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Delft

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Category: Book Book
Published on Sunday, 22 August 2010 16:09 22 August 2010
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Since my last visit to Delft in 2006 the facilities for boaters have been greatly improved and the town is starting to look like one which welcomes visitors. The De Kolk quay has been augmented with a good size pontoon on the north side to make plenty of space for visiting boats, although there are occasional charter barges which reserve long stretches of it. All berths have access to coin operated electric and water, and the moorings are tended by an enthusiastic official who resides in the adjacent harbour office. Mooring fees (€9/night) are paid at the ticket machine on the new pontoon berths and your ticket provides access to a very acceptable facilities block in the basement of the harbour office. Lovely new, clean toilets and showers, plus a launderette.

In the town the new Vermeer visitor's centre includes replicas and interpretations of all his works, although disappointingly none of the originals, as well as an exhibition on the style of his work, and myriad reproductions of the Girl with the Pearl Earring. No visit to Delft would be complete without a look at the famous pottery, and De Porceleyne Fles, the oldest established pottery in town, is within walking distance of the harbour. A tour of the facility delivers you, inevitably, into the factory shop - just don't set your heart on the big tulip vase, unless you've got a big budget for souvenirs.