Day out in Delft

Our blogger Sonja recently went to Delft for a day. Just a day of culture tasting in a city nearby. She was pleasantly surprised by this versatile and cozy city! In this blog you can read her experiences, even in times when Corona is unfortunately still around.

Book in advance

What I find difficult about Corona time is that you have to plan everything in advance. Nothing is spontaneous anymore. So when I figured out that I wanted to go to Delft, I had to start thinking in advance about what I wanted to do there. I love history, so I decided to visit at least Museum Prinsenhof. I also wanted to see the city from above and reserved tickets for the Nieuwe Kerk. But then the planning, lol. Because the last thing you want is to have to rush, but you also don’t want to have to wait endlessly. So I estimated how long I expected to stay somewhere and ordered my tickets.

Through the eyes of a tourist

Once again, of course, I left home way too early, but that gave me the opportunity to quietly see the city through the eyes of a tourist. That’s really a lot of fun. Because of Corona, it was pretty quiet everywhere, which is an advantage of this situation. I got to places I normally wouldn’t get to so quickly. So I had already completed quite a trip when I was finally allowed into the museum. It just started to rain a little, so that was convenient. Inside Museum Prinsenhof, the walking route was well marked. There were also columns with disinfectant. Upon entering, I scanned my card and had to wait a while before I could enter. Someone was allowed in every two minutes. I had to wait a little longer because the first room remained a little busier, but that was no big deal. It gave me the opportunity to have a chat with the person who arranged it all.

Prinsenhof Museum

Museum Prinsenhof is located in a former monastery. There are permanent exhibitions as well as temporary exhibitions. Now that is an exhibition of porcelain. But there are also paintings and, of course, Delft Blue artifacts. But I went to this museum because of the fact that our Father of the Fatherland, William of Orange, was murdered here by Balthazar Gerards. The bullet holes can still be seen in the stairwell. Normally I’m not much for museums, but since it was so quiet now, I actually really enjoyed lingering a little longer at things. It also happens to be a very beautiful museum, so definitely worth it! Be sure to take a look at the garden behind the museum before or after. That is a kind of courtyard with a statue of William of Orange in it. Really a beautiful spot.

The New Church

After I had finished looking around Museum Prinsenhof, I decided to walk towards the market square at my leisure. I had reserved tickets for the Nieuwe Kerk. You can get a ticket for both the Old and New Church and then you can also choose whether you want to visit only the church itself or also climb the tower. I chose to go see the New Church and 15 minutes later climb the tower. The church itself was really impressive. You will find the tomb of William of Orange, as well as the tomb of Hugo de Groot. Unfortunately, the royal crypt is not open to the public, but that is understandable. I had enough for 15 minutes, but I think I could have stayed even longer. Then I had to report to the church’s store. There was the meeting place to climb the tower.

View over Delft

I went upstairs with a total of 6 people. We had to wait until the people who were in the tower came down and we got 45 minutes total to stay in the tower. At first I thought this was kind of awkward. So you are actually forced to look at something quickly, but afterwards it was not too bad. You really have plenty of time and we were back down in plenty of time. The second floor was the “engine room” of the tower. A little further up we were allowed out. It was quite windy and the corridors around the tower are very narrow. So keep in mind not to bring too much packing when you go up. My backpack got stuck a few times. At the top, the atmosphere was really nice. Everyone waited nicely for each other. It was as if the six of us had booked the tour. Then we could climb even higher. The view was really cool. You see the market square but also the other side of Delft. Really nice to do once!

Bye bye Delft!

My day in Delft was really nice. You can plan it very easily and even if you have to wait a while, it’s not a punishment. These sights are close to each other, so you can feel free to take a stroll in between. Really highly recommended!

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