Tag: exploring

Exploration

~ Sue ~ 1 Comment

In my last post, I spoke about my trip to Germany during EURO 2024, and how great it was. Well, we were only in Germany for a few days, so we decided to adventure to a country we hadn’t been to before. So we spent a few days in Vienna in Austria. We had a 5 hour FlixBus from Munich to Vienna, which was a trek. I have never really been on a bus for a long while a few times. I did once get a night bus from London to Edinburgh, which was horrendous. And then a bus the length of Ireland, because someone (me) flew into the wrong airport. The bus did what I needed it to, I was able to get to where I needed to and it was cheap, and fairly comfortable.

Luckily our hotel was right on the bus route for the Big Bus open top tour, so we were able to do proper tourist stuff. For once, as when you are on a football trip, you sometimes don’t get the chance to do a lot of tourist things. I have only ever done one bus tour, and it was in Edinburgh back when I was at school. It was pretty cool going round the city and learning lots of different things. Like, that Pavarotti would run out of the city opera house to get a sausage from the food stand across the road. Okay, that probably didn’t happen, but it was a fun little anecdote that made me laugh. We were able to jump on and off the bus, and get to explore different areas. Like, I never knew that Vienna had so many public parks.

It was such a fun few days. A good thing was that for an additional €10, we got to go to the city’s amusement park and right on this really old ferris wheel. It was a 20 minute ride and you could see an amazing view of the city. Such a cool thing to experience.

I really enjoyed Vienna, it was such a nice city. I learnt so many things that I didn’t know, like the amount of social housing in the city, the fact that Vienna was split into 4 after World War 2. Things that were so interesting, that I had no idea about. There were also so many different museums, that we never got anywhere near, due to lack of time. I would love to go back, and see other things. Hopefully

Take A Break

~ Sue ~ 1 Comment

Recently I have enjoyed some time off work. It wasn’t the usual, staying at home and pottering about. For once, I actually went away for some sunshine, away to Cyprus (with stops in Amsterdam and Paris). I hadn’t been abroad since 2019, before the pandemic, and it felt great to get away. I had never been to Amsterdam or Paris before, so it was nice to see somewhere different

Amsterdam was a flying visit, and was really hot. The transport into the city centre, from the airport, was very easy, and the city seems very walkable. You just need to be mindful for the bikes, as they are everywhere, and they don’t always follow the traffic lights. There are designated lanes for bikes, to keep them separate from cars and pedestrians. We took a trip on a canal cruise which offered wine and cheese along with the canal cruise. When I travel with my friend, we never really do tourist stuff, so it was a nice different experience.

It was a lovely way to see the city, and was so relaxing. I would recommend it to anyone who needs to see the city, as it was a lot of fun, and super relaxing. And I think it was the only way for someone, as clumsy as me, to see the city without being run over by a bike.

The main point of the holiday was for the Scotland football game in Cyprus. For me and and my friend, it is has been our annual holiday, our chance to experience another country. We were based in Paphos, which is a lovely part of the country. Spent a lot of time chilling out, and reading, which to me is a great holiday. And also spent a lot of time singing Scotland songs at the pub. Which is normal for a tartan army trip.

@suewantsariot

Scotland are in Cyprus. In Paphos, outside the wonderful flairspaphos. #bagpipes #scotland #footballawaydays #cyprus #tartanarmy #TAontour #holiday #paphos

♬ original sound – Sue

The stop on the way home was Paris. The plan was to spend a few hours in the city, and do some tourist things, like we had done in Amsterdam. But, alas, this did not happen to our expectations, mostly due to a run of bad luck with public transport, which concluded with arriving at the airport 30 minutes before gate closure. It was a nightmare. But all ended okay. We did spend a few hours in Paris. Saw the Louvre and Notre-Dame, and had a (late) breakfast at a wee cafe, which gave us free pastries. (Note: I will never say no to free food.) It was a lovely city, and I would really like to go back and explore more.

By the time we landed back in Edinburgh, it was pouring down with rain. And, with how hot it had been on our holiday, I, for one, was very happy to see it. I came home, got a take-away, and relaxed with a movie. But, to be honest, as much as I love going away on holiday, nothing beats getting back in your own bed. That night was the best sleep I had experienced in weeks. The only problem now, is that I feel like I need another holiday already.