Stark

I really love the light in plain stone churches, the sun shining through the high windows, the black and white effect of simple colours. The theme for the day was glass, and this could easily have been a stain glass window from one of the churches we visited in Delft. But these chandeliers in the Niewekerk entranced me, with their bold colour in a grayscale building. I would recommend checking it out in large, for all the detail of the lights and building.

It was our last day in Europe and we wanted to make the most of it. Bridget had to go into work briefly, and Erica and I needed to pack, but then we all met to go to Delft for the day. The town is famous for Delftware - blue and white pottery, but it is also a charming town with medieval buildings and a climbable church tower. Our first stop was the Oudekerk (Old Church), a lovely old building with a wonderfully leany tower. But our main priority was to get some cake and tea at that point. The receptionist recommended a local cafe, which we hastened to for an absolutely delicious morning tea of caramel/chocolate/pear cakes and various teas. After looking at the menu we reorganised our day's plans to make it back for lunch.

The next stop was the Niewekerk (New Church), with an 85m tower to climb. I always look for towers. The view proved what we already knew - the Netherlands really are just flat. But that makes for a good view! We'd passed a family on our way up as they came down, the father commenting that he now knows how an earthworms must feel. It wasn't quite that tight, but it was a pretty narrow staircase at points. We then spent an hour or so exploring the church, reading all the history, and blocking out the sounds of shouty men up the restoration scaffolding. There was a school group running through, finding answers and chatting, while their teachers quietly sat and kept an eye on things, lit up by a tight sunbeam.

By then it was lunchtime, or at least we wanted it to be lunchtime, so we went back off to the Stads Kofyhuis for delicious (and I cannot emphasis just how delicious) rolls. Then it was all over. It was time for Erica and I to depart, to fly back to England. So we went back to collect our things, farewelled Bridget, and found our way to the airport. Our 40 minute flight was descending almost before it had finished taking off, and within forty minutes of landing we were on a train with Burger King (catching our breath after a very rapid transfer), heading to Norwich.