This week the Monday Podcast took a trip to Venlo – a town situated just over the Dutch border.

It is easily reached from Germany via the A40 and A61 motorways and many people go over the border to shop, as some things are considerably cheaper on the Dutch side, coffee being the prime example of this.

The town played a pivotal role in the Second World War, as it was an incident that took place there between British, Dutch and German intelligence that gave Germany a reason to invade the Netherlands, citing the incident as proof that the country was no longer neutral.

For those wishing to sample the Dutch culture, but not able to speak the language, Venlo offers a good opportunity as most of the people serving in shops and cafés also speak German and the menus in restaurants are often in both languages.

To find out more, listen to the podcast:

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