Places We Go : The Netherlands, part 2

19 hours ago

6 min read

Updated: 1 hour ago

The Netherlands is an easy, stylish, friendly country. If it wasn't for the weather, I'd consider living there. And it's ranked 7th in happiness ( Finland - 1st, the US - 24th ). In October, John&Jim and I were there for four days. We clocked 21 walking miles, some under umbrellas. Amsterdam sits at 52n latitude (as does some parts of Alaska ) so weather is a factor but everything is so accessible. From Amsterdam, Haarlem is just 14 miles away; Delft, 40, The Hague, 33. Each has a distinct personality. Last Sunday, I wrote about Haarlem and Amsterdam. Today, let's look at the two other cities we visited.

Traveling by train was a joy. The Haarlem train station is a national monument and is the only train station in the Netherlands built in the Art Nouveau style. The station was built in 1908.

After taking this photo, the woman in the back left, kindly suggested I turn around and take a photo of the tile mural behind me. She was rightly proud of this beautiful station. As with all public transportation, no tickets were needed as you can tap in/tap out with any credit card.

A bit chilly out on the "platform."

We enjoyed the clean and swift trains.

We sped past colorful crops of fall flowers. The top exports include refined petroleum and crude oil ($106B), semiconductor manufacturing ($99B), pharmaceuticals ($77B). We know Heineken and Amstel beers, wax-coated cheeses like Gouda and Edam, Philips (MRI scanners & electric shavers), Bugaboo and Joolz (baby strollers), Gazelle (bikes). The export flower business (primarily tulips) counts for $127M but only 5% goes to the US.

At then end of this canal, the Old Church (built 1246). You'll notice the steeple is very crooked as it was built on soggy ground which eventually was stablized. Nearby is the New Church (build in 1381).

We headed to the twice-a-week outdoor market. Sometimes I send packaged "stroopwafels" (syrup+waffle) to friends and family. I was giddy to taste one fresh off the grill with all that warm, creamy caramel filling. John & Jim (pictured) were supposed to help me eat this king-sized one. The stroopwafel was created in the late 18th centrury by a baker in Gouda.

The takeout fried seafood and onion rings were popular on a rainy day.

With my blinders on, I went into this store to ask if they had any blue&white umbrellas. Nope. That was the souvenir I really wanted.

I think you know that I love blue+white so stores like the Royal Delft in the actual city of Delft put me over the top.

These fish were so cool. Delft Blue is a world-famous style of tin-glazed earthenware developed in the Netherlands during the 17th century. It was a local, affordable alternative to prized Chinese porcelain but quickly evolved to a signature Dutch art form. Suffice to say, I am a big fan.

A display of hand-painted objects. There was another room to the left and under the stairs was a barrel of blue&white umbrellas. I had imagined one with a print on the exterior, not just in the interior. As I started to move away, John said, "Oh, no. This is the one for you" as he handed me one. After all, we hadn't seen another nor could I find anywhere online. If I didn't buy this one, I think he realized he was in for a few more weeks of useless searching. I'd already talked about an umbrella store in Paris, opened in 1745. After a second look, I came to my senses realizing it was well made and only €30 ($34). Thank you, John.

I didn't need my new umbrella until we reached Paris, but I'll tell that story in a few weeks.

The rain clouds cleared and we were in search of a place for lunch. Sometimes, we use Ai and YELP or rely on old favorites but in Delft, we just wandered.

Then we came upon a cafe with a line outside. While waiting for a table, I talked to a man with a dog. Would you believe this sweet pup was born in my town of Oakland, CA? His people moved from Oakland four years ago and happily live in Delft. We started the conversation by me asking if the dog was eating dried fish. Turns out, that's a popular dog treat. Turns out, the couple lived a few miles from me in Oakland. He asked, "Maybe I saw you at Redwood Road Safeway?" Maybe as that's my Safeway. Turns out, it's a small world.

Inside, we found a communal table (popular in European restaurants) with a requisite flower arrangement reminiscent of a Dutch Masters painting.

If I lived here, I'd be accused of being a Peeping Tom. I drew the line at taking photos, but oh, the rooms I saw. Sometimes super modern in neutral colors, sometimes old world heavy with gilt and tapestry. The painter, Johannes Vermeer was born, worked and died in Delft. There are fewer than 40 surviving paintings. He died in 1675 at age 43 amidst mounting debts following the clapse of the Dutch art market. He fell into oblivion for nearly two centuries when he was rediscovered by a French art critic. We were talking with a woman about his painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring. She said we should go see her. This was the first time I'd heard this painting referred to as a "she." "Unfortunately, we're leaving tomorrow," I said. Turns out, she was just a 20-minute taxi ride away. Doh!

We happened by a working windmill as we headed by taxi from Delft to The Hague. Molen de Roos (the Rose) is a working museum, flour mill and bakery. It's been restored a number of times but it's exterior was constructed in 1760.

The Hague (Den Haag) serves as the seat of government, housing the Dutch parliament, cabinet and Supreme Court, as well as the royal residence. The king serves as the constitutional head of state and there's a Prime Minister, the newest sworn in earlier this year. Rob Jetten is 39 and is gay, engaged to an Argentinian field hockey player. A very proud taxi driver told us about him. He also asked why Trump was elected a second time. (We were asked that a lot.) With a population of 550K, The Hague is the 2nd largest city. It sits along 11 miles of North Sea coastline with beautiful beaches. From a museum upper floor, I snapped this photo of a corner of the the Binnehof + Ridderzaal, the Gothic castle complex center of the political heart of the nation. There were also quite a few skyscrapers in the bustling city.

A nice thing about taking a taxi/Uber, you're delivered to exactly where you want to be. And 15-minutes later, here's Girl with a Pearl Earring at home in The Hague's Mauritshuis Museum. Painted in 1665, she's only 17.52" x 15.35." Everyone we talked to about the painting called her "she." Jayne and I saw her in San Francisco in 2013 when that girl was on world tour during a remodel of the Mauritshuis Museum. In August and September, she visited Japan during her home museum's lastest construction period. As a docent told me, "She's done traveling. She's never leaving here again."

Another famous painting we saw was The Goldfinch painted by Carel Fabritius in 1654. It's only 13" high by 9" wide. You might know it from the 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by the same name.

New to me, The Bull was painted by Paulus Potter in 1647. Roughly 9' x 11,' it was mesmorizingly lifelike. We spied small details like flies on the bull's back and even a small frog on the ground. The Mauritshuis Museum was a delight, housed in a 17th-century Classical Baroque-style mansion. This jewel box of a museum allows viewers to be very close to the mostly 17th-century Dutch and Flemish masterworks. Turns out, it boasts one of the highest concentrations of iconic paintings per square meter in the world.

Heading to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport to fly to Venice, we spied a double rainbow. The first double rainbow I've seen since Christmas Day. Glad to know P is watching over me. See you in another canal city next week. In the meantime, Happy Sunday!

top photo : Delft's working 17-century City Hall overlooks its market.

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