Besides Raw Herring, the Dutch have another unique concept of bread. Meanwhile, the rest of the world eats bread topped with peanut butter, jam, Nutella, butter, and slices of tomatoes or bacon, honey, or salad. The Dutch eat bread topped with Hagelslag.

What is HAGELSLAG??

Choco sprinkles is called hagelslag in the Netherlands. And don’t be surprised, eating bread with sprinkles is not only in the Netherlands. Indonesia and the Netherlands share a special relationship during their colonial interaction for centuries, so, it also applies in Indonesia.

In Indonesia, we don’t call it Hagelslag, but we call it Meises derived from the muisjes word in Dutch which means little mice. Little Mice?? The Dutch named it. Sounds weird, huh?? It’s Dutch, by the way … If it’s just normal and not weird, then it is not Dutch, Whooopsie!!!!

However, I have a unique hagelslag experience in this Dutch/Indonesian way. When I moved to Singapore to continue my studies in 2004, I became so confused, how come it seemed so hard to find Choco Sprinkles in supermarkets or grocery stores, especially in the Bread or Breakfast section? I had to ask the shopkeeper then they led me to the baking aisle, not too far from the flour, chocolate chips, cocoa, and sugar.

I found it funny, so, only in Indonesia and the Netherlands we can find sprinkles on the bread section along with jam and Nutella?? Even Germany, the closest neighbor doesn’t have this habit, they have their version of eating bread. Outside Indonesia & the Netherlands, people use sprinkles for ice cream, cake, or donuts, For Indonesian and the Dutch, we eat sprinkles with bread and butter for breakfast or meal.

Hello Vermeer

I’ve finally been to Delft before I left The Netherlands. As an art lover who’s not foreign to a famous Dutch painter in the 17th century named Vermeer, it’s just like a pilgrimed journey for me! I wrote an essay about him on my Survey of Art subject ages ago, it was the first time I admired his girl with a pearl earring painting.

Vermeer is known as the master of light, with its camera obscura method of painting in positioning composition and perspective effect.

Vermeer’s painting.

Delft is a city with a fascinating history, known for its connection to famous figures like Vermeer and Van Leeuwenhoek. Fun fact: Vermeer, the renowned painter of “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” was born and raised in Delft. So, if you’re an art lover, you’re in for a treat!

But Delft is not just about the arts. It’s also home to the world’s oldest microbiology lab, thanks to the brilliant scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. Imagine walking in the footsteps of a pioneering microbiologist while exploring the city. Now that’s a unique experience!

Raw Herring

In Delft, I tried eating a typical Dutch fish. It’s called haring fish. On my Enkhuizen trip, I had eaten a smoked haring which I liked so much, but this time with all my bravery I tried to eat this uncooked fish. Can you imagine, it serves without cooking, it’s just fish and garlic on it.

Rondvaart Delft or Delft Tour

Aware that I couldn’t spend much time, I decided to embark on a canal tour in Delft, namely Rondvaart Delft. Please have a look at their website if you want to explore the canal in Delft City by boat. The website: Home – English – Canal Cruises Delft (rondvaartdelft.nl) .

You don’t need to worry about the language barrier, these two tour guides are bilingual, and they explained the history of Delft City and the canal in Dutch and English. It felt like I was brought to the golden age of the Netherlands. The boat ticket cost me around 6 euro for 1 hour trip.

While guiding us in the boat, they described the history of Delft, from Vermeer to Antony van Leeuwenhoek, and Herring Fish. During the Delft canal tour, we passed the father of the microbiologist house, van Leeuwenhoek. Another interesting story from their story I’ve heard was, long before; there was an old tax system in Delft that Delft people had to pay taxes for how many windows they had in a house. Meaning, more windows and more money to spend on government tax.

So based on our guide stories, there’s one stingy Delft resident who made a hidden window in his house, in the time of explaining, one of these Dutch guides pointed out some windows attached to a hundred years of Delft buildings. It was great to get an instant knowledge about Delft in an hour of canal tour. Passing the canal, they also showed us some copies of Vermeer paintings, and when we passed the Vermeer painting’s view, they showed us the differences between now and then. Unbelievable, not much difference between the real one versus hundreds of years of Vermeer artworks. It’s like stepping into a real-life Vermeer painting, this city is amazing, Ik Hou van Jou Delft.

Anyway, interestingly, we also passed TU/Delft students who were having a good time in the canal. They were smiling, greeting us, and even cheering us with the beer. It was August when orientation periods started at many Dutch universities.

Getting to Know Delft

Delft is a city filled with narrow alleys, charming canals, and picturesque streets. Oh, and did I mention the blue ceramic? Delft is famous for its Delftware, the beautiful blue and white pottery that has become a symbol of Dutch craftsmanship. 

The weather was great, the sun was shining… I DO love Delft. You must put this city on the list when you visit the Netherlands. On the market here, I found many interesting Delftware and miniature souvenirs, seriously, it’s interesting I don’t mind shopping for kind of these mini souvenirs, it doesn’t cost that much, only around 0.50 cents to 5 euros, thus buying miniature don’t give much space in my luggage.

I met an Indonesian woman who owned a souvenir shop that afternoon, it’s just cool, and then we spoke in Indonesian. We had a basic conversation such as asking how long I’ve been in the Netherlands, when I’ll be flying back to Indonesia etc. I bought some of her souvenirs to close our conversations. Leaving her souvenir store, I smiled at myself, The Netherlands, and Indonesians are everywhere here.

Full of History

Since I’d only spent a few hours in Delft, I’ve not seen quite much, but I need to share what I’ve captured during my short time. This picture is  Nieuwe Kerk. I think it’s the tallest building I’ve seen in Delft, it just reminds me of Dom Tower in Utrecht. It was built in 1398 and completed in 1496. Wow, 100 years needed to build this 75-meter church tower!! Located on the Delft market.

At first, I noticed there was something wrong with this church. Every time I captured images of it, I couldn’t get sharp vertical buildings. It’s always lean vertical building instead of straight images.

The latter, I know the problem. The problem is not in my eyes or camera; however, the church tower is lean by default, stop blaming my eyes. :D. The clock at the top of the church has incorrect Roman numerals, they made ‘I’ in Roman instead of IV.

Anthony van Leeuwenhoek and Vermeer were buried in this Oude Kerk. Amazing, this church is 800 years old. I miss this old city atmosphere, in every city of the Netherlands, we’ll hear the church knell rings every 15 minutes. It’s enough to give some melodies in my ear while staying here, I don’t need an iPod to plug my ears with music, I enjoy the sounds around me.

Not far from The Prinsenhof Museum, I found the Indonesia Museum. How cool is it that my country is thousands of miles away from the Netherlands, but I found traces of my country in this foreign country. 

Let’s talk about the Nusantara Museum. Now, “What’s so special about a museum?” Well, this is no ordinary museum. The Nusantara Museum is a hidden gem that will transport us to the vibrant world of Indonesian art and culture. Get ready to be dazzled by beautiful artifacts, intricate exhibits, and a truly immersive experience. 

Yay, there are many Indonesian traces here. Again, unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to enter what to see inside the museum. The museum was GESLOTEN when I arrived. Delft, I will be back to see you again…

When you visit Delf, make sure you have your camera or phone fully charged and ready to capture all the Instagram-worthy moments. Ah, the hidden gems of Delft! While the canals and iconic landmarks may steal the show, there are plenty of secret treasures waiting to be discovered in this charming Dutch city. 

Typical Delft Canal