A Brief Visit to Delft and Den Haag

Actually it supposed to only take 20 minutes from Rotterdam to Delft but due to a construction going on, I needed to wait for a bus replacement and it took me almost 1 hour to reach there. Widya, my friend picked me up in the station and we walked to her appartment. You could also rent a bike arranged by OV chipkaart or another orange bike that I rent for the next day called Mobike. You just need to pay and scan the QR code. It was a bit pricey, 1.5 euro for only 20 minutes meaning you can not park or lock it in between. The app will tell you the nearest bike parked by the previous users around you and you could just park it anywhere when you are done except if you want to put it in the train station (they have special parking lot there). Once I arrived, I really like the area inside and in the vicinity of Delft train station. It is a very nice and tidy open space. That evening we had some great Indonesian dinner that she cooked and spent the night chatting like crazy because I have not met her for a year. My real aim was really to visit her and maybe to just look around at her university so I did not really plan to explore much here. 

TU Delft

We went to TU Delft in the morning because Widya is a master student there. It was 15 minutes cycling or more from her place but I can really see the beauty of Delft. I mean it is like a mini Amsterdam that is super comfortable to live in. We passed by several bridges and with this mobike it was a bit heavy for me to cycle. First, we visited TU Delft Bibliotheek with its iconic shape of cone, a cool cone, of course. When you entered you can see the huge book selves with colorful books. I was pretty amazed because my libraries so far in three different universities did not feel like an authentic library. In the 2nd floor the desks were arranged circularly following the shape of the cone and getting smaller and smaller until it reach the top of the cone. There was this part where you are allowed to eat and drink your coffee. Widya is a member of the student committees so she had access to free hot drinks so we had some hot chocolate there. Normally, this bibliotheek is a must-have placed to take your graduation photos. Another landmarks are the TU Delft lettering in front of its rectorate building and its famous tall tower building. They also had this little street where the wind blow so strong in winter that people even named the street based on that. Interesting campus and buildings. 

Going back to the direction of train station, we could see the leaning tower of Oude Kerk Delft. I did not have time to really cycle there and saw it closely because we needed to catch our train to Den Haag soon. We managed to take couple of photos, though, in one of the little canal bridge. What I love about Delft is also their lovely cafés along the canal and it is a nice place to hang out and feels like that it is easy to reach out the world around you here. The way back to train station was bright because suddenly we had beautiful weather. We could see a nice windmill from afar also. Jus opposite the train station is also the IHE Delft building in which many of my bachelor professors were graduated from. I would also be studying there if I chose to take another master program. Overall, Delft is a really nice city to cycle and hang out especially if we have a bit of sun on it. 

Den Haag 

We again needed to take the replacement bus to Den Haag which took us around 45 minutes. I wanted to go here simply because it was the place where the important pact between Indonesia and The Netherlands called Konferensi Meja Bundar in Indonesian was held in 1949. It was basically saying that Dutch acknowledged Indonesian independence unconditionally and will manage their unsolved issues in Indonesia as soon as possible. Indonesian embassy is also located here and they have several big events here. Den Haag is of course so different from Enschede, Rotterdam and Delft. It has more packed skyscrappers and shopping centers. Near the center, we were welcomed by a big stall of Olliebollen, a dutch traditional snack of fried dough with several fillings and toppings. I chose accidentally the cherry ones sprinkled with powdery sugar. It was surprisingly delicious! They also had nutella, almond and lots of fruits filling. We spent our first hour loading my stock of Asian food of course and I was so happy to find huge variety of things that I need. Then, we ended the day by shopping at interesting shops. I took my direct train back to Enschede which was 3 hours. It was indeed a compact and nice visit.

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