The Travel Thread

[seela]

Is there a difference?

That is an excellent point. I’ll give you some time to stock up on wine and then I’ll pop over for some German lessons.

 

[seela]

I booked a trip to Stockholm for January. Can't wait, yay!

 

[StaciRay79]

Going camping in Arizona in a couple weeks. Anyone want to come with?

 

[Wonderer67]

Central Pennsylvania winter hiking trip all ready to roll January 14-17. Love Appalachia!

Snowshoeing if it snows.

 

[IrisAlthea]

Central Pennsylvania winter hiking trip all ready to roll January 14-17. Love Appalachia!

Snowshoeing if it snows.

Sounds great!

I never tried snowshoeing.
I was going to rent some when I was in Kitzbühel with my oldest when she was little but she was sick more than she was well that winter, so the pay checks came up a bit short because of all the time we had to take off work.
After enrolling the young lady in Der rote Teufel Ski School and renting skis for her, the rest of the budget had to go to food and other necessities.
I went on the hike the snowshoes were intended for anyway, because I’m a bit pig headed and let’s just say I got at lot of exercise.

 

[seela]

I went on the hike the snowshoes were intended for anyway, because I’m a bit pig headed and let’s just say I got at lot of exercise.

Reminds me of when my dad took me to an overnight winter ski trip with old school wooden skis from the 50s. In the middle of nowhere, of course.

We prepped the skis with tar and there was crust (or whatever that’s called in English) on the snow so the conditions going in were great. We stayed in a tent for the night, and then the next day, contrary to the weather forecast, the sun came out bright and it got a lot warmer. The crust went away and huge lumps of snow started to stick on the skis.

Instead of skiing, we had to walk back either with the skis on and not sink as far into the snow but we’d accumulate lumps of snow along the length of the ski so it got really heavy, or without the skis so that we’d sink in very deep with each step but not have to drag the gigantic, heavy lumps of snow with us. Neither was a good option.

It took us ages to get to the car and back home. Mom thought we’re dead. Eaten by a bear or something. Fun times!

Snowshoes would have been great.

 

[IrisAlthea]

old school wooden skis from the 50s.

My first times sking, were with my mothers old wooden skis from the 50s!
Then I inherited a pair of those plastic mini skis that were all the rage at the time. At last I got my brand new downhill Blizzards, that now look as out there as my mothers old skis did back then. No carving there!

there was crust (or whatever that’s called in English) on the snow

Skare, in Swedish.
That was my problem on my walk - there was crust enough for a few steps and then suddenly I’d fall through and be more than knee deep in the snow, a few times even over the waist.
Not one of my best ideas perhaps but the views were actually still worth it. I probably shouldn’t have been too proud to borrow the money for the snowshoes from my dad, but then it wouldn’t have been me.

 

[JamieJ424]

Going camping in Arizona in a couple weeks. Anyone want to come with?

Probably missed my window. I hope you had fun!

 

[seela]

Everything’s set for a trip to London in June, yay.

It’s finally the trip that was supposed to happen in June 2020. For obvious reason it didn’t. I’ve never been to London and I’ve never particularly wanted to go there, but now that there’s a Good Reason to go, I’m excited.

 

[Anastasia1999]

Everything’s set for a trip to London in June, yay.

It’s finally the trip that was supposed to happen in June 2020. For obvious reason it didn’t. I’ve never been to London and I’ve never particularly wanted to go there, but now that there’s a Good Reason to go, I’m excited.

Lucky you! London is fantastic

 

[seela]

Lucky you! London is fantastic

I hope I’ll enjoy it! I’ll definitely squeeze in a couple of museums. Maybe even the British Museum despite their Twitter snootiness.

Everyone seems to love London without ever even visiting, but I’ve always felt very lukewarm about it so I’ve never made it a priority to visit. I’ve been elsewhere in England as well as in the other countries on the British Isles. But never in London.

 

[Anastasia1999]

I hope I’ll enjoy it! I’ll definitely squeeze in a couple of museums. Maybe even the British Museum despite their Twitter snootiness.

Everyone seems to love London without ever even visiting, but I’ve always felt very lukewarm about it so I’ve never made it a priority to visit. I’ve been elsewhere in England as well as in the other countries on the British Isles. But never in London.

I loved Tate Modern for art and the British Museum. Brick Lane for a curry and the nearby Beigel Bake for salt beef bagels. Covent Garden for a spot of shopping and Hyde Park for an afternoon stroll.

You will have a ball

 

[slavemelanie]

Central Pennsylvania winter hiking trip all ready to roll January 14-17. Love Appalachia!

Snowshoeing if it snows.

It's been unseasonably warm this week in Pa, but I hope you find some snow on your trip in a few weeks. That's such a scenic area.

 

[seela]

I loved Tate Modern for art and the British Museum. Brick Lane for a curry and the nearby Beigel Bake for salt beef bagels. Covent Garden for a spot of shopping and Hyde Park for an afternoon stroll.

You will have a ball

Thanks! I’ll keep this in mind. It’ll be a short Thu-Mon visit, so I’m sure I’ll end up finding way too much to do to squeeze it all into my time there.

 

[Wonderer67]

It's been unseasonably warm this week in Pa, but I hope you find some snow on your trip in a few weeks. That's such a scenic area.

Same here - I’m just over the border in w jersey, but have always loved exploring central PA, even as a kid.

If no snow, then muddy hiking!!

 

[seela]

Stockholm never disappoints. Awesome museum experiences this weekend, good beer, the semla season has been opened… What’s not to like?

 

[IrisAlthea]

Stockholm never disappoints. Awesome museum experiences this weekend, good beer, the semla season has been opened… What’s not to like?

Oh, I see an Omnipollo happyface!

It’s a beautiful city.

 

[BaldAndHorny]

Embarking tomorrow on a 15 day cruise, round trip Los Angeles - Hawaii.

 

[mortis]

We have a cruise planned this year as well. Panama.

 

[Lorimike]

We have a Mediterranean cruise in May on celebrity reflection. Spain, France, Italy, Sicily and back to Italy. Taking a couple extra days on front and back end for Barcelona and Rome. Wife and I are really looking forward to it. Very tough figuring out which excursions to pick but it's coming together.

 

[IrisAlthea]

Daytrip to get an errand done, but still feels like an escape from the usual routines.


Met some real winter weather on our way.
Our last real snow at home, melted as fast as it fell and now we just have a dusting.

 

[Lorimike]

We have a Mediterranean cruise in May on celebrity reflection. Spain, France, Italy, Sicily and back to Italy. Taking a couple extra days on front and back end for Barcelona and Rome. Wife and I are really looking forward to it. Very tough figuring out which excursions to pick but it's coming together.

Everything I read warns about pick pockets. I'm sure some of you folks have done this type of trip before. Is it really that much of a problem at these tourist sights??

 

[seela]

Everything I read warns about pick pockets. I'm sure some of you folks have done this type of trip before. Is it really that much of a problem at these tourist sights??

I’ve never had a problem with pick pockets on my travels, but I’m not sure I’ve spent a lot of time in especially touristic places in that neck of the wood besides Pompeii and walking through La Rambla once. And I’ve never done a cruise, if that’s what you meant by “this type of trip”, so I don’t know how comparable my experience is.

I think it definitely makes sense to keep that aspect in mind, no matter where you travel. I think all travel safety tips the world round warn about pick pockets. Tourists are probably easier targets than locals because they tend to have their attention on the pretty, new things they see and experience for the first time rather than on potential pick pockets.

A friend of mine was warned about pick pockets in Ulaanbaator and prepared an extra wallet that was in an easier to access place than the real wallet. Pick pockets got the fake wallet but not the real one. I wish I could have seen the pick pockets face when they realized the wallet was filled with pieces of cardboard with all sorts of profanities and “does your mother know you’re a thief?” type texts written in them.

 

[Lorimike]

I’ve never had a problem with pick pockets on my travels, but I’m not sure I’ve spent a lot of time in especially touristic places in that neck of the wood besides Pompeii and walking through La Rambla once. And I’ve never done a cruise, if that’s what you meant by “this type of trip”, so I don’t know how comparable my experience is.

I think it definitely makes sense to keep that aspect in mind, no matter where you travel. I think all travel safety tips the world round warn about pick pockets. Tourists are probably easier targets than locals because they tend to have their attention on the pretty, new things they see and experience for the first time rather than on potential pick pockets.

A friend of mine was warned about pick pockets in Ulaanbaator and prepared an extra wallet that was in an easier to access place than the real wallet. Pick pockets got the fake wallet but not the real one. I wish I could have seen the pick pockets face when they realized the wallet was filled with pieces of cardboard with all sorts of profanities and “does your mother know you’re a thief?” type texts written in them.

Thank you for your input Seela. The fake wallet does sound amusing. Using a money belt and wife keeping her purse in front of her were also suggested. I'll assume the caution suggested is the same for any tourist going to a touristy sight in any country.

 

[IrisAlthea]

Thank you for your input Seela. The fake wallet does sound amusing. Using a money belt and wife keeping her purse in front of her were also suggested. I'll assume the caution suggested is the same for any tourist going to a touristy sight in any country.

Wherever people are tightly packed, the risk is higher. Especially in countries where the tourists can be expected to be far better off than the locals.
On the other hand I had someone trying to steal my wallet once and someone trying to grab my purse and run - both in my hometown and not in touristy or tightly packed spots.