Delft
Some 400 years ago, William of Orange, he who defied the Spanish and around whom the Dutch national anthem is centered, was shot in what is called the ‘Prinsenhof’ (the prince’s residence) in Delft. Two bullet holes in one of the walls still being a silent witness to what happened that long time ago. Since long a time a museum, the place has an exhibition on the former prince. For years, a cartoonist style representation of the shooting reconstructed the course of action on that black day in Dutch history. If you followed the pictures and reviewed the setting, the bullet holes should have been in the wall opposite to where they actually where. It took 12 years for the cartoon to be replaced.
A funny, but true, story for a town that is characterized by its relative large population of technical students. Of its 92.000 inhabitants, 12.000 study at the Technical University of Delft.
Student life is centered around the student organizations. You have to be a member to get in or join in their activities, resulting in some 45% of all students being a member of one of the societies. However, due to more pressure from the government (meaning less money for students), students have to study harder than before and the number of students being a member of one of the organizations is declining.
Forget having a good time in Delft for more than a couple of evenings, if you’re not a member of one of the organizations. Still, its a good thing that Rotterdam, Den Haag, Leiden and Amsterdam are all within short reach.