The sleepy town of Delft, southwest of bustling Amsterdam, has a special soul. Enjoy this typically Dutch town best by simply wandering around, watching people and munching local “syrup waffles.” Peaceful as a Vermeer painting and lovely as its porcelain, Delft is a city that knows how to create beauty.
Add Delft to your stay in the Netherlands, and you’ll be rewarded with a time-travel trip to the Holland of centuries ago. Trains run from Amsterdam to Delft and back every 10 minutes. It’s a 40-minute ride one way (allow $7-12 for a round-trip ticket). For a worthwhile full day, include time at the nearby city of The Hague, home to fine museums and stylish city sights.
Your first stop in Delft should be at the tiny, tidy tourist information office. With helpful staff who speak English better than most of us do, they can help you plan your time in the city. While you’re there, use the office’s free Internet access and pick up their good free brochure on Delft, which includes an excellent map (more information available at www.delft.nl).
As art-history enthusiasts know, Delft was the place that spawned the great Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer, who lived from 1632 to 1675. He grew up in the center of town, near Delft’s Market Square, and set a number of his paintings here. While none are on display in Delft today (you’ll have to visit Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum instead), walking through carefully preserved Delft, you’ll come to understand Vermeer’s artistic inspiration. Wander Delft’s sun-speckled lanes, where canals meander quietly through the city center. Pull over to a cafe, and enjoy the same foods the Dutch have eaten throughout the ages: pancakes (pannenkoeken), “syrup waffles” (stroopwafels) and a perennial Dutch favorite, broodjes – sandwiches of delicious cheese on fresh bread.
Change comes slowly to Delft, but for fans of fine ceramics, that’s a good thing. The Royal Dutch Delftware Manufactory (Delftware has always been crafted in Delft) is the best place to see these delicate, famous, blue-and-white pieces being made. Back in the Golden Age, the Dutch East India Company, which was headquartered here, had imported many exotic goods, including Chinese porcelain. When Chinese designs became all the rage, industrious Dutch locals thought: “Aha! I can make something like that, too!” Today, Delftware is just as coveted as the Asian originals they copied.
Delft earthenware is made from a soupy mix of clay and water, spun until it looks like a traditional Dutch pancake. This “pancake” is then molded into everything from a vase to a figurine, and pressed with a design. Once the clay has dried, it’s fired in a kiln, and in the final, painstaking stage, workers trace traditional decorations with sable-hair pencils onto the pottery. The piece is painted with a black paint (containing cobalt oxide), which changes under intense heat into the famous Delft Blue. Before a second firing, the objects are dipped into an opaque white glaze, which melts into a translucent, glasslike layer. The result is pure magic.
Three centuries later, the descendants of the first Delft potters are still going strong, and you can see them at work in this factory. Take a self-guided tour: Watch the short video, follow the tile arrows, and feel free to stop and chat with any of the artisans (www.royaldelft.com).
Delft doesn’t attempt to dazzle you with million-dollar museums or must-see experiences. Instead, you’re left to meditate on a town that’s left an indelible impression on the history of the fine and decorative arts. As memorable as the designs pressed into every piece of Delftware, it’s a place you won’t soon forget.
Rick Steves of Edmonds (425-771-8303, www.ricksteves.com) is the author of 30 European travel guidebooks, including “Europe Through the Back Door.” He hosts a public radio show, “Travel with Rick Steves” (Saturdays at 2 p.m. on KUOW 94.9 FM) and the public television series “Rick Steves’ Europe” on KCTS, most weeknights at 7 p.m. This week’s schedule:
Monday: Portugal’s Heartland
Tuesday: Paris: Grand and Intimate
Wednesday: South England: Dover to Land’s End
Thursday: Heart of England and South Wales
Friday: Caesar’s Rome
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