Day 2 with an iphone

So, the journey continues to Delft.

The city dates from the 13th century and the architecture was stunning!

One question that I always had about the dutch was answered in this little town; Have you ever wondered why in the Olympics or as seen recently in the World Cup that the Netherlands teams wear Orange? It never made sense to be because the flag colors are red/white/blue. The answer was found in the Nieiwe Kerk on the Tomb of William;

The association of the House of Orange with Delft began when William of Orange(Willem van Oranje), nicknamed William the Silent (Willem de Zwijger), took up residence in 1572. William was the leader at the time in the struggle against the Spanish, the Eighty Years' War.

Delft was one of the leading cities of Holland and was equipped with the necessary city walls to serve as a headquarters. When William was shot to death in 1584 by Balthazar Gerards in the hall of the Prinsenhof, the family's traditional burial place in Bredawas in the hands of the Spanish. Therefore, he was buried in the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), starting a tradition for the House of Orange that has continued to the present day.

Nieuwe Kerk de Delft

This particular day in Delft was rainy, but we were determined to not let the gloomy weather get us down. We bought cheap umbrella's and carried on. I was the tour guide since had been been to Holland before, and I proceeded to tell Trent that you can go up the 30 story tower of the New Church. Although I have never gone in it, because the I am seriously afraid of heights and also extremely claustrophobic.

Trent got seriously excited at the news and begged me to go with him, the next thing you know we are buying our tickets.

Let me tell you now that I realized about 10 stories up just how out-of-shape I really am. I am huffing and puffing, occasionally swearing and begging for a way down. Not only are the stairs thin, rundown and steep, but the stair well winds up in a circle and is very very narrow. Not exactly the best situation for a wimpy dork like me. Trent was trying to coach me on, "hurry the elderly couple behind us is gaining speed, don't let them pass us!" With the occasional push on my rear we finally made it to the top.

The view was pretty amazing and yes, it was totally worth it.

Now, that we made it to the top- we still had to come down. So skillfully and very carefully I finally made it down safe and sound.

Later that day- we found a parking ticket on the window, unfortunately the parking tickets are pretty spendy, we are expecting our $100 bill to come in the mail any day now. Nice

Probably the coolest looking candy vendor I have ever seen.

Last stop Scheveningen {Don't even try to pronounce it} There is evidence of the name Scheveningen being used during World War II to identify German spies: They would pronounce the initial "Sch" differently from Dutch native speakers.

It was pretty windy while we were here, so we didn't get to stay long- this would be a beautiful place to come in the summer. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular for water sports such as windsurfing and kiteboarding. We heard there is a nudist section to the north.......

My genealogy runs through this city, many relatives lived here once. Although we didn't see any family on this trip, I thought about my ancestry the entire time.

Stay tuned for day 3- Brugge, Belgium