Europe travel guide

Amsterdam gondolas

"Venice is that way", shouts an amused passer by as Mol, the 38 year old Amsterdam enthusiast sails past in her custom made boat. That's right, Venice gondolas have come to Amsterdam, well one certainly has.

The boat building student, spend a few months in Venice at a master gondola builder's boatyard last year. Irritated by her host's reluctance to give her a proper go, (you have to work for around 25 years, before you can build your first boat) she decided to build her own in Amsterdam, which is sometimes dubbed the Venice of the North.

Once the boat was complete, Mol had to travel to Italy to learn how to row. It was here that she encountered a great deal of gender discrimination, sometimes having to force her way onto the canals for practice.

Watching her sail majestically round the canals of Amsterdam, makes it seem like it was all worth it. You can tell that she thinks so, as she stands beaming on her beautifully crafted vessel.

This article was written for TravelSavvy Europe by Stan Turner. For more information see: Amsterdam - Getting around. If you know of an interesting European travel related news story, please get in contact.