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How to spend a long weekend in Menorca

I’ve just returned from a warm sunny weekend in Menorca, one of Spain’s Balearic Islands. I’d originally intended to spend a few days doing next to nothing, but the temptation to explore got too much. I rented a car from a local agency close to my hotel in Ciutadella and spent a couple of days touring the island at an unhurried pace. These are some of the highlights I’d like to recommend.

Explore historic Ciutadella

Rather than staying in one of the coastal resort hotels, I opted for a small family-run place in the historic heart of Ciutadella. This, the beautiful cathedral which dates from the 13th century, was just around the corner. The maze of alleyways and cobbled streets was a joy to explore on foot, not least because of the high concentration of tapas bars and ice cream parlours.

Learn how to make cheese

About a 20 minute drive from Ciutadella was Binissuès. This is part farm, part museum, which showed a delightful film about how it would have been in the past, told from a child’s perspective. Each weekend, visitors have the opportunity to watch them make cheese. This particular batch had gone a little wrong and the curds hadn’t sufficiently formed, so it was tricky to squeeze enough of the liquid out and the muslin was leaking in all directions.

Tackle a maze in a quarry

When I first read about the Lithica quarries, I somehow managed to miss the part about the labyrinth that now fills the base of one of the two cavernous spaces. I was also impressed by how straight the sides were: by the 20th century, the limestone was extracted by machine and precision-cut. Surrounding the disused quarries was a botanical garden, serene and peaceful in the early morning. Olive, almond, lemon and fig trees are underplanted with herbs and wildflowers and the overall effect is magical.

Visit a shoe factory

You can’t get very far on Menorca without passing a shoe shop selling avarcas, a traditional leather sandal with a rubber sole. In the town of Ferreries, it’s possible to see the iconic footwear being made. RIA has been in business since 1947, starting out in a small workshop and now producing shoes in a sizeable factory. There’s also an outlet store on site where you can pick up certain styles and colours at a discount.

Discover the island’s prehistoric past

Menorca is littered with ancient monuments but one of the best preserved is the Naveta des Tudons. It’s a type of funerary monument that’s only found on this particular island. More than 100 people and their grave goods once occupied this tomb. Though it’s not possible to step inside, even the outside is impressive. The stones fit perfectly together without the need for mortar, while the name refers to its shape – like an upturned boat.

Take a boat trip

Unless you’re up for some serious hiking, the easiest way to reach many of Menorca’s coves and beaches is from the water. I did a couple of boat trips while I was there. The first, departing from Cala’n Bosch marina, took me to some of the prettiest spots along the scenic south coast, including Cala Gallana, Cala Trebaluger, Cala Turqueta and Cala Macarella. It’s also worth hopping on a harbour tour over in Mahon to visit the Hauser & Wirth gallery on Illa del Rei and to see the impressive Fortalesa de la Mola.

Visit the capital, Mahon

Like Ciutadella, Mahon boasts an attractive old town. Amongst the handful of churches is one whose cloisters now house a market, the Mercat Claustre del Carme. A steep flight of steps or a snazzy elevator gets you down to the waterfront where several boat operators run tours. Regular gin tastings are hosted by the Xoriguer distillery and numerous restaurants make the most of the picturesque harbourside setting.

Enjoy a leisurely lunch in pretty Binibeca

Charming Binibeca Vell is a fraud. At first glance, it appears that this maze of narrow passageways flanked with whitewashed homes and even a chapel has been there for centuries. In fact, it was built in the 1970s to resemble a traditional fishing village. Unsurprisingly, every corner is occupied by someone posing for a photo. I loved it despite all this so if they want to fake somewhere as cute as this, I say good luck to them!

Admire the boats in Fornells harbour

Fornells, in comparison, is an authentic harbour. It’s also lined with whitewashed buildings that overlook the water and rows of traditional wooden fishing boats known as llaüts. Seafood restaurants line the palm-fringed quayside and a gentle breeze keeps off the worst of the sun. I visited on a Sunday afternoon and it was very quiet, which only added to its end of season appeal.

Watch the sun set from a bar halfway up a cliff

Menorca’s best known sunset hangout is Cova d’en Xoroi. This bar and nightclub occupies a natural cave in the cliff. Perched high above the Mediterranean, the views are breathtaking and the chillout music gave it more of an Ibiza vibe than anywhere else I visited on the island. Set over multiple levels and with plenty of tucked-away nooks to enjoy a quiet conversation or party with friends, this was a pretty cool place to unwind.

First impressions were good, but this was my first visit to Menorca. Have you been? What did I miss?

Posted by  |  October 25, 2021 | Categories: Destination information, Europe | Tags: , | 3 Comments

A brief guide to visiting the Zugspitze

The Zugspitze is Germany’s highest mountain. By Alpine standards it’s a paltry 2962 metres above sea level, but that’s not to say it isn’t impressive close up. The peak straddles the border between Germany and Austria. If you’re keen to admire the view from the top, here’s how to go about getting up there the easy way. You can hike up, but that’s far too much effort.

First, pick a country. You can reach the summit from either side. Technically, there’s actually nothing to stop you ascending from one country and descending to the other. On the Austrian side, you need to go to the Tirolean resort of Ehrwald. From there you need the Tiroler Zugspitzbahn, a gondola which whisks passengers up the mountain in about ten minutes.

On the German side, many visitors set out from the ski resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Adjacent to the town’s railway station is the separate station for the train that passes through Grainau en route to Eibsee. Tickets include an ascent of the Zugspitze, though you can get as far as the Eibsee on public transport. There’s also a bus which departs from the main railway station, easily recognisable as it’s bright blue. Here’s the timetable.

The trip costs 61 euros for an adult. Though the train journey is marketed as one ticket, you’ll actually need to change trains along the way at Grainau station. One section has regular rails but look closely and you’ll see the other is designed for a cogwheel train, equipped to tackle steeper gradients. This change is no big deal, as the two trains depart from adjacent platforms and there are no ticket checks or barriers.

Incidentally you can also purchase a 2 Peaks ticket which costs 73 euros and gets you up to the AlpspiX as well. This works out cheaper than two separate tickets. The AlpspiX is a viewing platform that from your approach looks like a pair of alligator jaws. The two viewing platforms extend out from the mountain and though you don’t have the full panorama that you’ll enjoy from the Zugspitze, it’s still a great view on a sunny day.

Back to the Zugspitze train: at Eibsee you have a decision to make: alight and take the gondola to the summit or stay on board and ascend on the train. Part of the route is inside a tunnel, similar to the ascent of the Jungfraujoch I made a few years ago. As I’d already experienced the cogwheel train, I decided to take a stroll along the lakeshore of the Eibsee – it’s gorgeous – and then finish the journey to the top on the cable car, enjoying the scenery on the way. It’s also considerably quicker.

At the top, the viewing platform enables you to appreciate this extraordinary view. The view of the Alpine landscape, with its craggy peaks, forested slopes and winding valleys, is simply lovely. Looking towards Austria, you can admire even taller mountains. There are handy guides to enable you to pinpoint particular peaks but its the bigger picture that makes this so special, whichever way you face.

However, it also reveals that you’re not quite there. The actual summit of the Zugspitze is marked by an ornate gold cross and to reach it there are metal ladders. I’m not great with heights and was perfectly content to admire the view from solid ground.

What was pretty cool was crossing the border – in reality just a narrow walkway between the German side and Austrian side. I didn’t do this just to say I’d been on both sides. There’s an excellent museum in Austrian territory which covers the history of human interaction with the Zugspitze, from the first climbers to the story behind the first cable cars. If you’ve come to the top on a German ticket, it will cost you another 4 euros on top of the price of your ticket but it is worth the money.

To go back down the German side, you also need to make a decision about whether you wish to use the cogwheel train or the gondola as they depart from different places. Either is included in your ticket. To reach the cogwheel train summit station you need to first ride the short Gletscherbahn.

This is a cable car to the glacier on the side of the mountain. You can use this as often as you like so there’s no reason not to pop down to have a look or a drink in the cafe even if you plan to use the gondola to get back down to the Eibsee.

Note though that by the end of the summer season there’s not much ice and snow left up there, as you can see. I understand that when there is, you can go snow tubing. There’s still beauty in this barren landscape, and on a warm day, quite some demand for the deckchairs that face this view.

Posted by  |  October 5, 2021 | Categories: Destination information, Europe, Independent travel, Travel advice and guidance | Tags: | 1 Comment

Post-pandemic travel: Austria and Germany

Throughout the pandemic, when allowed, I have travelled. I get why some people haven’t felt confident to do so. Official websites are written in complex language and even when you think you understand the rules, there’s a nagging doubt that you’ve got something wrong which will leave your booking high and dry – and unless you’ve got decent insurance, out of pocket too. For amber list countries there’s the slim but present chance that the country you picked might turn red, necessitating expensive hotel quarantine. There’s supposed to be a logic to the classification but even the industry’s so-called experts haven’t guessed correctly prior to the reviews, so what chance have the rest of us got? Then there’s the risk of catching COVID while you’re away and finding yourself stranded or worse, alone in a foreign hospital.

I get it. You’ve got to be travel mad to want to go away. But I am, and I do.

Some of the trips I’ve made have been within the UK – with my husband and the dog to Northumberland, Shropshire and the Isle of Wight, with my Dad to Dundee and Falkirk, and solo to Barra and Skye. They’ve all been great trips, but I’ve always been most excited to travel abroad. With COVID-era trips to Iceland (twice!) and Madeira under my belt, I decided it was time to head over to mainland Europe again. Just to make things complicated, I couldn’t decide between Bavaria and the Austrian Tirol, so I opted to visit both.

Flying to Munich

easyJet have been reliable, affordable and above all, flexible during the pandemic, so once again I chose this budget carrier. It’s too early in the season for their Salzburg flights so a couple of months ago I booked to fly into Munich on the late evening flight. As it would be a late arrival (oh how I miss the old days when you had a full flight schedule to choose from rather than the new normal’s take this flight or leave it offering), I reserved a room at the Novotel just up the road. Having studied the FCDO website for Germany’s entry requirements, I was a little surprised to then receive a reply which basically said we’d love to host you but we might not be able to. At that time, the COVID incidence rates came into play – basically if the rate rose too high, under local regulations, hotels would be forced to close. Things do change quickly in regards to COVID, however, so I figured I’d just wait it out and decide what to do nearer to my departure date. As luck would have it, the rules changed in time and I was able to fulfill my original booking.

Overland to Austria

With six nights to fill, I had already toyed with travelling over the border to Austria and when the country officially opened its doors to UK travellers I decided that would be the way to go. I’ve previously trained it to Salzburg; this time, I decided to make Seefeld-in-Tirol my base. I’d last visited as a child in the 1970s so had few memories of the place. Armed with notes from my Mum about where we’d stayed and visited, I checked in to the Alte Schmiede Hiltpolt, an exceptionally well-run family hotel right in the centre of the resort. I stopped off for a wander around Mittenwald on the Bavarian side of the border – very quaint – and then hopped on a local cross-border train to complete the last few minutes of the journey. Thanks to advice given by both the German and Austrian tourist boards in the UK, I already knew that my Digital Registration on Entry submission for Germany would get me into Austria with no further need for form-filling.

Where 3G has nothing to do with your phone

Both countries currently work on the three G’s principle for many scenarios where you’ll come into contact with other people: geimpft, genesen, getestet. To translate, that means you either need to be vaccinated, hold proof recovery or be in receipt of a negative test result. In my case, it was the vaccination certificate that was the documentation that got me on the plane and checked in to the hotels. Some of the cafes I ate at also asked to see it, though some were happy to take my word for it without actually looking at the paperwork. In all other respects, the situation was rather casual. When I walked across the border during a hike along the Leutasch Geisterklamm and from Germany into Austria at the summit of the Zugspitze, no checks or border formalities were made at all – just as you’d expect from two Schengen signatories.

Returning to the UK

For the last time – next time I travel the requirement to test will have been removed – I had to take a lateral flow test to be able to return to the UK. As with my Iceland trip, I’d already sent off for my do-at-home PCR test kit from Randox as the drop box is conveniently located in the next village from my home. Although I’m pleased the result came back negative this weekend, it was the booking reference from the purchase that was the crucial piece of the puzzle – without it, I’d be lacking essential information for the UK government’s Passenger Locator Form. I made sure I arrived at the airport in good time to be able to take a lateral flow test; the negative result came through about 30 minutes later. I will be glad not to have to do one next trip as it’s a bit stressful waiting for the result – even though I was pretty sure I had no COVID symptoms.

In the end, I’m pleased to report that my trip was memorable for the scenery, sunshine, food and entertainment – not for the COVID-related admin and – happily – not for a positive test result. Time to start planning the next one…

Important note

As before, this was the situation at the time of my visit in September 2021. Rules change frequently, so always check carefully before embarking on your own trip to make sure you’re abreast of current regulations when you travel.

Posted by  |  September 27, 2021 | Categories: Airports, Europe | 4 Comments

Testing, testing

With so many hoops to jump through, it’s little wonder many people in the UK are choosing to holiday at home this year. While back in 2020 we might have thought that being vaccinated would be a ticket to freedom, unfortunately that’s not the case. International travel feels like a minefield of paperwork and regulations, but here’s my experience travelling from the UK to Iceland. Note that regulations change frequently, so check with reliable sources to ensure that you have up to date information.

Prior to departure

Preparations started before departure. As with many countries, Iceland differentiates between vaccinated passengers and those who haven’t been jabbed. You need to be fully vaccinated at least 15 days before – check the Covid.is website for the latest information. The Icelandic authorities will accept the NHS app but once or twice when I’ve gone into it the app has been unreliable – and one time my vaccine details had disappeared completely. I ordered a paper copy of the vaccine record from the NHS website and it came just under a week later through the post. Note that you can’t get this via your GP a surgery.


A green list country, Iceland required a negative test to enter the country but accepted a lateral flow test. You can keep up to date on the Covid.is website which has an up to date record of everything from regional case numbers to current government legislation. I also found it helpful to follow some of the Icelandic news websites on social media such as Iceland Monitor and Iceland Review as they gave an indication of whether the COVID situation was changing. Case numbers were on the rise before my trip so it was helpful to track that.

Which test?

Unlike the more expensive PCR tests, the lateral flow tests are the same as the NHS tests you can pick up from your local pharmacy. But you can’t use those for international travel as you require a certificate that confirms a negative result. I found that there were fewer places offering lateral flow tests in my area (perhaps because many more countries require PCR tests instead). Though I could have used a postal service I was concerned the result wouldn’t come through in time.


In the end I opted for a test with Collinson using their drive-thru testing facility at London Stansted Airport. Unfortunately I was flying from Luton, but the flight was so early I wasn’t able to use the testing facility there. So instead, I made the hour and a half round trip a couple of days ahead of my flight. There was no queue, availability was good and I stayed in my car the whole time – the nasal swabbing was conducted through the car window. The negative result came though via email almost exactly 30 minutes later. With easyJet’s discount, the cost of the test was £32 (regular price £40).


This is also the time to book your Day 2 test. The UK government requires all inbound passengers to complete a detailed Passenger Locator Form and the booking reference for this test is one of the pieces of data you’ll need to add to the form. I opted for a mail-in service this time. I used Randox. They don’t have the best reputation for reliability. Twitter users have reported that their return boxes have been full to overflowing. However, though there are only three drop-off points in Essex one of them is only a short drive from my home it is convenient. The cost of this test was £43.

Outbound

To be able to board the flight, it was necessary to show proof of the lateral flow test to the gate staff. The Icelandic government’s rules had changed just a few days before I flew out and some passengers had been caught out. They were dismayed to learn that they had been denied boarding – hopefully they were able to get a test and a later flight. Rebooking wouldn’t have been an issue in terms of availability as the flight I took was only about a third full. That’s in August, the height of peak season.


On arrival at Keflavik passport control formalities were completed fairly quickly – though of course British passports are now stamped. After that came duty free and baggage claim for those that wanted it before the final test check at the exit. Paperwork was looked at and I was good to go. I understand that there is a hefty fine for those who get caught out, though the airline should pick up any issues long before you get that far.

In Iceland

The UK government requires all inbound passengers to be tested within three days of returning to Britain. There is a testing facility very close to Keflavik Airport (easy to find in a building beside the Courtyard by Marriott hotel). I booked for the afternoon prior to my flight; a text and email reminder were useful. The sign on the door said they were all booked up for that day, so definitely plan well in advance.


I got tested with a friend who has been trained to administer the tests. She was concerned about some of the procedures being followed. Five people were escorted to the testing room at a time. Each was allocated a numbered seat and then the tester conducted each swab in turn. My friend noticed mistakes: the person didn’t swab both nasal cavities, and she squeezed each sample without changing gloves, potentially increasing the risk of cross-contamination. It was certainly a production line affair. The tests came back negative about 20 minutes later – another hurdle jumped. Cost of this test was 6900 ISK (about £41).


Next, the thing that’s so easy to forget: the Passenger Locator Form. This is a detailed document that you have to fill in on the UK Government’s website, so make sure you have WiFi or data roaming as you’ll need to go online to fill it out. Amongst other things you’ll need your flight details (including the arrival time and a seat number, so you will need to have checked in) and also your passport details. This form has been around for some time but the requirement to supply a booking reference for your inbound test wasn’t needed in 2020.

Inbound

Departing Keflavik went smoothly, but it’s important to have all your documentation to hand. Security and passport control were as normal, requiring the boarding pass and passport respectively. The UK government paperwork was checked at the gate. This can be time consuming if your flight is full so it’s wise not to leave it too late. The gate staff asked to see the passport first, then the Passenger Locator Form, then proof of vaccination and finally proof of a negative test result (for the test conducted in Iceland). Once all of those were seen, the boarding pass was scanned and I was free to board.


Arriving at Luton, I used the e-gates and as all the information was electronic and paperwork had been checked in Iceland, no further checks were necessary. I completed the PCR test using the home kit Randox had sent me and drove it over to the drop box in the next village. I had an email later that day to confirm Randox had received the kit and another the day after confirming the test was negative. Now all I have to do is to decide where to go next…

Posted by  |  August 13, 2021 | Categories: Airlines, Airports, Destination information, Europe, Iceland, Independent travel | Tags: , | 1 Comment

Happy 200th birthday Peru!

Today Peru celebrates the bicentennial of its independence. I’m gutted I can’t be there to join the party, but I hope to return as soon as restrictions are lifted. To mark the occasion, here’s a picture from my first ever trip to Peru back in 1995. Later, I shall raise a glass to this incredible country and my many friends there. ¡Salud!

Posted by  |  July 28, 2021 | Categories: Latin America & the Caribbean | Tags: | 1 Comment