Waterways of Holland & Belgium (Days 4 & 5)

Saturday, May 5: The Delta Works

Another round of morning Zumba in my room, and then Mom and I met up at 7:45am to get some breakfast from the restaurant to bring upstairs to the lounge so that we could listen to the first of three lectures on medieval and renaissance Dutch art by Stephen Clancy, a recently retired art history professor from Ithaca College who is traveling with the Smithsonian group as our resident “expert.” The first lecture was about the rise of the merchant class and the impact of that societal evolution on medieval and renaissance city life. He’s a very engaging and passionate lecturer, so I really enjoyed his presentation, which finished up just after 9am, so we had a bit of time prior to our 9:30am departure to visit The Delta Works.

Our first stop was at The Delta Experience, where we watched a [rather dated] movie about the horrible storm and North Sea flooding in 1953 that was the catalyst for beginning an extensive array of public works projects to better protect areas along the western coastline. The movie described in detail how the various locks and barriers were designed, constructed, installed, and tested. Truly a technological marvel and a critical piece of Dutch infrastructure that continues to be refined today. The last part was completed in 1986, and this is a long barrier composed of multiple piers with steel gates between them that can be lowered in times of severe weather.

Our next stop on the tour was a visit to this barrier, where we were able to walk inside to view some historical exhibits and learn more about the entire project. We then climbed up onto the top of the barrier itself, right next to the roadway, where we had a close-up view of the structure and the marking on the pier that shows how high the waters rose in 1953.

The coaches took us back to the boat for lunch, where Mom and I opted for the “quick lunch” in the lounge rather than a full-service meal in the restaurant. I then did a bit of email and blog work for about an hour before heading out on a run through the lovely little town of Veere, where our boat was docked. The town is criss-crosssed with lots of well-marked walking trails in addition to the usual bike lanes and paths, and given the unusually beautiful weather (sunny & high 70s), there were lots and lots of people enjoying the outdoors and the town’s café, beach, and marina.

I was back on board the boat in plenty of time for our 4:15pm departure, so Mom and I went up to the lounge to hear a talk on “tulipmania” by Andrew Wyatt, a professor traveling with the Missouri Botanical Gardens group. Then we headed down to dinner and enjoyed some interesting conversation with the two Cal alumni folks whom I’d met during the Beer tour in Bruges as well as two other new-to-us people from the Botanical Gardens group (I think). Dinner once again took 2+ hours for the entire service, but I still fit in my daily yoga practice before going to bed.

Sunday, May 6: Delft & The Hague

More Zumba in the room followed by take-away breakfast from the restaurant so that I could eat while listening to the second of Stephen Clancy’s lectures. This one focused on “magical realism” in art and was equally as fascinating as the first presentation yesterday. Mom had breakfast in the restaurant with Stephen’s wife before joining me in the lounge for the talk. We again had a bit of time before the 9:30am departure for the day’s excursion.

Our initial destination today was the Royal Porcelain Factory in Delft. We drove through charming countryside full of farms set in the midst of little canals, almost like marshes, and each home was connected to the roadway by a small bridge. The fields were full of different types of water fowl, including lots of nesting swans. I was struck again by the vast bike infrastructure in The Netherlands, as every roadway has a parallel bike lane beside it, well-separated, well-marked, and well-traveled. I also observed that each roundabout in a certain area was marked with a sculpture of some kind in the middle, which continues the trend of public art that I’d started to notice during the previous days.

Once we arrived at the factory, a staff guide led us through as we learned about the history of Delft blue and Delft porcelain in general as well as the different processes for creating hand-painted vs. mass-produced objects. The skill and time needed for the former definitely make it much of much higher quality and more valuable, which is clearly reflected in the price.

 

Mom and I each bought some souvenirs, and we then got back on the bus for the short drive to the main center of Delft. Coaches can’t drive into that area due to the small streets, so we got dropped off nearby and then walked slowly towards the main square, which is flanked by a church and an ornate town hall and surrounded by souvenir shops and restaurants. We had a bit more of a guided tour around the square and were then on our own for just under 2 hours to get lunch and enjoy the area. More public art!

 

I noticed a little spot nearby called Happy Tosti that looked casual and inviting, and we had a lovely (and relatively quick!) lunch there of toasted sandwiches. We also learned that it’s a business with heart and a mission that’s not just about profits: 

The group met up at 2:30pm by the church to go back to the coaches for the return drive to the boat. I walked around the nearby town of Schoonhoven for a bit, and then Mom and I joined Stephen’s table for dinner, per the invitations that had been delivered last night. I enjoyed the conversation, but again the overall experience was just too lengthy, especially with pauses for two birthday breaks. Mom and I finally were able to excuse ourselves and head back to our cabins. Yoga. Bed.