DELFT 2026-06-14

26 Jun, 2026

Dutch travelog, part 5.5. Read part 5 here. (We were in two locations, so part 5 is divided into two parts.)

Depending on the train, the commute from Den Haag to Delft can be as short as 15 minutes. The train seemed to be newer and cleaner as well. Unfortunately, a family with a screaming toddler and an equally loud mother* sat next to us. Daniel wanted to move, but I said it would be a short ride so, whatever.

* She was having a video call ON SPEAKER and later sang loudly to try to distract her child, which didn't work.

I wore my bright blue "Delft" dress ("Rodeo Dress" in Cornflower from Tuesday of California), but forgot my usual photo op. (I plan on returning to Delft for the museum, so next time!)

The city of Delft really leaned into Delft blue†, as the building next to the station was painted entirely in this color.

† This is the official hex code.

The heart of the city is two cross-walks (~5-minute walk) away from the station. You're immediately greeted by a canal, and you will find many small canals along the city. I filmed a lot while we were there, but luckily remembered to take photos.

In the first canal, we spotted a bunch of baby coots standing on what we thought was their nest!

What is Delftware?

Delftware or Delft pottery, also known as Delft Blue (Dutch: Delfts blauw) or as delf, is a general term now used for Dutch tin-glazed earthenware... Most of it is blue and white pottery, and the city of Delft in the Netherlands was the major centre of production, but the term covers wares with other colours, and made elsewhere. (Source)

However, the history is even more interesting. It all starts in China, of course.

Chinese potters in Jingdezhen, a kiln city in the inland province of Jiangxi, first developed the technology to fire true porcelain in the 14th Century. (Source)

They created the signature blue and white designs that we think of when we refer to "fine china." These pieces got traded and end up in Europe in the 16th century, and the Dutch wanted more of it.

But the Dutch were forbidden to travel to Jingdezhen because the Chinese potters wanted to protect their trade secrets. So the Dutch only had access to the precious porcelain via trades in Indonesia and had to pay taxes to the Chinese Emperor, etc. Lots of hurdles that they obviously did not want to jump through.

So what did the Dutch do? They tried to copy the designs and inadvertently created their own version.

Early Delftware was a curious hybrid, with plates featuring a Dutch countryside scene in the centre but with the rim divided into panels, characteristic of Ming Dynasty porcelain. The Dutch would also occasionally misunderstand or misinterpret Chinese imagery. Peaches are a symbol of longevity in China but would appear resembling oranges on Delftware. (Source)

• 
  Daniel with his giant feet.

(Window) shopping

I had bookmarked a bunch of Delftware gift shops. They're all located in the town square, which was convenient.

• 
  It was at this moment when I realized that the fleece jacket Daniel's had for years was probably Delftware inspired. Or maybe it's inspired by original Chinese porcelain. Either way, he matched all of the decor.

Unfortunately, most of the gift shops had cheap-looking wares or touristy knick knacks. (Switzerland has changed me, where I'd rather spend more money on good quality items.) So, of the shops I visited, I only had two favorites:

I want the real deal. I ended up buying a stroopwafel jar with a Miffy design from Royal Delft Ware. I saw the same one in Den Haag for €2 more, and since this was the official store, I thought it was nice that I only had to pay €52 for it. (Yeah, not cheap. But I only want the one!)

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  The Miffy plushie has been with me since 2021.

There was also a pharmacy that maintained its traditional look. (We have one in Lucerne, too!) Unfortunately, it was closed. I would've loved to go inside, but it's probably just a modern pharmacy.

Snack time

We had homemade hot pot planned in the evening, so we skipped lunch and just snacked.

ORINTEA

"Do you know the difference between Chinese bubble tea and Taiwanese bubble tea?" Han had asked me, prior to this trip.

I did not. She explained that Chinese bubble tea shops prefer using fresh fruit and enjoy drinking the tea, more so than the extra toppings, which, btw, are a Western thing. She said that, through her research, Orintea has the best example of Chinese bubble tea.

"The straw is even flat," she said, "So you can enjoy sipping the tea slowly."

Well, Han wasn't there to advise me that day so I was left to my own devices. I chose passionfruit mango tea, as passionfruit used to be one of my go-to fruit tea drinks. Daniel got a matcha something.

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  "Why is the napkin Greek?" Daniel had asked.

I was crestfallen when I saw that I received a regular boba straw, because that meant I wasn't going to experience what Han had explained. And when they mean fresh fruit tea, they mean FRESH. Like, this was freshly cut fruit inside a tea, not the other way around.

So, even though I have a cat named Boba and I like going for boba/bubble tea, I always order my drinks without anything because I hate chewing while drinking. It annoys me when I can't chew fast enough and I'm left with stuff I have to now eat after I've finished the drink. The tea wasn't sweet for me either, even though I got 100% sweet. But I have a theory about this now, which will be explained in part 6. So, all-in-all, I wasn't too impressed.

Next time, I will ask Han what I should order to get that flat straw experience.

HOUSE OF FRITES

Han recommended House of Frites because they use real potatoes that they cut in the shop. These fries are on the skinny side. I usually prefer thicker fries, but this was the only option. Daniel and I ordered one portion to share.

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  Fries with truffle mayo and lots of parmesan.

I love truffle anything and I noticed that the Dutch like to finely grate their parmesan, which I really enjoyed and it added to the experience. You could taste the freshness of the potatoes and the fries weren't overly salted. If these were thick-cut fries or even wedges, they would've been a 10/10.

RUIT Stroopwafels

Our final snack stop was RUIT Stroopwafels, where they make stroopwafels to order. You can even customize your stroopwafel with various toppings.

"I can only eat fresh stroopwafels now," Han had said.

I got the classic while Daniel had a stroopwafel covered in Nutella.

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  Hot off the stove.

Let me tell you why I still prefer packaged stroopwafels. Yes, the first bite was delicious. Eating a freshly-baked anything is delicious. But—and it's a big ol' but—90% of the syrup dripped down into the paper. I only ate, like, 10% of the syrup. I had wanted to rip open the paper and eat the remaining syrup like an animal, but Daniel advised me not to do it.

With non-fresh stroopwafels, you get a good amount of syrup between each waffle. For me, that's the best part. Otherwise you're just eating mostly cookie with a little bit of syrup.

Would still get this again, though.

HEMA

"Let's walk up this street," I suggested, after we had finished our waffles. We followed the canal a bit and I suddenly found myself staring at a HEMA. It had been a couple days already, so I figured now was the time to buy the Miffy kitchenware I had spotted from day one.

WELL. Remember when I wrote that most of the things were sold out at the HEMA in Den Haag? Not here. Uh oh.

In my defense, I had been looking for a lot of these things for months, namely a new pencil case and picture frames. So I got those. I also got a bunch of other Miffy things, because they don't sell Miffy products in Switzerland. At least, not the everyday stuff.

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  One pair of socks and two frames aren't pictured, because they've already been used.

I ended up not getting the kitchen tools because I decided in the larger scheme of things, they were no longer necessary. And in the end, I am happy with my purchases and can't wait to wear my Miffy sweater again when it's colder! (Also I got 4 socks for €10, so there were some good deals in there.)

I purchased my items just before the store closed. Daniel wanted to go back to Orintea again to try another drink. After my shopping spree, I decided not to drink anything. Also, I hadn't peed all day.

"If we hurry, we can still take the next train," I told Daniel. After he got his drink, we had to run to the train station again, my calves burning with every step.

Dinner at home

We arrived back at R&S's around 18:00. They were already preparing dinner. The table was set with the pot, portable gas burner, and various ingredients.

We sat down to eat, and I was surprised by R's hot pot eating style. He made a peanut sauce from scratch and was very meticulous about what went in and when (to avoid undercooking the fish balls), and seemed equally surprised when I told him how my family used to mix raw eggs into their sauce (and we typically used around four kinds of sauces).

I really can't remember the last time I had hot pot with R. Now that I think of it, I mostly ate hot pot with my dad's side of the family (he's from my mother's side). Throughout this trip, S had been saying that the two of us were so similar even if we didn't think so. But at the same time, his hot pot rituals felt so unfamiliar to me. It's fascinating how we can be from the same family, grow up in similar areas, and still be surprised by these small nuances.

Normally, I eat until I'm stuffed. But since we're still traveling, I decided not to push myself. The rest of the evening was slow and chill. I told R&S that we'd both leave tomorrow evening for Utrecht. The original plan was that I would stay one more night while Daniel went first, but he doesn't like to travel by himself and I'd feel safer being with him anyway.

R&S are looking to move from this apartment, so I enjoyed my final sunset from the 19th floor before getting ready for bed.

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  ♫ See the sunset, the day is ending.

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