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Monday, November 21, 2016

Delft

 This past weekend, the four of us took a quick getaway to a small Dutch town just south west of Amsterdam.  Some may not know the name Delft off the top of their heads, but there are some interesting things which came from this small town.  If you have ever heard of the artist, Johannes Vermeer, then you would be interested to know that he was from this town.  He is famous for his paintings "The Girl with the Pearl Earring", and "The Milkmaid".  If you have ever heard of Delft Blue China, then you would be interested to know that this is where it is made.:)  I had always heard about this town, and was even more interested to go when my aunt sent me an article about it before I moved to Holland this summer.

We took a three hour train ride from Groningen.  Before we boarded the train, Elizabeth sat right down at the piano in the Groningen train station to tickle the ivories with her song she has ben working on for her recital.  The kids were super excited because we took a double decker train to Delft.:)

And, someone lost a tooth as soon as we got there!:) Those molars are really coming out to make room for the 12 year molars!
The next morning, we got up and walked around Delft...
Picture of Elizabeth by one of the many canals.:)
We walked by Oude Kerk or as it is referred to "The Leaning Church" or as Jeremy likes to call it, "The Leaning Church of Pisa".:)  To read more about it, you can click here.  It was built in the 1200's and since Holland is basically under sea level and it was not built on a solid foundation, it has actually started to lean to one side...


It is a bit hard to tell in the pictures, but it really is leaning.  and in case you are wondering, no...we did not climb to the top of that tower.:)

Tried to get a pic of the leaning church in the background, but we were facing the sun on a rare day which it decided to poke its head out!:)


Then, we were off to the Royal Delft Museum and Koninklijken Porceleyne Fles.  This is the last remaining factory in Holland which produces the famous blue china.  There were many factories in Holland in the 17th century, but the one in Delft is the only one which remains today.

We started with lunch in the tea room...



Then, the tour began...



Yes, that is a dress made of china!:)

All of the Delft Hand painted china is signed with the insignia below...


Each piece is made from a mold, then painted with a greyish black paint. When it is fired in the kiln, a chemical reaction causes it to change into the Delft Blue we all recognize.:)

Courtyard at the Delft Factory


The Name "Royal" was given to the Delft name when the royal families of The Nether;ands began commissioning the beautiful blue china to be made for special occasions for the royal family...
 Queen Beatirix...
Queen Beatrix abdicated her throne for her son, King Willem-Alexander, in 2013. 


Plate commissioned by the royal family of King Willem- Alexander

King Willem- Alexander and Queen Maxima (Current King and queen of The Netherlands)

Royal Geneology

There were so many beautiful pieces of china, I couldn't take pictures of it all!




There was also a room set up as a tribute to Johannes Vanmeer with place settings which were from the period he lived in Delft...


Replica of Vermeer's painting "Girl with the Pearl Earring"

There are special plates made for special occasions in Holland's history and for Christmas...






Jeremy liked the shoes...


The kids were pretty excited that they got to see one of the artists paint a plate, and we even go to go back in the factory where they have the molds and make the pottery...



I think we even spotted Sinterklauss hanging out in the factory!:)
After the china factory (and purchasing a few treasures), we walked around this cute little Dutch town...




Giant Blue Heart

We even saw Sinterklauss in the city center!


We had a great time visiting this small Dutch town with many hidden treasures.:)  Now, on to get ready for Thanksgiving...don't even get me started on how I cannot find any canned pumpkin here!!

Tot zeinz!

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