# Your ideal holiday type?



## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Have you planned a holiday for later in the year?
What is the *type* of holiday you enjoy, or would enjoy, most?
And why does that type of experience appeal to you?
Have you been on that sort of holiday often - or even before?
Do you have any funny stories to share?
Or any advice to give about packing & preparation or any other aspect?

Thanks in advance for any replies.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

The poll allows multi-choice, so if you do like three or four different types, please say.
And as usual with me, I post a poll to get people talking, not to see what wins. 

I would go for the three cultural experiences - seeing cultural sights, going to music festivals, or learning a skill.

In the past we have been on Scottish Dancing workshop holidays, at Stirling University & at St Andrew's.
This year we'll be going to York Early Music Festival to hear Jordi Savall, and The Sixteen; and to Harrogate for the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival.
When we travel round Britain, we always make a point of visiting Cathedral Cities.

In the past we liked walking holidays & stayed at Youth Hostels, but sleeping in a sheet-bag in a dorm with snorers & carrying a rucksack all day filled with tins of soup - we're not up to it these days. Truth to tell - were we ever?

My story comes from those youth-hostelling days. I was in a small women's dorm at Malvern Wells or somewhere & as it was summer & I have a phobia of moths. So I asked a woman who was going to bed at the same time if she'd mind if we kept the windows shut so the moths wouldn't be attracted to the light and enter our dorm. I promised that as soon as the lights were out, I'd get out of bed and open the windows again - it was a hot night.
She said with enthusiastic interest, 'Afraid of moths, hey? Which ones? Is it the huge, meaty ones that batter against light-bulbs. Or the little fluttery ones that get right in your eyes & up your nose? Or maybe it's the hairs on those huge wings, you know, when they're as big as elephants' ears, all leathery and...'


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## DaDirkNL (Aug 26, 2013)

My ideal holiday is the one I usually take every year. I go to Austra, Switzerland or Italy and spend some weeks walking on and around mountains. Mountains are not a very common thing for me, because I live under the sea level in the Netherlands.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

I quite prefer to rummage without plans by public transports, preferably trains, on whatever continent I visit!

/ptr


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I voted for museums and galleries.
I get enough music at home. I don't feel a need to travel to a music festival.
I'm going to experience the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel in Rome in a couple of months.
When I travel, I'd rather see great art than listen to great music.
I have my portable device with me for music when I'm in the hotel.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

We happen to live practically on the beach and we often mention the Oblomov saying to each other, that we're in fact enjoying 'an eternal holiday'... But sometimes we're getting aroused suddenly and start to do something. In the end of March we'll be visiting family at the far end of the Czech Republic by car. On the way some lovely old Czech Renaissance towns like Louny and Prachatice will be visited. With very attractive low-priced hotels with great food & beer in the towncentres. After having returned and having walked along the beach many times we'll plan to visit Germany's Eifel Region, together with Maastricht, Aachen, Monschau & Moselle during the King's birthday / Labour day holiday week. Than the summer on the beach will be there, but we'll be visiting family again, this time by airplane in St. Petersburg, Russia. (Hopefully everything will be quieting down in Europe's east). In the autumn we'll be heading for our Czech relatives again and make a trip of a few days to neighbouring Vienna and who knows: Eisenstadt. So basically, the *type* of holiday will be visiting and staying with our family, but since they happen to live in culture-rich areas... Back home we'll retrace our footsteps on the beach, in the dunes, heatherfields & forests.


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## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

Mrs Kivimees and I are planning to celebrate our 25th anniversary this summer with a trip to Scotland, specifically the Orkney Islands. We have been putting a bit aside for a while now and now that the "kids" can look after the house, it looks very much like we will make the trip of our dreams at last!


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## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

hpowders said:


> When I travel, I'd rather see great art than listen to great music.


But a city like Vienna is inviting for both.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Yes. Vienna is on my bucket list. Would love to go there.


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

I picked:

cultural locations, or
music festival, or
far-flung family and friends

I am not a very adventurous person, but I like meeting people and listening to music and looking at museums would always be fun!


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

I do quite detailed plans for my holidays, but don´t always follow them if they are trips for longer periods. 

I alternate mainly between 

- city breaks by plane or bus, 
- combinations of city and rural/natural scenery by plane, public transport and possibly bicycle, 
- or longer trips on a bike, getting to and from a point of departure by public transport.

Cultural sights and unspoilt natural scenery is what I go for.


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## lupinix (Jan 9, 2014)

Somewhere quiet yet inspiring  Somewhere with a lot of nature, where I can do whatever I want, whether it is walking or reading or composing or climbing trees or just lying on the grass. A bit of culture is nice too, for instance seeing something like those "wonders of the world" once but also music, speech, art, habits, different houses or cookery simple things like that. I don't care much for most museums though.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

What a wonderful thread! Thank you, Ingelou, for starting it.

Personally I am open to all kinds of options, except one: spending my days lying on the beach in some hot tropical paradise (I hate heat as much as I hate passively lying around.) I love being around beautiful nature just as much as I love seeing the great monuments to human creativity.

The best holiday I ever had was three years ago, when I went to see my man for the first time. We reserved rooms at youth hostels in seven or eight cities across Germany and Switzerland, I flew in to meet him in Hamburg, and we hit the road: Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn, Köln, Aachen, the island of Sylt and so on, clear across the German-speaking space. We saw everything there was to see, from the North Sea beaches, the sunrise over the Rhine and the swans in the Alster to the great cathedrals in Köln and Aachen, and we spent hours simply wandering the streets with a cup of coffee in hand, talking about everything in the world. We went out at dawn and came back to our hotel late at night, half-dead with fatigue, but totally happy - and found the strength to do the same all over again next morning. Our grand tour ended over three weeks later on the rock in the middle of the Rhine Falls, and my man shouted to me over the roar of the water: "So, do you like this little country of ours?" You bet I did!

Our following vacations together have not been as grand, but we pick some new places to go every time. The next one is coming up in eight weeks, and we are planning to go backpacking to the Black Forest, an idea partly inspired by Die Walküre with its scenes of spring in the wilderness ("_Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond_..."). We want to get as close to experiencing something like that in reality as possible.

In the more distant future I am planning on exploring other Western countries in the same way: Sweden, Finland, Norway, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, the Baltic states and if my financial state ever allows it, the USA, Iceland, Canada and New Zealand.


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## Guest (Mar 11, 2014)

SiegendesLicht said:


> [...] The next one is coming up in eight weeks, and we are planning to go backpacking to the Black Forest, an idea partly inspired by Die Walküre with its scenes of spring in the wilderness ("_Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond_..."). We want to get as close to experiencing something like that in reality as possible.


The Black Forest, hey? That's about an hour's drive from me! Don't worry SiegendesLicht, I'm not about to suggest we meet up (I might be a total maniac [_That is correct. Ed._], and besides, you'll be on holiday with your man ...), but feel free to PM me if you'd like any tips. I live (as I said above) quite near to the middle of the northern Black Forest, Freudenstadt being the main town in that area.


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## Guest (Mar 11, 2014)

I like all sorts of holidays in all sorts of locations. I tend to shy away from war zones even though the prices do tend to be rock bottom. I did once have a "holiday" that involved me crossing two countries at war and it was not pleasant.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I chose: 

Cultural centre with the caveat that it must not be too touristy. I usually love out of the way museums, archeological digs that are open to the public, that sort of thing.

Learning Holiday, which is sort of what my science fiction and art conventions are about if you interpret it loosely. There are few things I like more than getting together with people and slinging paint (if there is no deadline involved).

Other. I like what we Americans call a "staycation." Often it just feels good to stay in my man-cave, unplug the phone and not have any expectations. Just watch movies, read, listen to music and be generally oblivious to time for a few days. Those are the absolute best.


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## Levanda (Feb 3, 2014)

Just for two weeks to see life operas, theatres, circus, puppet theatre, folk dances, ballet, some poetry reading as well I adore it. Would be massive satisfaction for me.


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## cwarchc (Apr 28, 2012)

Mine is other
It has to include my 2 dogs
Now the kids don't come with us, it has been to the highlands and islands of Scotland
This place has to be one of the most unspoilt areas around
Solitude, beautiful mountains, amazing beaches (with no-one else on them)
Welcoming, friendly people, no traffic (once you get away from Glasgow)
No crowds, and best of all the opportunity to sample uisge beatha, whilst watching sun go down over the place it was made
We'll be there, end of June for the summer solstice.


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## Winterreisender (Jul 13, 2013)

the Black Forest is about an hour from me as well. Been there on a few day trips. Perhaps we can have a Talk Classical convention there sometime 

Yes, well as for my favourite holiday types: that would have to be adventure/activity. My favourite holidays were probably my road-trip from Texas to Tennessee (I count that as an adventure!) and also my hiking trip in Iceland.


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## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

Weston said:


> Other. I like what we Americans call a "staycation." Often it just feels good to stay in my man-cave, unplug the phone and not have any expectations. Just watch movies, read, listen to music and be generally oblivious to time for a few days. Those are the absolute best.


My first impulse was to look for that option on the list.

After that I'd choose Cultural Center and Music Festival.

And aimless Flaneur-ing: no-plan, no-destination wanderings both near and far, by foot or by whatever transport randomly presents itself.


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## mirepoix (Feb 1, 2014)

I've nothing at all planned for a holiday this year. It's best I wait and see how things develop (or not) over the next month or so. Having said that, I'd like to be sitting somewhere - perhaps the south of France - outside a country tavern and sampling the local produce such as cheese, wine, bread etc in the company of a delightful companion. Fresh air and innocent smiles, far, far away with no mark of time.


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## presto (Jun 17, 2011)

With a holiday I like to go somewhere were I know it's going to be warm and sunny, I come from the UK and the weather is so unpredictable here.....I love the sun and we just don't get enough of it in the UK


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## Guest (Mar 13, 2014)

Winterreisender said:


> The Black Forest is about an hour from me as well. Been there on a few day trips. Perhaps we can have a Talk Classical convention there sometime  [...]


Sure, Winter, if you'd like! I'm not really dangerous, you know that don't you? [_Don't do it, Winterreisender, he's off his rocker! Ed._] PM me if you'd like to arrange a meet-up.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

TalkingHead said:


> Sure, Winter, if you'd like! I'm not really dangerous, you know that don't you? [_Don't do it, Winterreisender, he's off his rocker! Ed._] PM me if you'd like to arrange a meet-up.


Hey, I wouldn't be able to join you this time at least, but if you do meet, have a good time!


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## LancsMan (Oct 28, 2013)

I must admit I do enjoy a bit of backpacking now and again but my age is catching up with me. A few years ago I attempted a 200 mile backpack, carrying a tent on my back and on my own. Well I badly miscalculated the weight I could reasonably carry and 100 miles into it I was walking like an old man. After falling flat on my face (luckily in marshy soft ground) I had to abandon the attempt.

You really need to pack light on these trips, but I like a book to read in the evenings. Maybe my choice of Tolstoy's War and Peace was not exactly the most appropriate! 

When in a group I also like backpacking trips along a trail, where everyday is mapped out. There's no need for a long group discussion of what to do each day. And whatever the weather you just have to get on with it.

OK this probably sounds like torture to some. But I've walked across England from coast to coast and I'm very satisfied that I really know how far it is.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

LancsMan said:


> I must admit I do enjoy a bit of backpacking now and again but my age is catching up with me. A few years ago I attempted a 200 mile backpack, carrying a tent on my back and on my own. Well I badly miscalculated the weight I could reasonably carry and 100 miles into it I was walking like an old man. After falling flat on my face (luckily in marshy soft ground) I had to abandon the attempt.
> 
> You really need to pack light on these trips, but I like a book to read in the evenings. Maybe my choice of Tolstoy's War and Peace was not exactly the most appropriate!
> 
> ...


Ooh, LancsMan - do you mean Wainwright's Coast-to-Coast Walk? I've always wanted to do that but I dare say I'll never manage it. Respect! :cheers:


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

mirepoix said:


> I've nothing at all planned for a holiday this year. It's best I wait and see how things develop (or not) over the next month or so. Having said that, I'd like to be sitting somewhere - perhaps the south of France - outside a country tavern and sampling the local produce such as cheese, wine, bread etc in the company of a delightful companion. Fresh air and innocent smiles, far, far away with no mark of time.


In an ancient_ bastide_, perhaps ? ;-) Yep, not bad.


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## Cheyenne (Aug 6, 2012)

I've ceased going on family holidays by now - I'm getting too old for my parents to pay for them. It is extremely uncomfortable to find oneself surrounded by luxuries that one didn't pay for.. I'll have to see what I'll do this year.

I do want to say that, in general, I never liked planned holiday trips all that much. I've been in two exchange programs - Ireland and Canada - and both gave me a significantly better view of the native culture than any touristic excursion possibly could. Making the differences in culture unfold organically is preferable to actively seeking out the changes. "Sight-seeing is the art of disappointment", spake Stevenson! Besides, few things afford me the pleasure that intimacy with fellow men and women does, and that's easier to find here at home.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

Cheyenne said:


> I do want to say that, in general, I never liked planned holiday trips all that much. I've been in two exchange programs - Ireland and Canada - and both gave me a significantly better view of the native culture than any touristic excursion possibly could. Making the differences in culture unfold organically is preferable to actively seeking out the changes.


True. As much as you can admire this place/culture or that, you will never know it if is right for you, until you have lived there for a year or two, held a job, made friends, had to deal with some weird local traditions, got sick and gone to the doctor, struggled with the local brand of bureaucracy (even the most advanced nations have it) etc.


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## Katie (Dec 13, 2013)

...the kind involving a very small group of sober, noncombative family members whose children are severe underacheivers with nothing to prate about...

Edit: Oh dear, so very very cynical in retrospect on this morning after...


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

My ideal holiday would be going to France to visit Ravel's home/museum. I've always wanted to do that; it'd be the trip of a lifetime for me.


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