The Hague/Delft, Netherlands ... Apr 11, 2009

We left Keukenhof Gardens and made our way toward Delft, Netherlands, stopping off in the Hague to visit the Mauritshuis Museum. Here we saw a number of works by Dutch painters, including Vermeer's "Girl With a Pearl Earring". Katie has really enjoyed the museums this trip and hopefully she will continue to enjoy the cultural benefit. We also passed a town market that had pony rides, so we let the girls take a ride. I didn't realize the beauty of the Hague, as I always pictured it more modern construction, considering the Nazi occupation (they destroyed a number of buildings) and the bombings it took during World War II. I need to remember that the Europeans are very good at restoring their cities to their historical beauty.
We continued to Delft where we parked up against one of the many canals of the city. It was amazing to see how people parked up against this canal, trying to parallel park into a small space with no curb/protector prohibiting you from driving your car right into the canal if you are not careful. You can notice that I didn't take much chance and am the car furthest from the edge.
Delft was home to William of Orange, the man who led the Dutch to Spanish independence and key player in formalizing the independent Dutch state. It was also home to Vermeer and other artists. Delft has a wonderful medieval town center and I hung out there with Ryan and Ashley while Heather and Katie shopped around for Delftware (the famous blue pottery). She settled on a pair of candlesticks. We saw both the old and new churches and strolled the canal lined streets.