Day 64 - Not Quite Cats

OK, the Delft Cast of characters.

HS - High school friend. She was an exchange student at my High School, and we were her host family. One of very few highschool friends with whom I am still in touch

B - Her sister. Also studied in the states for a year at a different school, and visited with my family and I in the summer.

M - HS's boyfriend. Very nice guy.

D - B's Boyfriend. Also very nice guy. A dentist in Delft and the official leaser of the houseboat.

B and D had planned to get a cat for their houseboat, but they decided aginst it because their schedules were so hectic, and B will be moving to Cologne for work. However, they have been adopted by a pair of lake chickens and their chicks. Rosula, Gunther, and their brood stop by the boat every morning between 6:30 and 7 demanding to be fed. B and D keep a bag of old bread for just this reason. Rosula and crew are very entertaining, and very, very persuasive (read loud). Who needs a cat for a wake-up call when one has five hungry birds lurking about the boat?

M was going to be arriving at around 10:30, but got heald up in traffic, so HS, Cz and I decided to go for a walk around town. Delft is like a smaller, cleaner, more picturesque Amsterdam. Some canals are full of green goo because they are dammed for construction work, but we saw no used condoms floating by. We meandered through winding streets and over canals, eventually finding ourselves at the tourist office. We got info on the canal tours, and spent a little time online (finally had a chance to check the blog!) while HS went to meet M at the houseboat.

When they returned, we headed out for some proper sight-seeing. First we went to New Church...16th century. New and Old are on a different scale over here. The church was built around an older, wooden church. In places, slight errors in the plans caused the walls of New Church to pass too close to the walls of the temporary wooden one. The result is some rather interesting bows and bulges along the walls. These are especially evident viewed from the top of the tower. To get to the top of said tower, one must climb a steep spiral staircase. Some steps are stone and closed, and those are OK. Other steps, however are narrow wooden planks set in a spiral with a view down into the abyss. The whole affair is very skinny, so meeting someone going the other direction presents a logistical challenge, with one party flattened against the wall, and the other picking their way up or down the narrowest part of the stair. We muddled through though, and the views truly were amazing. A perk of the land being so flat is that one can see for miles, even across international borders, these countries are so tiny.

After New Church, we visited Old Church. Old church also had some difficulties in its building. Namely that its main tower leans. There is a 1 metre lean to the North and a 2 metre lean to the East I believe. It looks as if it is about to topple into the canal, which its builders feared would happen, but so far it just tilts as if it's leaning over to peek around the buildings next door. The designers did try some tricks to make it appear straighter, such as adjusting the heights of its surrounding spires and putting its ornaments off center, but they weren't too successful.

Johannes Vermeer's original grave was located inside the church, along with some of the king's relatives and former mayors...also Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, who invented the first microscope and considered the father of microbiology, is also buried in the church. Nice to have two notable people of the Arts and Science under the same church.

From the churches, we stopped for a little snack at AppleFlappen, a bakery with the funnest name to say. Fortified with pastries, we hopped on the canal tourboat. Our guide had a little difficulty getting free of the moorings, but once we were on our way, it was a lovely lazy float down the water. The guide spoke in both Dutch and English, and I am just brimful with useless facts about Delft architecture, bridges and history.

B arrived in time for dinner and drinks at the houseboat. B and D have a great little tabletop grill, sort of like a fondue set, but with the grill above, and little pans for melting cheese or toasting other treats below. We talked, laughed, ate and drank for hours. Emphasis on the drinking and laughing. We have experienced Dutch liquor. A lot. I don't think Cz will be touching the sauce for a while. We had a great time, and it is wonderful to see our friends.