Though it was planned to be a dedicated Business trip, it turned out to be a short jolly trip.  I was supposed to visit Delft for 2 days for work. As the city is around 3hr drive from my place, decided to go by car instead of taking train which would mean changing in between and a journey of 4+ hrs. Stomach pain starts in the family as soon as some business travel is seen coming and somehow we all want to be together all the time no matter much we irritate/get irritated while being together. This time as parents were at home and kids had school, it was not possible for them to join me on my trip. Harish volunteered to drive me to Delft taking 2 days off. I think he too needed a break from the two non stop chatter boxes. Its fun to be with kids, but at times it is natural to feel like having a break. I always quote, “8 hrs of office work = 1 hr Piano classes by Dhruv = 20 mins negotiation with my kids”.  I was also happy with the proposal to have a company as I don’t like driving long distances alone.

We started early morning as I was supposed to be at office by noon. It was raining heavily and visibility was very poor till we crossed German Border. When rows of trees in the middle of vast fields started appearing, it was clear we were nearing Netherlands. Though one can enjoy the beauty of landscapes from the car, I love bus travel in Netherlands as one will be seated  bit higher and can see the landscapes much better.

By the time I finished my work it was 6pm. Came back to hotel, got refreshed and wanted to have food in the old city of Delft. We decided to walk instead of driving. It was sunny and pleasant, being not too warm nor cold. A light jacket was needed though. We started walking across the street from hotel Shanghai Delft towards the old city of Delft.

 This is what I was photographing standing on the bridge 🙂

I do not know the name of the plant. It was some sort of weed which covered the whole area and it looked beautiful.

As usual I had to be forced to walk further. Further down the road this iconic orange coloured bicycle got my attention, in the country which is known for bicycles.

I do not know why but plants and trees attract my attention more than man made things. This is called “weinende baum”, the crying tree. I would have named it lazy tree or zombie tree, as it reminds me of Swasti’s morning dramas soon after waking up. Her hands and head would be hanging just like this after being pulled out from bed.I loved this Dutch Brick house…Canal locking systems….Though I don’t want to make fun of my own parking skills, I was happy we did not drive into old city and try to park.

Vlamingstraat Delft.(Vlaming street)Though my feet were paining like hell due to whole day work, it was so pleasant to walk across these streets. It was sunny and the soothing breeze made the walk more pleasant!

Loved Markt Square of Delft surrounded by picturesque small houses.   City hall of Delft…The Nieuwe Kerk Church. The church tower is the second highest in the Netherlands, after the Domtoren in Utrecht.  We planned to have dinner at “India Garden” restaurant which is located just beside the Church.  The Couple who ran the restaurant were very friendly and the food was great. Remember them saying they are from Nepal. View from the window of the restaurant was also beautiful and so it was not an issue that it took longer to serve the food. After having a heavy dinner, they offered free sweets/ice cream and when we declined, they offered hot Indian masala tea which was pleasurable. After 2nd Day work, we planned to have late lunch at Den Haag which is around 15-20 mins drive from Delft.  We walked on the Pier to take some snaps and drove back after having a quick bite at a sea side Cafe.

Though I don’t like cities much, somehow the city of Delft captured my heart. It was pleasant, calm and quiet. I would love to visit it again.

I do not know how many photos and videos I take from the car just to delete later. But the below pic turned out to be one of my favourites which made its way to my archive of photos.