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.