Cruising on Amsterdam's canals

On my recent European trip I made a point of stopping in my birth city Amsterdam for a couple of nights. Of course, it's almost obligatory and do the tourist thing in this city, and that's hopping onboard a canal cruiseboat.

My partner Donna had never been to Amsterdam before, so that gave an extra reason for taking this easy and quick tour of Amsterdam. Especially as our accommodation, Hotel van Gelder was right across the departure point on the Damrak!

I had the video camera with me so shot some city scenes along the way. Hopefully the pictures of gliding through the waterways don't prove too boring! The video is posted below...

Hardened stance on soft drugs in Maastricht

The city of Maastricht in the far south east of the Netherlands is taking a tougher stance on tourists who wish to light up on some 'grass' in the cafes. The recreational drugs will soon only be available to locals and several surrounding country-residents, according to a recent news report. It's possible that this sort of change in attitude by city 'fathers' may spread to Amsterdam's popular cafe scene as well. I've got more details on this week's Travel Radio Australia podcast. Also on the show are John Crook interviewing Emma Martin in the Town of 1770 on Queensland's coast, Euro correspondent Frances Beasley who talks about the Channel Islands and US host Arthur von Wiesenberger who chats with his son Chris about the latter's recent trip to the Cook Islands. You can listen to the show on the mp3 player below.

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