Day 1: From Schiphol Airport to Delft, Vermeer’s hometown, and surprisingly very satisfied with the Ibis hotel near the station! After experiencing my first northbound flight from Narita to Amsterdam by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which took about 14 hours, I arrived in Amsterdam a little after 5:00 p.m. I took the 18:46 p.m. train via Leiden and arrived at Delft station a little after 7:30 p.m. The train took me to Delft, the home of Vermeer, about 67 km southwest of Amsterdam. Delft is located approximately 67 km south-southwest of Amsterdam. Delft station was surprisingly modern and spacious. When you go outside, you will see the classic old station building right next to it. I walked through the front of the station to my destination hotel, Ibis Styles Delft City Center, which was less than a three-minute walk from the station. Opened in April 2021, the hotel is still new, the rooms are clean, and I highly recommend this hotel if you are planning to visit Delft & Holland. For reference, I checked the mid-February rate and it was just over 40,000 yen for 3 nights. As many of you may know, there is a big difference if you try to find a hotel in Amsterdam with the same budget! I even thought it would be a good idea to stay in Delft and visit Amsterdam once in a while from now on.
If you like ceramics, you should not miss the Royal Delft Museum, which is attached to the Delft Ware studio known for its blue Delft blue color. I visited the museum. There is also a café inside the museum where you can enjoy lunch or tea. First, I tried the Vermeer course lunch, which is only available during this season. On this day, I chose an open tuna sandwich, asparagus soup, and ginger tea. Delft blue plates are used. 18.50 euros for the three courses. After lunch, we went around the museum and had an explanation about the history of Delft ware and the pieces on display. You can learn in detail with video and Japanese audio. In the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, the Dutch East India Company began to import Chinese porcelain (blue-and-white porcelain), which was dyed in indigo, and this technique inspired the production of pottery in Delft as well. The Dutch began to produce pottery in Delft in 1603. The Dutch were fascinated by the beauty of the neat blue and white blue-and-white blue-and-white porcelain that was first brought to the Netherlands in 1603. They also adopted Japanese Imari to create their own Delft ware, and most of the former beer brewery site became a pottery factory. At its peak, there were 34 workshops. Around the middle of the 18th century, when Wedgwood ceramics called “creamware” were developed in England, which were inexpensive and hard with a texture similar to porcelain, earthenware Delft ware began to decline. In 1876, the Royal Delft Ware Studio was established. In 1876, Joost Toft, a Delft engineer, bought the workshop, and when kaolin, the material used to make porcelain, became available in the Netherlands, he was able to produce high-quality white pottery, which regained its popularity and continues to this day. The first exhibition room displays pieces from the early years of Delft ware. In the early period, Delft ware imitated Jingdezhen blue-and-white porcelain and Japanese Imari porcelain by first applying a white glaze and then painting over the white underglaze. In 1919, the royal family bestowed the title of “Royal” on the porcelain, which led to the custom-made commemorative plates named after the royal family, which were also on display. There is also a limited number of Christmas plates that have been made every year since 1915. What impressed the author the most was the showroom displaying ceramic building materials, walls, floors, and tiles that were made between 1910 and 1930. The wavy columns and intricate tile patterns that look like carpets …… were breathtaking to think that these were made of ceramics. Facing the courtyard, the cloister and facade for the church were also left. Here, exhibitions and events related to Vermeer are scheduled to be held in 2023 in conjunction with the Grand Vermeer Exhibition at the National Museum Amsterdam. Visitors can choose one of four Vermeer patterns for a hands-on painting workshop, and from April 17 to September 10, the exhibition “Blue, Flowers, and Vermeer – Through the Lens of Photographer Bas Muse” will be held, where visitors can enjoy a variety of works that combine photography and painting with the sensibility of a photographer. The exhibition will feature a variety of works that combine photography and painting with the photographer’s sensibility. From the Royal Delft Museum, we walked back to the center of town and strolled around again. I looked for a restaurant for an early dinner, but most of the good ones were closed on Mondays, so I had no choice but to go to the Italian restaurant “Pavarotti” in the old train station building near the Ibis Hotel. The restaurant is huge, and even though it was rather crowded, we were able to sit at a good table in the back and enjoy a relaxing meal. The food is just as good as it should be, so if you are in need of a place to eat, I recommend Pavarotti.
Day 3: It’s like a Vermeer Festival! Vermeer lunch before the preview Now it was time for the preview of the Vermeer exhibition, and we left Delft at 10:00 to arrive at Amsterdam Central Station for lunch at Rijks, a one Michelin star restaurant attached to the National Museum of Amsterdam at 13:00. When we arrived in the big city of Amsterdam and stepped outside, the weather was pleasant and sunny. I had visited Amsterdam once in June 2018, but this was my first time to walk the Royal Road starting from Amsterdams station.The 17th century was the peak period of prosperity for the Dutch nation. It was one of the leading trading cities in the world at that time, and while walking along the busy canal boulevard with Amsterdam Central Station in the background for the first time, I could feel firsthand that it had been a port city on a large scale since ancient times. After walking slowly for about 25 minutes and taking pictures of landmarks, we arrived at the National Museum of Amsterdam. Lunch started with a toast of an exceptionally delicious chilled Chardonnay.
© Source travel watch
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.