RO: Adevarul e ca dupa cateva ore in Rotterdam, ti se face dor subit de un pic de spirit amsterdamez. De cladiri vechi, de canale, de biciclete (nu ca n-ar fi si in Rotterdam), de terase pe marginea apei, de saboti, de branza, de mori de vant vechi de cand lumea. Si de nu mai ai nici energie, nici chef, de du-te vino-ul din Amsterdam, am gasit IN SFARSIT varianta lui in miniatura. Si-anume Delft, orasul alb-albastru cum i se mai spune, pentru ca e faimos in toata lumea pentru ceramica alb-albastra. Pai pai, parca ne suna cunoscut si parca ne amintim de casutele acelea dementiale pe care KLM-ul le oferea la zborurile long haul de la business class, tot din ceramica de Delft erau facute 🙂 De fapt si de drept ei sunt renumiti pentru faianta de Delft, pictata manual pe bucati de portelan, fiecare avand un desen unic. Sunt scumpe de nu te poti atinge, dar hei, sunt autentice si lucrate manual. Se gasesc oricum si replici mai ieftine la toate magazinele de suveniruri. Si pentru vesela de portelan, farfurii, castroane, tot ce vrei. Paradisul chinezilor in Delft 😀 Nici nu-i de mirare ca sunt peste tot, si ca turisti, si ca localnici. Pai la tot pasul dai ba de un magazin chinezesc, ba de o droaie de restaurante cu galuste de orez all-you-can-eat, ba grupuri de omuleti cu stegulete dupa ei. Dar unde chineeeez nu eeee, nimic nu eeeee 🙂

EN: The truth is that after a couple of hours in Rotterdam, you’re suddenly missing that Amsterdam vibe. Old buildings, canals, bicycles (not that you don’t have them in Rotterdam), terraces along the water, wooden clogs, cheese and ancient windmills. And if you’re left with no energy or if you’ve had enough of all that Amsterdam hustle and bustle, we finally found its miniature version. And that’s Delft, the blue and white town as it is called, because it is famous all around the world for its blue and white ceramics. Well, well, sounds familiar and we’re remembering those tiny ceramic houses that KLM offered for the business class long hauls, they were also made of delftware 🙂 Actually, Delft is famous for its tiles, manually painted on porcelain square tiles, each of them having an unique design. They are extremely expensive, but hey, they are authentic and handcrafted. You can also find some cheaper replicas at the souvenir shops. And also porcelain dishes, plates, bowls, everything that you want. China Paradise in Delft 😀 No wonder why the Chinese people are everywhere, both locals and tourists. At every turn you’ll find either a Chinese store, or lots of all-you-can-eat dumplings restaurant, or groups of people following a flag. But if there’s no Chinese, there’s nothing at all 🙂 – actually this is a reinterpretation of a Romanian song, the translation in English doesn’t do it justice 🙂







RO: Acum intre noi fie vorba, ceramica de Delft, care se vrea a fi competitotul ceramicii chinezesti, nu e tocmai ce s-ar numi un portelan autentic. Asta spre deosebire de cel chinezesc. Practic si faianta, si vesela si casutele acelea adorabile in miniatura sunt facute dintr-un lut mai ieftinut, acoperit cu o pojghita lucioasa. Bine, chiar si asa, picturile sunt senzationale si tocmai de asta si-au castigat renumele in toata lumea.

EN: Now, between you and me, the delftware, who’s trying to overrun the famous Chinese ceramics, it’s not precisely what it’s called an authentic porcelain. Despite the Chinese competitor. Basically, both tiles and plates and those adorable miniature house are made of a cheaper clay, covered with a thin polished layer. Anyway, even so, the paintings are amazing and that’s exactly why they’ve earned the worldwide fame. 


RO: Bun, si de parca nu erau suficiente operele lui Rembrandt sau van Gogh, ei bine uite ca vine si Delft-ul cu piesa lui de rezistenta, si-anune Vermeer. Nascut si crescut in Delft, nici nu e de mirare ca exista pana si un muzeu dedicat complet lui si operelor sale. Pai cum sa fie altfel, cand Vermeer a facut cinste epocii de aur olandeze 🙂 A, si apropo, in caz ca vi s-au parut dubiosi omuletii din poze imbracati in haine lungi si negre, cu gulere crete si pompoase la gat, ei bine, nu voiam nimic altceva decat sa aduca in prim plan atmosfera din epoca de aur. Adica de prin secolele 16 si 17, cand lumea o luase razna cu tot ce inseamna bogatie si nu stiau cum sa-si arate mai bine si mai ostentativ buna starea. Fie ca erau negustori de succes, exploratori ori artisti, toata Olanda prospera iar gulerele oamenilor deveneau pe zi ce trece si mai albe, si mai mari, si mai crete 🙂 Bun, dar pan-ajungem noi la muzeul lui Vermeer, trecem intai prin piata centrala din Delft, piata Markt. Piata… piata cu alte cuvinte 😀 In fata primaria, in spate Biserica Noua (Nieuwe Kerk), pe margini o multime de restaurante si terase si multa, multa branza olandeza cu chimen la toate magazinele din zona. Parca ziceam la inceput ca oraselul asta e fix un Amsterdam in miniatura, si uite c-am avut dreptate 😛

EN: Ok, and as if Rembrandt’s and van Gogh’s paintings were not enough, Delft has his own pièce de résistance, and that’s Vermeer. Born and raised in Delft, there is no wonder that there is a museum dedicated to his life and paintings. How could it be different, when Vermeer did justice to the Golden Dutch Era 🙂 Ah, and by the way, just in case you wondered what’s going on with those funny people dressed in black overalls, with pompous ruffled collars, well, it seems that they just wanted to bring back the atmosphere from the Golden Era. Meaning the 16th and 17th centuries, when everyone was crazy about wealth and they wanted to show off as much as possible. Even if they were successful merchants, explorers or artists, all the Netherlands was prospering and people’s ruffs were becoming whiter and whiter, bigger and bigger, wavier and wavier 🙂 Ok, but until we get to Vermeer’s museum, we’ll pass through the central market, called Markt. In front of us we have the Town Hall, on the other side the New Church (Nieuwe Kerk), on the sides lots of restaurants and terraces and tons, but tons of cummin Dutch cheese. Oh well, we said it at the beginning of the article that Delft is a miniature Amsterdam and it seems that we were right 😛












RO: Una peste alta, oraselul Delft e un fel de sat mai mare, linistit, putin demodat, fara agitatia si haosul vecinilor Haga si Rotterdam si per total este fix ce cauta olandezul intr-un weekend cand are nevoie de putina relaxare. A, si cireasa de pe tort in ceea ce-l priveste este berea 🙂 N-o fi ea berea olandeza mai buna si mai variata ca cea belgiana, insa pe vremurile alea indepartate ale Delft-ului se gaseau o multime de berarii artizanale pe strazile orasului. Din pacate nu a mai ramas niciuna dintre berariile cele vechi in picioare, insa intre timp a aparut una ceva mai noua si o bere locala, care poarta numele orasului. Da, deci avem canale, case vechi insirate de-a lungul apei, stradute mici si liniste si pavate, avem bere locala, avem locuri de hipsteri, avem amintirea epocii de aur, avem artisti si spirit creativ, cu alte cuvinte, da, e fix genul de orasel in care ne-ar fi placut sa traim. Delft, Leidschendam si Leiden. Top trei 🙂

EN: All in all, Delft is a bigger village, tranquil, a bit old fashioned, without all that hustle and bustle from the neighboring Den Haag and Rotterdam and in the end it is exactly what a Dutch person searches for a relaxing weekend. Ah, and the cream of the crop is the beer 🙂 Maybe the Dutch beer is not that great and diverse as the Belgian one, but some long time ago there used to be tens of local breweries in Delft. Unfortunately there is none left nowadays, but meanwhile a new brewery arose and it has the same name as the town. Yes, we have canals, old houses along the water, small cobblestone streets, local beer, hipster places, we have the memory of the Golden Era, we have artists and creative spirits, in other words, yes, it is exactly the type of town where we would live in. Delft, Leidschendam and Leiden. Top three 🙂