Copyright theage
That sounds exciting. However, on my afternoon cruise, the liveliest BYO stimulant is a bottle of white wine in a small Esky, brought by the two Americans sitting opposite me. The remaining passengers are a cheerful couple from Hawaii, so we all have plenty of space in this relatively small craft built for 10 passengers. As it’s cold today, its sides are partly covered with plastic sheeting, though in hotter weather that’s discarded. The other occupant of the boat is our guide, Maxim. How can I describe him? Cool. Very cool, with wavy dark hair, a dark jacket and stylish dark sunglasses. He’s the sort of effortlessly chill Dutch guy you want to be your new best friend, and he essentially fills that role for the next 90 minutes as he relates urban tales, and answers questions while deftly handling the craft’s big wheel. “Tours aren’t scripted, we go with the flow,” says Maxim, and we nod then ask about the cars we see parked incredibly close to the edges of canals. Do they ever fall in? “It does happen,” he replies, and we nod sagely while training an eager eye on them. As we cruise on, we pass brightly painted houseboats, which prompt our guide to mention that many were working vessels until a housing shortage after World War II led people to live on them.
