I've been at Leiden for over three weeks now, and the University finally decided it was time to have orientation over the last two days. The only notable event was yesterday's trip to the historic city of Deflt.
Delft is situated between The Hague and Rotterdam. I think it's very close Leiden, but we traveled by bus which took ages to get to the freeway. The streets here are not designed for giant buses.
Delft is famous for its blue and white ceramics, which is known as "Delftware". We were treated to a tour of a ceramic factory where clay is poured into molds, fired, hand painted, glazed, and fired again. It really didn't seem all that complicated. As you might expect, the tour ended in the gift shop. I was astounded by the price of the "seconds" they were offering. A 12" painted plate sold (or was at least offered for sale) for upwards of $2,000. Personally, I can do without any blue and white ceramics in my apartment - although the museum toilets, which featured ornate blue paintings in the toilet bowls, would enhance any dwelling.
Clay goes into these molds:
The resulting pots are fired...
And painted:
