It’s been a terrific day today, on a small group tour (8) to Rotterdam, Delft and The Hague. Rotterdam is considered the modern city in Holland because it was pretty much totally destroyed in the war. It is also the main port and centre of business. We loved seeing the cube houses, designed to be like an urban roof with space on the ground. The Markethall is an office and residential building with a market hall underneath. Really interesting architecture but I wouldn’t fancy living in those cubes.
Our second stop was the Delft factory. It displayed the history of Delft as well as the manufacturing process. I had time for a cup of coffee out of a lovely Delft cup and saucer, but I had to give them back.
We then went to the centre of the city of Delft and had a good long stop with time for lunch. William of Orange was assassinated in Delft during the war with the Spanish. He is buried in the New Church (old though), which is the second tallest church in Holland. Delft was also the home of Johannes Vermeer. It is such a pretty place with canals around every corner. I took a lot of photos!
Last city was The Hague, where we saw the parliament building, which is being renovated at the moment. We also saw the Peace Palace, which houses the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial body of the United Nations. Andrew Carnegie, one of the richest Americans in history, donated the money for the building. He was a philanthropist who gave away 90% of his fortune to charities, foundations and universities.
We were dropped off by the waterfront, just behind the central station so I had a little look at the activity there.
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