's back was hurting too much.  Back to the hotel for a rest, and more ibuprofen. She's concerned she won't be able to ride tomorrow, so we'll have to check with the tour company about transport. We stayed there the rest of the afternoon before joining the family for dinner at a place with an unpronounceable (and unspellable) name which offered a 3-course prix-compris meal that hit the spot.  Satays, penne pastas, prawn croquettes, custards with raspberry coulis, and you get the picture.  The only downer was they could not accept our credit or debit cards, so we had to scrape the bottoms of our collective wallets to pay the bill.  Before we returned to the hotel, we located and drained an ATM in case this was going to be a thing.

We checked with the tour about Loni, and they were not permitted to transport guests between destinations, and there would be an 30 euro charge by the baggage boys to haul her bike. Loni's transport would have to be by taxi.  Hmmm. Not all the way to Gouda.  She decided to tough it out, claiming she felt better.  We'll see.

 

"BACK" TO THE FUTURE

[Trip Date: June 23, 2019] 

Disaster strikes in the most unlikely of spots, with consequences that could not be foreseen at the time.  Who'd of thought an instant's mistake would lead to a world of hurt.  I say this with the benefit of hindsight, as I am writing this a full 1 1/2 year after the fact, and unfortunately have observed the effects on Loni's life.

We had a good night's sleep and decent breakfast.  No so elegant as the Staatz, but still very nice.  At 10 we met the family and DaeDae (hereafter DD) to start the ride to Delft where we will stay for two nights.  We took DD's shorter route option (37km) as our rookie bike muscles are protesting from yesterday's start.  All went well until we approached a footbridge that had a sharp 90 degree turn leading into it.  Loni & Meghan decided to walk it rather than risk the maneuver.  That was prudent.  Sadly, in getting off her bike, Loni got tangled and fell hard into a side wall, bending her back awkwardly and hearing a pop! pop! crack, followed by her back muscles seizing.  After a rest, she was ambulatory, but in severe pain in the back and the pubic bone.  The rest of us didn't learn how bad it was until later in the day, because she insisted she could go on, like the trouper she is.  She was going to need a diet of major ibuprofen for the rest of the trip.  This undoubtedly was an exacerbation of her crushed vertebra from her car-vs-pedestrian disaster earlier.  Again, as I write this, she continues to have almost constant pain, has had scans galore and pain specialist treatments with steroid shots, etc.  It is looking like surgery is in the offing, which isn't even possible in this height of the Covid pandemic.  She will soldier on, that's what she does.  

We made it to Delft without further incident, DD said his goodbyes and headed for the train station and, as our rooms weren't ready at the Royal bridges, we walked to the town square for ice cream.  John, Meghan, and the girls piled into a horse drawn carriage for a tour around the town while we were content to sit and watch the people in the square.

After the carriage ride, we checked into the hotel.  This is a very quirky place, and it's pretty clear it was cobbled together from 2 or 3 adjacent buildings without a lot of thought for integration.  The family's room was at the top (garret) level, while we ancients were given a ground (actually, sub-ground) floor one.  It was really a strange, although perfectly adequate, setup.  

On the other side of the wall is the reception desk.  I have no idea what the fireplace is all about or what this room was in an earlier life.  The wall to the right of the fireplace (not shown) has three steps which lead up to the door, which opens directly into the dining room, and immediately adjacent to one of the buffet bars.  I was originally concerned at check-in that this would be too noisy, but it turns out those brick walls and thick door did an excellent job of soundproofing.  Still, it felt a little weird to exit the room and be face-to-face with a stranger with a plate in his hand.  The wall to the left of the fan has a series of windows that are at about kneecap level of the pedestrians on the sidewalk right in front.  Thankfully there were blinds and curtains so we didn't feel we were in a fishbowl.  None of the windows opened, and there were no air ducts at all.  Apparently, the only fresh air it gets is when you open the door.  So, this ranks right up there with the strangest rooms we have occupied.

After Loni got a few winks, courtesy of the pain meds, it was time for dinner.  We decided to just stroll around and see what we encountered.  That turned out to be the De Delft, a canal boat restaurant.  Although an idyllic setting, the food was a little overcooked.  The appetizer tray, however, was a hit, as was the beer.  After a leisurely meal, the kids all went for a walk and we went for an early crash.  For Loni's sake, come on drugs!