SKI-er or Sk-ater. We know how to enjoy ourselves

Merrywidow

Savvy Sue, Viva la differance- yes the 35 hours is a stretch, but there are lots of stops en route. Strange as it may be I always view the journey as part of the adventure and the chance to see the countryside. In this case getting to Pontevedra was a real hassle, flights got in late at night, only option was overnight train journeys (expensive) and so on...Reality might be different but I will report in due course. I have arthritis in my back and humping my suitcase on and off all the other forms of transport filled me with dread.

I turned two trips to Australia (Hell on wheels) into fun trips with the people I met on the flights. Time passes when you have the time for great chats. One memorable leg of the last trip I was sat next to a man from Melbourne who was something to do with water and was returning from outer Mongolia or some such place and was ready for some fun. He had the trolly dolly in the palm of his hand and was concocting his version of Bloody Mary for me and himself. I have great memories of that leg - I refuse to admit how many we consumed - LOADS.... and no I don't get drunk that easily....the trolly dolly was still bringing the makings when the plane was decending for landing.

So I guess its how you view a journey.

Merrywidow

I am getting paranoid - every time I post a reply the thread goes dead.

Is the way I tell 'em?

seven-day-weekend

There you are Merry Widow......if there are no more postings, then I've killed it!


:rotfl:

margaretclare

Hello all

We got back a week ago from our long-discussed and long-planned trip along the Rhine Valley to Lake Constance (Bodensee). And it was fantastic. But from the SKI-ing point of view, it was very useful. Because we travelled independently, drove our own car, crossed the North Sea by Stena ferry, and a lot of the places we stayed it was only one night, it wasn't exactly cheap, but really fantastic.

2 weeks ago we spent the day in Austria. The day before, Switzerland. We had a 5-night deal at a hotel in Friedrichshaven. Beautiful place, apple-orchards, vineyards, hop-gardens, old churches, you name it. Absolutely gorgeous.

SKI-ing - bring it on! Folks, there are no pockets in shrouds and you can't take it with you. Our holiday cost us approx £2,700, but worth every penny because we did exactly what WE wanted, not what some tour operator said we should do. And then, last weekend away again, to the English Democrats' Party AGM and Conference, staying at the Hilton Leicester.

Must settle down now, church council meeting this evening and Harvest Festival service and lunch this Sunday. Who said life gets boring as you get older and you never see anyone from one pension-day to the next????

seven-day-weekend

Margaret, it all sounds fantastic - not just the holiday, all the rest of it too!

Merrywidow

Well done Margaret - can't be doing with package holidays either. I have just put together my next trip - off to Galicia next Tuesday for the 10 day fish fiesta in O Grove. It was a bit of a puzzel to put together but that is half the fun. Will report back in detail.

Thanks SDW - it's nice to have friends!

Newly_retired

Hello SKI-ers. I've not posted on this thread before. I'm just whiling away a dull day on my favourite website ( instead of doing some decluttering ) and caught up with this whole thread. Fascinating!
Margaretclare- I love the sound of your recent trip. Just the sort of thing I'd like to do, especially as my OH won't fly. How much did you plan it/book ahead, especially the 5day deal in the hotel?
I had hoped we would be doing trips like this when we retired last year but unfortunately OH immediately started working again in a different job, supposedly part-time but mostly full time and it is hard to get him to take a day off, let alone plan enough time off for a trip.
Our endowment matures in a few days' time!!!! And as we paid off the mortgage with our retirement lump sums, it's all ours.
So time for some SKI-ing?

margaretclare

Hello newlyretired

We have been discussing/planning this trip for ages. Most of the planning and fact-finding was done by DH on the internet. We wanted to drive along the Rhine valley so we started at Rotterdam - that meant a ferry across the North Sea from Harwich/Hook of Holland. I picked out places I wanted to stop at for historical reasons: Xanten, Worms, Freiburg (I wanted to see the Black Forest!). DH arranged the stay at Friedrichshaven because he used to go there on business, (we met a former colleague of his which was nice) and as it is on the borders of at least 4 countries, we were able to cross the lake into Switzerland and to visit Austria. We visited France briefly on the way back but only by accident.

Here's where we got the 5-night deal: http://www.booking.com/hotel/de/restaurant-maier.en.html?aid=311076;label=hotel-66849-de-iAOSPSOOVYESZFcP4IBiDwS678215604;ws=&gclid=CJfphr3j9JUCFQ6S1QodhXRqhg

HTH

balmaiden

So glad you had a wonderful trip, Margaretclare. We have just returned from a ten day trip around Suffolk and Norfolk. Had a fantastic time.

Already looking at where to go next, I agree half the fun is in the planning. So much of the world we want to see. I am not sure if A, we will live long enough or B, if our savings can stretch that far. But hey we will continue SKI-ing untill one or the other gives out!

Merrywidow

Welcome to our happy family Newly-Retired - I am a ska-ter - no kids. Why not take yourself off with your free bus whilst OH is working. There is a great thread on that too. From that they have created their own web site www.buspassheaven.co.uk and that has all the routes that all the posters have supplied - its great.