The Girls With the Cool Earrings

Two Beautiful Girls in the Mauritshuis

Tuesday morning in Delft started out rainy and windy and got worse. It was a good day to spend indoors. After an early breakfast we took off for the train station to catch the tram into The Hague. Twice on the six-block walk to the station, because of the downpour we had to take shelter in doorways, even though we both had umbrellas and rain gear.

At the station, we bought an all-day tram pass, and caught tram #1 to the Hague. The ride was about a half-hour; when we got off, the rain had stopped, although it was still really windy. We found our way to the Mauritshuis Museum, also known as the Royal Picture Gallery, because it started as a donation of the royal family's personal art collection.

We were pleasantly surprised to find out that our Museum Card allowed us free admission; the guide book we are using said that we would have to pay separately. The guidebook also says that the museum has the best collection of old masters outside of the Rjksmuseum.

Afterwards, we both agreed that the Maritshuis is actually better. First, there were far fewer visitors, so we didn't feel like cattle. Second, you can get much closer to the paintings. Finally, I think that the paintings in this collection are really more interesting.

Rubens' Old Woman and a Boy with Candles

The first "famous" painting we saw was Peter Paul Rubens' Old Woman and a Boy with Candles, painted about 1616. The interesting thing that I saw with Rubens is that he definitely painted in a more fluid, less realistic style. You could see the shapes of the fingers outlined, for instance. It definitely looked more like a painting, and less like a photograph.

Pieter Claesz - Vanitas Still Life

I guess I am more of a Philistine; I really still prefer the photo-realistic old-master style, like Pieter Claesz' Vanitas Still Life. Plus, I have a thing for skulls. I also like still life with flowers, bugs, and even cows.

The Young Bull by  Paulus Potter

There were one or two rooms filled with Rembrandts. Here, Kathy and I join in at The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp.

The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp

Frans Hals was a painter who moved to Haarlem when he was 10 and lived there the rest of his life. He made a living painting portraits of the emerging middle class, going beyond the stiff representation of the time. As he grew older, his brushwork became simpler and rougher. 

Franz Hals, Portrait of a Laughing Boy

After his death, his work passed out of style. In the 1800's, he was rediscovered by the impressionists. You can see, looking at Portrait of a Laughing Boy, that he is even more impressionistic than Rubens.

Steen - Girl Eating Oysters

Jan Steen, a tavern owner, painted humorous scenes featuring everyday life. As Rick Steves puts it, he was the Norman Rockwell of his day. We saw many of his paintings in the Rjksmuseum. This miniature scene, at the Maruitshuis, is one is his most famous.

Carel Fabritius, The Goldfinsh

In the same room, we saw Carel Fabritius' The Goldfinch, which was recently the subject of a novel by Donna Tartt. Fabritus was Rembrandt's pupil, and Vermeer's teacher.

The Girl with the Pearl Earring

Which lead us to Vermeer's The Girl with the Pearl Earring, the subject of both a novel and a movie, both of the same name. The painting really is stunning. And, unlike the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, you can get close to it, and it is not mobbed. We were both very impressed.

We finished up at the museum about 12:30. Since we had a day pass for the tram, we decided to ride it to the end of the line, to the Dutch "Coney Island" called Scheveningen. The name of this beach city is so unpronounceable, that during World War II, Dutch soldiers used its pronunciation to root out German spies posing as Dutchmen. (An updating of the Shibboleth story from Judges 12.)

Lunch in Sheveningen

By this time, the wind had picked up to near hurricane force (although probably not). One of the Bike and Barge brochures that I read before deciding not to take a tour, mentioned that riders might encounter headwinds! We walked the length of the covered pier, looking at the roaring North Sea, and wondering if the pier was going to survive. We decided not to walk on the uncovered top.

When I went outside to take a picture for the blog, I got a mouth full of sand. So, instead, we found an enclosed restaurant, and had a nice lunch. Since we were practically the only people in the restaurant, we spent a nice afternoon reading our books, and wondering if the roof was going to blow off.

The Delft China Story

On the way back to Delft, we got off two stops early to visit the Delfse Pauw Delftware Factory. The Royal Dutch Delftware Manufactory is a larger and more famous factory, but it is hard to get to without a car. The Delfse Pauw factory also produces authentic Delftware, and the owners give you a free ten-minute tour (which was quite interesting).

We bought a couple of souvenirs (but no Delfware; the authentic stuff is really expensive). We got home around 6:00 PM and started looking for dinner. Our guidebook had a recommended student cafe that featured Italian food.

Stadsherberg de Mol

On the way we passed this medieval door with a small round window. I looked in and it looked like the inside of an authentic pub from the middle ages. Just at that moment, it started to rain hard, so I asked Kathy if she was willing to try this, and she said sure.

The restaurant, Stadsherberg de Mol was originally an orphanage built in 1563. Today, it is a restaurant designed to transport you back to that time.

Start with some soup and bread.

Generally, you select your food from one of the medieval multi-course menus. We didn't want to eat that much, so we ordered some soup from the a la carte menu, and a couple of main plates. Unfortunately, the a la carte menu was in Dutch and our server had to translate for us. I chose some kind of beef stew and mashed potatoes. Kathy wanted something lighter, so she chose the chicken.

Eating Burgundian Style

Instead of roast chicken, Kathy got a platter of chicken legs, cooked over a fire like you would get in the middle ages. It tasted better than it sounds. For the soup, they gave us some very primitive wooden spoons. (You can see one in the picture with Kathy.)

For the rest of the meal, you were supposed to eat with your hands. They had mercy on me, though, and actually gave me a fork to eat my beef stew and mashed potatoes. No fork for the salad with dressing, though, or for Kathy's chicken legs.

Afterwards, our sever gave us tour of the building. Although there were only about ten customers there that evening, the building can actually hold up to 450 on several floors. It was fascinating. When we got back outside to the 21st century both Kathy and I had exactly the same thought.

Gelato.