A Not-So-Science Lesson in Delft (Part 1)

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm not highly fond of communications classes.  In fact, I think I entered quite quickly into a state of Chemistry and Calculus withdrawal.  In communications it seems there is no single correct answer.  In fact, for one question on a quiz I found out later that every possible answer was correct- we just had to say why.  But then what's the point?  Calculus may be complicated (although I consider it stimulating) but at least  1+1 = 2, ALL the time.  None of this pick any answer you want baloney.  Sorry if anyone reading this is a communications student.  Just because I had rather a strong opinion on the subject doesn't mean that I'm entirely right.  I'm sure there is much merit and use in communications, even if the classes I'm taking haven't taught me what that is. 

In any case, I decided there must be something I can do about my science deprivation.  So I did some research on the university website and found someone who seemed to be from the science department and Erasmus MC (Medical Centre) and emailed to ask if I could please have permission to sit in a science or calculus lecture, whether in Dutch or English.  He gave me two options- both at TU in Delft.  Initially I was going to email him right back and say that wasn't possible since I live in Rotterdam, but before jumping to conclusions I decided to google map it.  Turns out it's only 17 km by bike.  I figured that was quite manageable since Erasmus is about 8 km by bike, and sometimes I go there twice in a day.  So I emailed the man back and said I was very excited to be able to take a Biophysics class in Delft.

Yesterday was the first class.  I'd spent a large part of Monday evening looking up directions on google maps, and the Macleans very kindly photocopied a map for me to bring along.  A far as I knew, I was as ready as I'd ever be, but still quite nervous.  Anyone who knows me knows that my sense of direction is... well... nonexistent. 

I asked Kim to come along, and was relieved beyond words when she said sure.  We'd probably still get lost a few times on the way, but being lost together is so much more bearable than being lost alone.

So Kim and I set off at about 9:00 AM.  The journey was supposed to be just over an hour if we set a good pace (and we're in pretty good shape now) and class started at 10:45.  We figured 45 minutes extra should leave us plenty of getting lost time.

Well, unfortunately it only took us about 20 minutes before we were feeling rather confused about which direction to take next.  We were definitely in a beautiful area though.  There was a lake, and some trees.  The Dutch people call it a forest, but I think if you can see right through the trees to the other side it doesn't really count.  And then as we were biking we encountered a very unexpected sight.  I will post a picture:

 

I'm not sure exactly what that animal is.  It's sort of like a buffalo, but the horns are most definitely a different shape.  The buffalos (or I guess officially bison) in Canada have rounder horns, but this guy had flat horns with little curves at the ends.

 

Kim and I were so fascinated that we just had to take a closer look.  He seemed nonchalent and harmless enough.  And I was already giving up hope of being in class on time.  I figured getting attacked by a buffalo would be a good excuse for being late.  It's also probably one the teacher has never heard before.    

 

Here's our friend from closer by.  He's really quite time.  He didn't even look at us.  But don't worry, we actually were quite careful.  We didn't get closer than twenty feet.

 

Then we hopped on our bikes and set off again.  Eventually we arrived in a city, though we had no idea which one.  We decided to ask for directions in a library.  So I bravely marched in there with my map while Kim watched the bikes.  And an amazing thing happened!  I asked in Dutch, and the people answered in Dutch!!!!  That just made my day. 

 

So, with our new directions Kim and I set off in high spirits.  The other good news what that there were now signs along the road that directed us to Delft.  Those were extremely helpful.  The kilometers ticked down quickly and we soon made it there, although we did stop for a few minutes because there was this really cool spinney thing at a playground.

 

 

So we had to try it out.  (I'll admit it was my idea).  I love spinney things!  Those old fashioned merry-go-rounds that some playgrounds still have are the best. (Although I still haven't seen any out here unfortunately).

 

 



Oh, and I have another confession to make.  Kim and I were having an animated conversation (I can't remember what about) and we may have biked into each other.  Oops.  Thankfully neither of us were hurt, but the rubber on my kickstand came off, and Kim's rim got bent. 

Thankfully the repairs were quite easy.  Once we could stop laughing long enough to breathe, we spent about three minutes on repairs before we were again set to go.

At this point we could already see the skyline of Delft, so although we were very late, optimism was high. 

Those buildings in the distance are Delft.

And we saw a Canada Goose!  That's the first one I've seen since I was in Canada, and I didn't know they had them in the Netherlands, so I figured it was worth a picture.

Thus it happened that we entered Delft just before 12:00.  I was very much late for the class, but I figured it was worth finding the building and lecture hall anyways.  It was at that point that I discovered to my embarrassment and distress that I had forgotten the paper on which I'd written the room number.  *Sigh*.  So much for a science lesson. 

But not all was lost.  Kim and I have Rotterdam Passes, which we made sure we brought along.  They also include several museums in Delft.  We started with the Science Centre because we figured that at least if I couldn't have my Biophysics lecture we could at least learn something scientific.  It was interesting, but not nearly as cool as Science World in Vancouver.

After that we headed to the Royal Delft Blauw Factory, which is also a museum.  It's usually 12 euros, but with a Rotterdampas, it's free!  That was a very fascinating museum to see.  We got a self-tour with headsets to tell us the history and the stories of everything.  And we got to see in the actual work area where the clay is shaped and dried and people paint it by hand.  Super cool!  And very educational.

There were two things that I was very surprised to learn.  One was that the Delft Blue designs don't originate in Delft.  They came from China before, and then when wars blocked the trade routes, then factories sprang up all over Delft to supply the great demand.  Once British porcelain was invented though, the demand dried up quickly.  Now this is the only Delft Blue Factory remaining.

 

The other thing that surprised me was the way the designs are made.  First the clay is shaped, then a wrap with tiny holes is pressed over it and rubbed with charcoal to create a pattern of dots so the master painter has a design to follow.  Then the item is painted.  But not in blue- it's greyish black at first.  Only after being heated in a fancy oven thing for a long time does it turn blue.

 

Oh, and I guess there are a few other things that I found extremely fascinating.  One was the factory used to make practical house decorations such as pillars and banisters before it switched to the more decorative pots and dishes.

This is an actual dress that someone wore.  I think it would be awfully cold and hard to put on a dress made out of pottery.  I think I'll stick with my soft dresses.

 

And now some pictures of inside the factory where the make Delft Blue things every day.

 

And this was in the store.  I commented to Kim that the artist was probably exceedingly disappointed when he took it out of the oven and discovered it had flopped.  But then she pointed out to me that there were several others that were identical to it.  So I guess it's supposed to be that way.  I'm not sure why anyone would want to buy that for $600 though.

 

I did buy one thing though: a little egg cup.  I was debating between that and a cute windmill.  It's not handpainted with the Delft Blue official signature, but I'm very happy with it all the same.  The 'real' Delft Blauw version of the egg cup would have costed about 60 euros instead of 4, and the only noticeable difference is the signature underneath.  So this poor student is a happy girl with her cheap imitation egg cup souvenir!

 

But my head is getting a little spinney from all this writing.  There's still a lot more to the story, but I shall leave that to another day (probably tomorrow morning). 

 

Oh!  And I almost forgot to mention that tomorrow afternoon I am off to Brussels, the capital city of Belgium.  I am very excited, and also quite determined to buy a Belgian Waffle.  Apparently they are some of the most delicious things in the world!  I'll be sure to bring my camera and take pictures.