We had a great canal holiday when I was younger, and from what I remember the chief advantages of renting a narrowboat are travelling miles between pubs without getting your collar felt, and enjoying a mode of transport which leaves you more relaxed than when you set off. Space is, as the name suggests, however, a major drawback, especially if you are over five feet tall or 10 stone in weight. At the other end of the scales, pun intended, is the American style houseboat, which like their owners isn’t built to move very far but has all the space, facilities and heft of a bricks and mortar abode.

Modern Houseboat is the latter type – albeit in Berlin, Germany, not Berlin, Connecticut – moored on Lake Rummelsburg, a small bay in the river Spree 15 minutes from the action but a world away in terms of relaxing ambience. The best bit of this Welcome Beyond property is what you can’t see; the floor to ceiling windows at the front give a very un-city-like view of the lake from the relaxing living room. The rest of the interior is from the minimalist school of design as well, and with most of the pieces being custom built nothing feels oversized or intrusive, and the sense of space, and the décor finish, is right up there with a landlubbing hotel. It’s got a name like a dull monthly periodical, but Modern Houseboat is accommodation we can subscribe to.