Delft..where to stay and where in Germany to go after

Where will the conference be held? At what venue? Usually conferences have a special deal with one or two nearby hotels where you can stay at a discounted rate.
With regards to what city in Germany, what do you consider to be “a fairly short train ride”. Is that 1 hour? 2? 3?

It’s held at the Theater de Veste and unlike other conferences, this one they just listed some hotels. But no special rates.(Hampshire Delft, Best Western Museum hotel, Hotel de Platoon, Hotel de Koophandel, Casa Julia were the ones listed).
We would be up for a 2-3 hour train ride. But are likely flying back out of Amsterdam. Which is why we are thinking of not going too far in to Germany.
Thank you!!

I stayed at Casa Julia this past Summer and would highly recommend it. Great location (easy to walk to the main squares and train station), hotel and staff.

Thank you for the recommendation of Casa Julia!!

I stayed at Hotel Grand Canal this past September and enjoyed it. Perfect location.

Hi,

On going to Germany: Yes, that is doable as a day trip, provided you don't mind going each way max. ca. 3.5 hours. Would I do that? Yes. I have done such day trips where each way lasted between 2-3.5 hours. No problem doing this long ride, provided you take the early train and arrive at the latest by noon.

As this your first opportunity to cross over to Germany, I would suggest seeing Kleve or Aachen. Aachen takes longer but is famous, the town of Charlemagne, its very location on the border of 3 countries, etc. I first saw Aachen in 1973, went a couple of times since then.

Kleve is closer to Delft than is Aachen. Not until the summer of 1989 did I get to this famous historical town.

The other town is still farther than is Kleve...Xanten, which takes 4 hours from Delft, basically too far.

Are you aware that there are enough easy unreserved train daytrips in that part of the Netherlands to fill a week? Why don't you mention Amsterdam as a possibility?

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/netherlands/day-trips-from-delft

Your screen name suggests that you are traveling from the UK, which makes future trips to Europe very easy. I like Belgium fine, especially Antwerp. The food is better in Belgium than in the Netherlands. But why not go someplace new? Münster, Düsseldorf, Cologne are all nice visits, with Cologne worth several days. The Middle Rhine is lovely in June, if crowded. (Do not boat the Rhine from Cologne. The boat trip is Bingen to St. Goar or Boppard.)

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/can-i-see-enough-of-cologne

No, I am just named Brittany and my husband is Luciano, goes by nickname Lucky. So Brittluck became screen name when we were young and just stuck haha! I didn't specify Amsterdam bc we will be flying in and out of there and do plan to spend time there and as much of the Netherlands as we can during the week of his conference. But before we fly out of Amsterdam, I was thinking maybe a couple days in Germany somewhere. We do love the food very much in Belgium, which is one reason why I am fighting the urge to not just go back there! I very much appreciate the suggestions. Thank you!

Although it is not absolutely the last word, I wanted to make sure you saw the maps on these pages:
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/netherlands-rail-passes
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/germany-rail-passes
(Ignore the distraction of discussing "rail passes! I just like the maps.)

And I'd add that Aachen is a really nice "historic" visit in Germany, and often right on the way to Cologne. It's too bad you have to go back to Amsterdam to fly home. If the company bought changeable tickets, maybe you could fly (e.g.) Lufthansa home, with a first segment from Cologne to one of their hubs. Might cost as little as zero. (I happen to use Lufthansa because of their relationship with United.)

I personally might not leave the Netherlands if I HAD to fly home from Germany. Some posters here mistakenly regard trips to another country as if they were like going from Los Angeles to Pasadena. I wouldn't even go to Antwerp, but even more posters here consider Belgium to barely be a different country than the Netherlands. (I'm musing about distance, not Schengen Zone.)

I trust you know that Den Haag is a very rich destination with lots to do (much more than Delft), and even beach excursions in good weather. Just a tram ride from Delft. Have you been to Leiden or Utrecht? Those two can't really be seen in one day for each.

Another vote for Aachen if you do a day trip to Germany ... went there in December for their Christmas Market and to see the Dom ... english-speaking tour is at 2pm and is the only way to see Charlemagne's throne and tomb ... nice 20 min walk from the train station.

Hi,

Basically, your main decision is to choose which is of greater priority, ie, seeing a more important and cultural place such as Aachen or visiting a town in Germany , one of lesser importance relative to Aachen but closer to the German-Dutch border, such as Kleve.

What is your time constraint? How much time are you willing to spend on the train getting to the place in Germany?

Given what I know of Kleve and what's there, I would choose it over Aachen, mainly due to historical interest. However, if the train ride time is unimportant, then choose Aachen.