Utrecht, another church and a canal cruise

31 May 2022.

After breakfast it was back to the train station. This time we were headed west to Utrecht, a trip that took us about 18 minutes. While all the stations in the Netherlands have a futuristic look to their architecture and many have some fabulous facilities, Utrecht was impressive. The station is linked directly to an incredibly spacious indoor mall in addition to several fascinating buildings. And of course there are the canals.

coming through the turnstiles at Utrecht

unclear what this is about but it caught my eye

We quickly found our way into the old part of the city -- the train stations all seem to be close to historic city centers.

Requisite canal pictures.

We popped into St. Martin's Cathedral, also known as the Domkerk. The church was partially destroyed in a storm in 1674 and never recovered its size. We were duly impressed by the cloisters, though.

From the church we made our way to the nearby tourist information office and inquired about canal cruises. They gave us directions and off we went.

While waiting for our cruise to start we sat outside a pub splitting a pint while overlooking the canal where our cruise would begin.

The audio portion of the cruise was in four languages which became a bit tiresome while our captain gave his personal anecdotes only in Dutch. It was also rather difficult to see out of the boats but it was a nice day to be on a canal in Holland!

heading to the train station

Our Netherlands portion of the trip is fast coming to a close. Tomorrow we check out of the hotel to head for Rotterdam and then to Paris.

Stay tuned!

Delft canals, Gouda cheese, siroopwafels, and some very important Dutch folk

30 May 2022.

Today and tomorrow will be short road trips around southern Netherlands. First up is Delft. Famous for its porcelain, Delft has additional claims to fame and, no surprise here, they involve dead Dutch people.

We walked the 15 minutes or so to the Gouda train station where we caught the next train to Rotterdam Centraal where we connected to Delft. All of which took less than 50 minutes.

Delft station

From the Delft station it was a very easy (and short) walk into the historic center of the city. As we passed canal after canal, Susie and I both agreed that there was something inherently soothing about these watercourses. 

Our first goal was the oudekerk, the old church (don't worry, we'll get to the nieuwekerk soon enough). The goal here was a simple one: find the grave of Johannes Vermeer who is buried with his family beneath the church floor. And so we did.

yes, the church is leaning but stable

Quite a few of the ledger stones of other burials beneath the church stone were nothing short of massive with amazing reliefs still visible.

Next it was off the nieuwekerk. Located directly across the plaza from old city hall, this is the burial location for Dutch royalty, not to mention a few native sons who became quite famous in their own right (such as jurist Hugo Grotius).

old city hall

Grotius statue outside the church

While the royal crypt is not open to the public one of the most famous of all Dutchmen is of course William of Orange. His mausoleum is quite impressive.

After leaving the church we stopped at a nearby cheese shop to pick up a hunk for our Paris leg of the trip.

On the way back to the station we stopped at a cafe that Susie had read about somewhere recently. It was worth the stop: the food and service were wonderful. 

Back in Gouda we returned to the hotel in short order. Along the way we came across another stolperstein, this one dedicated to Nathan Jacob Cats (1895-1943), who perished at Auschwitz. His house was on the corner where there is now a bakery. He lived not far from Felix Wertheimer, the other stolperstein I mentioned a recent post.

Since we had picked up some Gouda cheese in Delft we thought the very least we could do was pick some up in Gouda too. We stopped at a shop near our hotel t'Kaaswinkeltje.

t'Kaaswinkeltje Gouda cheese shop (photo courtesy French Tarte)

I also found some delicious pâtes à fruit at a nearby pastry shop and we rounded out the food shopping afternoon with a package of siroopwafel from Kamphuisen, supposedly the inventor of this tasty treat.

the automat of stroopwafels or siroopwafels, we can't figure out the difference

And in the little park across from our hotel is this curious bit of stone. . . no signage, no name, nothing. 

Tomorrow it's off to Utrecht!

Rainy day in Gouda

29 May 2022.

We're both feeling a bit under the weather today, physically and literally since it has been rainy off and on. It's just as well since most places are closed (being a Sunday). 

So, while lazing around our hotel room my mind has drifted to wondering more about the history of our hotel. 

photo c. January 1954

What I have been able to glean so far is the space indeed began as an orphanage (weeshuis) in the early 17th century. It was still functioning as an orphanage into the 20th century, but eventually it became the city library, which was then moved to a different location. The space was renovated as a hotel in the early 21st century.

My curiosity about the orphanage satisfied, and after resting for a while, we set out to get some fresh air. Leaving the hotel we scooted behind Sint-Janskerk and came across one of numerous painted sculptures scattered around the old town. All the same shape, appearing to be a woman in wooden shoes, each painted differently, our theory revolves around the idea that they're part of Gouda's 750th anniversary celebration.

We made our way back into the central market square, now empty of tents, vendors and the throngs of tourists seeking to get that one special item to take home to wear, eat or hang on the wall. Just the incredibly massive old city hall (the new one is now located near the train station).

old city hall

Continuing our stroll we made our way down a few new streets along unfamiliar canals appreciating the whimsy of the community. . . 

But also recognizing the touches of sadness embedded in the pavement as well. 

Just to the left of the sofa in the photo above and down the street a short ways is one of over 70,000 stolpersteine in some 24 countries, or "stumbling stones", dedicated to remembering Jews who perished during the Holocaust. They are placed in front of the former residence of the person (or persons). In this case Felix Wertheimer (1886-1943) who perished at the Sobibor concentration camp. 

To learn more about this incredible project of artist Gunter Demnig, read the Guardian article. 

Our very casual stroll took us down other byways we had not seen before . . . For those of you who may never go and those who were here long ago (D & D):

Behind the old city hall is the cheese museum which also houses the Tourist Information office on the ground floor.

Here's something we came across that we thought curious: short bit of a canal that was covered over and turned into a garden. In the distance you can just barely make out the canal and when you turn around. . .

. . . you can see the canal open again.

One of the handful of shops open was the Olala chocola shop, where they were holding a chocolate workshop. Naturally we picked up a bag to snack on later.

We also came across part of the larger canal system that rings the old city:

the Fluwelensingel canal section

Back home we caught our breath and rested for a bit before venturing out again, this time to the nearby Museum of Gouda Cafe for a light lunch of Gouda cheese soup. The soup was pretty "gouda" but the focaccia not so much. . . They also charged us for the water. But there was a baby shower underway inside (the venue is known for its various teas and event specials) so that was a bonus.

Back at the hotel we had a light snooze before dinner at Hendrick Bistrobar. Located just 3 minutes from our hotel and at the base of the Sint-Janskerk, we both had the same thing: chicken yakitori followed by a chicken noodle soup (Thai-style). The food was scrumptious, leading us to comment how truly amazing the food vibe is here in Gouda. 

Tomorrow it's off to Delft!