‘Come on, you can do this’ I breathed as the stone staircase spiraled up in front of me, each step a 45 degree angle from the last. I gripped the thin cold iron railing, breathed in the stale, damp air and tried not to picture exactly where in the 109 meter tall tower I was.

‘376 steps to the top, just breathe, you’re fine. Nothing can happen, this tower is over 500 years old, thousands of people have done this, it’s stood the test of time…’

‘…500, that’s pretty old…am I comforted by that or even more freaked out? It’s probably due for a catastrophic collapse…’

‘…no, stop it, you’re fine. Think of the view at the top, it’ll all be worth it.’

Climbing the tower

That morning we’d woken to an unseasonably bright and sunny day.

“Today’s the day troops! We’re climbing the tower!”

‘The Tower’ in question was the tower of the New Church in Delft. I’d been waiting for a sunny day for months, yet as I inched up the staircase, barely a shoulder-width wide, I found myself questioning my sanity. Noah hadn’t been allowed to climb, you have to be six years old, and given the physical and psychological ‘metal’ needed to reach the top the rule is justified. And so the boys were down below in The Markt (Central Square), enjoying an ice cream and hoping to spot me at the top.

It’s a grand, sweeping square, the beating heart of Delft and one of the largest in Europe. At one end stands the Stadhuis (Town Hall), at the other the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), facing each other in silent symbiosis, reminding us of the days before the separation of church and state. In the past public executions were a regular fixture in the Markt, and the weekly Thursday Market is a 700-year-old tradition.

Small town, big history…keep reading, it’s interesting!

Delft is a small town with big history. To stroll it’s delightful cobbled streets is to step back in time to when The Netherlands was at it’s imperial height, when Dutch merchant ships plied the far oceans, when Dutch explorers were colonizing Africa and the Indies, and when Dutch power within Europe was at it’s zenith.

William of Orange (1533-1584), the Father of The Netherlands, led the resistance against the Spanish in the 80 Years War from Delft. He was famously murdered by Spanish hit man Balthasar Gerards, gunned down outside the dining room at his home in the Prinsenhof (The Prince’s Court). The bullet holes can be seen in the walls to this day.

Other famous inhabitants of Delft include: the painter Johannes Vermeer, of The Girl With A Pearl Earring fame; Hugo de Groot, the teenage prodigy who pretty much created the concept of international law. He once pulled off a daring and thrilling escape from prison, hidden in a chest of books. He spent most of his adult life in exile in France and later Sweden, longing to return to his homeland. In 1645 he survived a shipwreck in the Baltic Sea but died later of exhaustion. Talk about an eventful life!

Much of Delft was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1536 when 2300 houses burned to the ground. Disaster struck again in 1654 in what has become known as The Delft Thunderclap. Thirty tons of explosives detonated when the young caretaker Cornelis Soetens opened the store to test some of the gunpowder. Most of Delft was destroyed.

The town was rebuilt of course and many of the quaint houses and characterful canal streets date from this period. Thankfully the two iconic churches that pull tourists into Delft today survived both infernos. They are the Old Church (built around 1240 on the site of an older wooden structure dating from 1050), and the New Church (begun in 1381). And it was the tower of the New Church that I was attempting to conquer that fine sunny winters day.

The never-ending spiral

The tiny spiral staircase leading up to the top of the tower

Contending with 376 steps, a minute stairwell and my treacherous inner voice would have been OK, but I soon realized that this medieval turret had another surprise in store: two way traffic. You had to come down the same way you went up, and so began a series of cramped manoeuvres and profuse apologies as ‘uppers’ and ‘downers’ squeezed past each other in a close proximity definitely inappropriate for strangers.

The people down below were silent and minute

At last I emerged, ruffled yet intact, onto the tiny balcony that encircled the top of the tower, and everything melted away as before me was the view I’d been hoping for. A shimmering town, transected at intervals by canals; gabled houses with red roofs; and magnificent churches standing graceful and impervious to the march of time. From that height I could be looking down onto 17^th century Delft with its art and industry and religion. The people down below were silent creatures, industrious and minute, yet as I stood there, blinking in the sun, surveying all I had conquered a tiny blue arm began waving, and a thin voice reached me:

“Maaaaammmaaaaaa! Hiiiiiii maaamaaaaa!”

Time for a ‘telfie’…a tower selfie!

The Markt, one of the largest in Europe

It was like looking back to the 17th century

Top tips for visiting Delft:

The New Church

Getting there: Delft is a 1 hour train ride from Amsterdam. Trains depart every 20 minutes from Amsterdam Centraal.

Delft is very close to The Hague, and there are regular trams departing from the centre of the Hague and Den Haag Centraal train station. Taking the tram is definitely more fun!

Getting around: Delft is a small town and you can walk everywhere. It’s pretty stroller friendly too, but watch out for the bikes!

Things to do: You can buy a combo ticket for the Old Church, the New Church, and climbing the tower of the New Church. Be sure to take a copy of the very informative booklet about the history of both churches. It’s really well written and very entertaining!

PLEASE NOTE: Do not climb the tower if you have health problems or are claustrophobic. It’s 376 steep steps in a confined space. Children must be over 6 years old, but even then use your judgement.

The tower of the old church is not open to the public because it is leaning! It’s like Delft’s equivalent of the leaning tower of Pisa. When the church was expanded in 1325 the canal was in the way and was rerouted. The ground however soon began to subside and the tower began to lean. It was stabilized during construction but the lines had been thrown off and the tower was not built straight.

There is so much to do in Delft: from museums, to public buildings, boating on the canals, walking tours, and of course viewing Delftware pottery. Visit here for all the tourist information you make need.

Where to eat: There are many cafe’s in the Markt which are great for people watching. If you want food on the go, stop at one of the fish market stalls just outside the Markt and indulge in kibbeling or lekkerbek, delicious deep fried fish that’ll bump up your cholesterol levels.

Kek is a gorgeous little coffee bar in a quaint side street close to the Markt. Coffee is superb, and the food is great.

Try t’Postkantoor, an old Post Office turned vibey restaurant with a lovely deck. It’s got great history and great food.

The tower has three colours, created by natural weathering.

The tower of the Old Church is leaning.