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In part one of my trip notes from my first visit to Spain, I discover that some Spaniards like A-ha, that Spain is a bit like Iraq and that no one seems to need any sleep. Oh, and I also come last in a Go-Kart. Phoar, is it getting hot or is it just me?

Saturday

0910 GMT
“Sure, I’ll go to Spain with you guys. I wouldn’t go otherwise.” Will I live to regret saying this? I doubt it. It’s only for four nights and there’s plenty of fun things to do and interesting things to see. The only thing that may affect the outcome of this trip is other people. I’m going to the Costa Blanca region of Spain, a British holiday maker hotspot. Already in the terminal here at Luton Airport, I can see a group of women wearing pink cowboy hats who are almost certainly going to be on my flight. Unless of course, there’s a knees-up in Inverness or Krakow. Here’s hoping! Luckily, I’ve prepared for such an eventuality. I’ve loaded several films on my iPhone, so if there is any yeehahing and general Cowgirl behaviour on the flight, at least I can escape it by being on the run with Jason Bourne.

0910
The behatted ladies aren’t on my flight! They just stopped drinking for long enough to board their flight to Dublin.

1019
Still in the departure lounge. They appear to be playing birdsong over the public address system. Barely audible, but definately birdsong. Nice!

1410 CET
In the plane, on the approach to Alicante. Just finished watching Yes Man staring Jim Carrey. Pretty good film. It did a good job of making me forget I was 39,000ft up. 30 degrees in Alicante. Great! I’ve got two buses to catch on arrival before I’m anywhere near where my friends are staying. On a side note, when it came to eating my lunch, I found my bag of crisps had inflated to popping point. I had to make a small hole with my teeth before opening in the usual way to avoid potato snack catastophe.

1430
Well, that was awful! Worst turbulance ever! The plane rocked, shook, swayed and dropped for all of the last 15 minutes of the flight. I adopted my unique safety position of clinging desperately to the tray table in front of me with sweaty palms.

1606
I’m on the last leg of the journey, the coach to Torrevieja. It’s absolutely packed, the back of my chair won’t stay still and it’s scorching hot. Still, could be worse. I could be in Fallujah. Actually, am I in Fallujah? It’s very desert like and run-down around these parts. Oh, Jesus! A checkpoint! No… Wait… It’s traffic lights. Going south now along a coast road with the med on my left with a single sailing boat on it. The sea really does nothing for me. There’s nothing interesting about it. I suppose the bit where the water meets the shore can keep me entertained for a bit, but otherwise, give me a mountain any day! Oohh wow! There’s a mountain!

1625
Coach driver is playing take on me by A-ha. Loudly! Good journey, running right along the coast of the med.

1943
Just got back from the pool. Very nice after a long journey and a long walk to the apartment (which will do just fine for four nights). First impressions of Spain; there’s no grass! Everything is sandy, brown or creamy brown or brownish. Like how I imagine Iraq to be.

Sunday

0016
Still out and about. Had a good meal of stone baked pizza in a restaurant right on the coast. Good value too. While we were eating, two chaps sang and played guitars in typically Spanish fashion. After dinner, while the girls were looking through the night craft market, jack and I enjoyed an outdoor natural history photo exhibition. Some stinkers, but also some amazing shots. Well worth a look. Off to the dodgems and to find a bicycle hire shop (for tomorrow) before turning in. REALLY tired!

0756
Got back last night at 0200 after a long walk back to the apartment. It meant a slept for longer than I probably would have done (because of the mugginess). Still didn’t get much sleep though. The heat was opressive so I slept on the sofa in the lounge with the patio doors wide open. That provided a bit of air, but it also provided a night time soundtrack of people shouting and talking, cars going past, crickets (which are still going as I write this) and the bin lorry emptying the bins at 3 in the morning and a large fireworks display at 4. Still, didn’t bother me much. I slept between interruptions quite easily and the interruptions themselves were actually quite entertaining. Today, we’re going to try and hire some bikes and then cycle to a go-karting centre. Fun!

0826
Still sat on the balcony in the relatively cool air and peace. Here’s another Spain observation; I don’t know why anyone would want to come here. I haven’t seen anything that’s impressed me yet. Everythings ugly. Horribly designed buildings packed into as small a space as possible. Areas of waste land running along parts of the coast. Everything brown or cream. The sea is nothing more than an expanse of blue below another expanse of blue. What’s to see? The streets were absolutely packed last night. Sure, there was a fun fair and a night market and plenty of restaurants, but you get all that in other countries. Why come here? I really don’t get it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not terrible by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just not the best place in the world.

1519
At the go-karting track. Just did my 8 minutes in a 270cc kart. We reckon they go down the straights at 40-50mph. Good fun, although a didn’t feel like I was in full control of the thing. The bike shop was closed, so we walked here. It was literally miles and the heat made it a bit of a chore. Despite this, it was still pretty enjoyable. Off now for my second run around the track.

1827
Got a taxi back. None of us could bare walking all the way back. Go-karting the second time was better. I had a more responsive kart and more guts. Back at the apartment now. Just had another relaxing and cooling swim in the pool. Sorting something out to eat shortly before watching The Little Mermaid on VHS. Party time!

The second part of this series of trip notes will be published soon.

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If you do know what you’re doing, the address you need to subscribe to is below. Or, if you find it more convenient, subscribe via iTunes.

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Introducing HTG 10.5

While I’ve got you attention, may I introduce HTG 10.5, the latest batch of modifications to this website. If you’re reading this in your feed reader, drop in and have a look. The major changes are:

• Wider pages to help make reading more comfortable.
• Larger, higher quality photos. The roll-out of larger photos in posts is on-going.
• More delicious white-space between elements.
• Contact form now up and running.
• Less-conspicuous adverts.
• Big red footer to finish things off nicely.

Hope you like both the changes to the site and the podcast.

Last weekend, my sister and I headed to Scotland for a wedding. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to go. Scotland has long been absent from my list of visited countries, so to tick it off was great. It would have been nicer to have spent some more time in the mountains rather than tearing about from one place to another, but in all, it was a very nice weekend. The photo above was taken from the edge of Loch Achray.

We’d travelled to Scotland via the unconventional method of an overnight train, namely, the Caledonian Sleeper. And sleep I did… for a couple of hours.

We arrived in Edinburgh just before 07h00 and were booted off the train shortly after that. We had an hour or so to kill before our next connection, so we wandered the eerily quiet streets. Edinburgh seemed very nice indeed.

Having continued our journey to Pitlochry, my sister and I rested from the chilly breeze in Victoria’s for a not-so-traditional Scottish lunch. The food was thoughtful and wholesome and the cafe itself was very pleasant inside.

The weather was very changable. Brilliant sunshine one minute, heavy rain the next. Even snow was forecast in some areas above 800ft. At least though you could see it coming. There’s something very ‘Norwegian Fjords’ about this photo.

Idyllic scenes of the Scottish Highlands were in abundance. Everything that you imagine to be there; greenery, conifers, craggy rocks and changeable skies full of varying colour were present.

This was the scene from the window of our accommodation, an old and grand mansion. The mountains in the background are the Trossachs with Ben A’an the highest of the peaks.

Will I be going back to Scotland? Certainly! I didn’t get my fill of the beautiful and dramatic scenery, nor did I manage to climb a mountain, such was the rushed nature of the weekend. Scotland is so near, I’d be mad not to explore it some more.

After a few minutes of research, I managed to find out that this was the second event in the Coop Beachtour, a series of seven Beach Volleyball meets. Courts are set up for around four days before being dismantled and moved on. Three days later, normality had returned.

The next event takes place 11-14 June in Locarno before heading on to Geneva, Zug, Winterthur and Bern. Visit the website for more information.

I can’t help but have my vision of what Spain will be like to be influenced by the Club 18-30 TV programmes that graced the tube in the late nineties and early noughties. These shows were fly-on-the-wall docusoaps which documented the Spain that I think I know. My preconceptions can be summarised as follows;

Brits Everywhere

According to ‘Club Med’, I should expect there to be several thousand noisy, anti-social and fat British holiday-makers with their noisy, anti-social and fat children in tow. I should expect these people to wear very little clothing despite the fact they really ought to. I should also expect them to drink vast quantities of lager and make idiots of themselves.

Everything With Chips

What with all the Brits, I should find it difficult finding something authentically Spanish to eat. Instead, perhaps I’d like to try fried eggs with chips, or sausage with chips or a burger with a side-order of chips. If I were to feel my chips needed a certain something extra, I needn’t worry. HP Sauce is in good supply.

Paella

If chips aren’t my thing, Paella is made around the clock and is eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Everyone eats it all the time. Some people don’t stop eating it.

Siesta

The Spanish like to have a nap just after lunch. Everything closes and everyone goes to bed for an hour or so. This I can only assume is because the first five hours on the working day are always overwhelmingly busy and stressful and not because the Spanish are lazy.

The Beach

There’s really nothing to see in the middle of Spain. The only bit worth visiting are the beaches. Once at the beach, sit on it all day, surrounded by thousands of naked, sun burnt strangers. If you can get to the sea, wander around in it for a bit before wondering what the point of all this is. Don’t expect to be able to find your sitting spot when you’re done. It’ll either be lost in a sea of bodies or some Germans will have nicked it.

Sun

It’s pretty hot in Spain. No it isn’t. It’s very hot. Horribly so.

Dinner is Served… Eventually

As a result or nappy-time earlier in the day, it’s the custom to wait until as late as possible before eating the main meal of the day. Some people like to eat dinner just before they eat breakfast the day after to show off to their friends just how Spanish they really are.

Souvenirs

It is apparently customary after a holiday in Spain to go home with a straw donkey under one arm whilst wearing an enormous hat. The bigger the hat and the shoddier the workmanship on the donkey, the better.

Am I looking forward to going to Spain? I am actually. As odd as it sounds after my sarcastic and baseless tirade, I’m eager to be able to challenge the stereotypes. I actually like being proved wrong. I’d rather know the facts then sound-off without them. Whether I find that I’m wrong or right, you’ll be hearing about it later this year. Even if I find that I am right, it’ll be good to be able to tick another country off of my list. Hopefully, by the end of the year, I’ll have visited 25% of the European states.

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Last Saturday, having been through my usual Saturday morning routine, I went into WorldView Live to see what was going on. Bern was holding it’s usual Saturday market, skiers were still queuing for the lifts at the resorts, everything seemed normal. Except in Brugge that is. Something different was going down.

I quickly discovered that I was watching the start of the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders), an annual UCI ProTour road cycling race. You can see the cyclists waiting at the start at the bottom left of the image. On next image refresh, the race had started and the team cars wee in pursuit.

Although I was only seeing the event in still frames, it was rather exciting. I have a lot of favourite webcam locations, but only very rarely is something interesting actually happening. in the next image, the crowds had been allowed from behind the barriers.

25 minutes later, the crowds had all but vanished and tidy-up was in full swing.

This isn’t the first time the Brugge webcam has been featured on this blog. In December 2007, I managed to capture my mum and sister in the same market square.

Fear not! Here are my top tips for first time flyers.

These tips were originally posted on 28 October 2007 with my account of my first time in a plane. Once you’ve read these tips, you might find it useful to hear how I coped with my first time in the air.

• Don’t panic! It really isn’t that big a deal. As you read this, there are thousands of people up in the air on routine flights.
• Sit by the wing. I’ve read in various places that in the event of turbulence, it’s the most stable part of the aircraft.
• You are very likely to hit turbulence. It’s not that scary. I actually found it rather exciting. Keep your seat-belt on at all times regardless of what other people are doing.
• If something happens that worries you, look around at other people to see how they’re reacting. If they’re behaving normally, all is well.
• Listen to and read all of the safety advice.
• Sit by the window. Even if you don’t think you will now, I can guarantee you will want to look out of the window. The views are amazing, whether it’s a cloudy day or not.
• Take an iPod with you. If you really are terrified, at least you’ll be able to zone out with your favourite music, tv show or film.
• People told me the worst part about flying is the take off and landing. For me, the takeoff was exhilarating and the landing, while bumpy, was pretty non-eventful.
• Banking is fun. Looking out of the window almost straight down to the ground is wicked!
• I discovered to my horror that the lights get switched off inside the plane on night-time landings. They do this so that your eyes become accustomed to the darkness, so that in the event of an emergency, escaping is easier. Conversely, you will be instructed by cabin staff to make sure the window blinds are up for landings. This is so that in the unlikely event something unfortunate occurs, emergency crews can see inside. Anyway, expect the lights to be switched off on night-time landings. It’s normal.
• Chew gum. The descent when coming back home was AWFUL! I wasn’t chewing gum and I felt my head was going to explode. I almost lost my hearing completely and was in absolute agony. Don’t let this happen to you.
• Enjoy it! Doing new things makes life interesting. It gives you stuff to talk about and experiences to share with others.

I hope these tips help you with your first time in the air. If you have questions about flying or if you have further tips you think people might find useful, use the comment box below to get in touch.

In the first part of my non-skier’s guide to the mountains, I talked about hiking as an option for those who can’t or won’t pony up the dough for skiing or snowboarding. Hiking is a great way to experience the beauty of the mountains. Arguably, it’s actually much easier to appreciate the mountains on foot then it is having experience gear strapped to your feet. Having admired the peaks though, what about something a little more exciting? On my recent trip to the Berner Oberland region of Switzerland, I gave sledging a try.

Before hiring my sledge, I thought of sledging as a kids activity. Indeed, I felt a bit silly being introduced to my brand new wooden sledge and being shown how to steer it. It didn’t take long though to realise that I needn’t have been embarrassed. Sledging in Switzerland has a long history and is enjoyed by kids and adults alike. In fact, I was to discover at my peril that certain sections of the numerous dedicated sledge runs were practically for adults only.

Bob-Run

Having rented my sledge from Mürren’s Sport Centre, I took the funicular to Allmendhubel (1907m) where I found myself at the start of the famous Bob-Run. Over the course of 3km, the run descends 94m back to the funicular base station where inevitably, you will want to buy another ticket back to the top to have another go. This is a good run for beginners. It’s reasonably flat to begin with and, due to the steep drop to the left of the path, you have no option but to learn quickly the art of steering the sledge. I should warn you that the Bob-Run is a multiple use run. Walkers, sledgers, skiers and boarders are all welcome. The Bob-Run is a popular run particularly for skiing beginners or even experienced skiers who are just getting their bearings, so staying alert is vital to avoid a nasty collision. It’s hardly congested though, so you needn’t be put off by this.

While mostly flat and straight, there are some very tight corners and some fairly steep gradients. You will pick up speed pretty quickly and, I hasten to add, you will undoubtedly fall off in dramatic style. I fell off a number of times but did no damage to myself as the snow was light and powdery and cushioned my fall. The scenery, as proven by the photos in this post, was one of the highlights. With some sections of the run too flat to provide any momentum, you have to walk some sections, so you really do get to appreciate the surroundings at your leisure.

Mürren to Gimmelwald

The second run I tried was another 3km run, this time from Mürren to the impossible beautiful and serene village of Gimmelwald (1367m). Again, this is a multiple use run. Luckily, the skiers and boarders aren’t allowed, but the walkers are and, perhaps more worryingly, vehicles are allowed too. I didn’t encounter any walkers, but I did encounter a snow plow, which raced up behind me as I trundled my way down the run. My only option was to dismount my sledge and wade into 1.5m of lying snow so that the plow could pass. This run is perhaps even better for beginners than the Bob-Run. It’s a very calm run with lots of straights and easy corners. Aside from the stunning scenery, what I liked most about this run was the continuous nature of it. Give or take some sections where the snow has built up or the parts where you lose control and end up on your backside, it’s possible to sledge almost non-stop the entire 3km. If it wasn’t good enough already, the destination is quite frankly amazing! Swiss to the bone, unbelievably quiet and in a perfect setting, Gimmelwald is easily one of my favourite places in the whole of Europe.

Getting back to Mürren where you set off is a piece of cake too. A frequent gondola will take you back for only a few Francs.

Eiger Run

At the foot of the famous north wall of the Eiger and much trumpeted as the best option in the area for sledgers, The Eiger Run, while still supremely good fun, was on the whole my least favourite of the three runs. There was far too much walking required between the fast sections. That said, the Eiger Run did provide the biggest thrill ride of the week. At one point, my GPS clocked me at 44kph (30mph) which, for a sledge is pretty good going. These fast sections are full of twisty turns and crests which in my opinion, really aren’t suitable for kids or even inexperienced adults.

Of the 4.5km run, only the small middle section is actually named the Eiger Run. This section is split into two further sections, one easy, the other hard. I, being generally stupid in my endeavours, opted for the hard section. Don’t say I didn’t warn you when I say this section is hard. For almost all of it, I rocketed down the slope along a metaphorical fine line between staying on and tumbling off in a painful fashion. I clung onto that sledge for dear life, that being my only real option, as gravity did it’s thing. The fear, the speed, the folly of it all amounted to enormously good fun. Upon reaching the end of the middle section of the run at the brilliantly named Brandegg, I was grinning from ear to ear. As was an older couple who arrived shortly after me cackling with raucous laughter.

The run continues from Brandegg through pretty remote settlements and woodland to Grindelwald Grund station, where you can take the train back up to Kleine Scheidegg if you so choose. This is not before one final flourish from the Eiger Run however. The very last section consists of a wide and steep hill. There’s no real telling as to the correct route down, so you just have to go for it. So I did. The snow was very deep and the gradient only got worse as I descended. There was only one way it was going to end. I overcompensated, the front of the sledge pitched forward into the snow and I followed, head first. When I came to a stop, I looked back to find my sledge was gone. After around five minutes of digging, I managed to find it buried almost a metre into the snow. It was a fitting end to my sledging experience.

Cost

The cost of sledging really does depend on how many times you go down, which runs you use, whether you have half-price transport tickets and where you hire you sledge from.

For a wooden sledge (which I recommend against the metal sledges), you shouldn’t have to spend more than CHF10 for one day’s use. Hiring from the quieter resorts or at lower altitudes is advised as it’s cheaper. Hire from an Intersport shop and you can return the sledge to a more convenient branch rather than have to take it back to the original branch. The hire shop will take the details of a credit card as insurance or, if you don’t have a credit card, will physically take your driving license or passport. This is to prevent you from running off with the sledge.

As for transport, there are a variety of options that I won’t go into here for saving money. I used a Swiss Card which gave me a 50% discount on all the gondolas, trains and funiculars. To give you an example though, the funicular from Mürren to the top of the Bob-Run cost me around CHF3, so even if you only used the Bob-Run and paid the full cost (around CHF6), we’re not looking at a massive expense. Obviously though, you will have to factor in the cost of actually getting to Murren in the first place. Personally, I’d say the transport cost were very reasonable.

In Conclusion

I hope you’ve found these non-skier’s guides to the mountains useful and/or enjoyable to read. If you need ay further information, take a look at the excellent My Jungfrau website which has maps and lots of tips for sledgers amoungst lots of other information on the area I visited. You can always drop me a comment in the box below as well, where I’ll be happy to respond to you on the page or via email.

Have fun in the mountains!