Staying at home until the new year is not going well. After we got back from our quickly arranged trip to Germany we realised we’d never last until a short break at Christmas.
Europe
Skye in the Autumn
We were meant to visit Skye in the summer on a British Isles cruise but the weather at the top of Scotland meant the seas were too rough for the ships tender needed for reaching Skye.
A Cable Car Through The Vineyards
From just outside the world famous Christmas shop in the centre of Rudesheim you can take a cable car over the vineyards and up to the Niederwald monument. The tourist office sells a round trip ticket that includes the cable car up and a chair lift back down to the next village, Assmannshausen. Then you walk through the small village to the the river and get a boat ride back to Rudesheim.
Day Trips from Rudesheim
Day trips in this area are very easy because there are so many towns and villages along the river. This means you can cruise past the castles or get one of the comfortable and efficient trains.
A Day Trip to Heidelberg
There’s a lot to see in Heidelberg so we started with a guided tour of the town centre. The tour starts by going to the hospital. This is more interesting than you might think. The locals are very proud of the world class facilities here and they benefit by being able to use the facilities that are paid for by rich international patients. The children’s hospital was paid for by a rich financier as a birthday present for his wife.
A Week in Rudesheim Am Rhine
Rudesheim is a perfect choice for a week in the wine making area of the Rhine gorge. You can easily take a boat or a train to some of the many pretty towns and villages nearby but its just as nice to stay in the town.
Eating (and Drinking) in Germany
Eating
The last time we went to Germany, admittedly many years ago, eating was all about sausages. I remember bockwurst, bratwurst weisswurst and of course weiners or frankfurters. They must all still be there but I didn’t see any. Instead we found cafes selling excellent coffee and lots of soup and cream cakes! German cream cakes are bigger and better than most I’ve seen and they taste even better than they look!
OAP’s Coach to the Rhine
We have finally succumbed to the OAP’s coach holiday.
Many years ago we swore never to do another coach holiday after an endless journey back from Switzerland. We decided we would always arrange our own transport and hotels wherever we went. However times change and needs must. We had agreed not to go away until around Christmas when we would have another years worth of holiday money to spend. But after six weeks at home painting and decorating JP cracked first.
A Visit To Tresco Abbey Garden
Tresco is the second largest Scilly Island. It is just two miles long and the only one privately owned.
It’s thirty miles off the Cornish coast so many plants flourish here that will struggle on the mainland.
A Summer Day on Orkney
Orkney is an archipelago of seventy islands just ten miles off the Scottish coast.
Kirkwall
The largest island is called Mainland and as we arrived in Kirkwall, it’s largest town, the sun was shining and the wind had dropped.
We were lucky – it is so windy on Orkney that trees do not grow!