Hello 2014

I’m not a massive New Year fan…unless it coincides with a holiday.  This year I spent New Year in London with a good friend I’d not seen for far too long.  We stayed in the Millennium Copthorne Tara Hotel just off Kensington High Street.  A very big hotel but with good services, nice staff and was in a good location.

We spent a few days before New Year visiting the usual sights including the Dickens Museum, Kensington Palace, Liberty’s, Carnaby Street and the Winter Wonderland.  We tried to visit the Chockywockydodah shop, but were just too late and it had already closed. The cakes visible through the windows look even better in real life than they do on the TV.  I was disappointed that the Christmas window was no longer on display though after watching it being made on TV.

Carnaby Street

Neal's Yard

Winter Wonderland

New Years Eve was brilliant.  We started by watching Dirty Dancing, not my favourite musical, but still good.  After this we headed down to the Embankment.  Unsurprisingly the main fireworks viewing areas we already full so we found a good spot near Big Ben.  The atmosphere was brilliant, everyone was very friendly and in such a good mood. Big screens and music kept us entertained until just before midnight.  Then 10, 9, 8…..3, 2, 1…Bang.  The fireworks were great.  It was by far the best New Years Eve ever.

New Year Fireworks

We also went to the Harry Potter studio tour which is just outside London.  It was where all 8 of the films were created and was simply amazing. 

The tour really starts when you board the bus at Watford Junction station.  On the short journey to the studio you are shown a video of the history of the studio.   Right from the entrance you are drawn into the magic of Harry Potter.  The flying car is suspended from the entrance ceiling and you can see the Cupboard under the stairs while waiting for your tour to begin.  Apart from the first 2 rooms which take about 30 minuets the tour is self guided so you can take as much time as you want to take in everything.  You see sets, costumes, filming tricks and secretes, green screen filming and props.  You walk through the Grand Hall, down Diagon Alley, see how all the animatronics works, stand in Privet Drive, see the night bus and can even try some Butterbeer.

The Great Hall

Gryffindor Common Room

The Burrow

Privet Drive

The attention to detail in all aspects of the tour is incredible.  You see things that you would never see in the movies.   It’s well worth a visit for anyone. 

Lycian Coast, Turkey

This post is a little delayed.  I went to the Lycian Coast in September, but haven’t got round to fully writing it until now.  It was difficult to do such a beautiful place full justice.

The Lycian Coast in Turkey is a truly spectacular coastline where mountains meet the turquoise sea and small fishing villages are dotted along the coast unspoiled by tourist invasions. Small beaches and bays only accessible by boat, give the kind of quite and secluded peace away from tourist hotspots that people dream about. Ruins of past Lycians can be easily seen, castles high on hill tops, rock tombs and suncken cities all crying out to be explored. 

The Lycian Coast

Our first week was based in Kas on Explores Active Turkey trip.  A beautiful fishing village, slightly expanded by the tourist market, but still holding onto it’s charm and character.  With it’s cobbled streets and incredibly friendly people, and the call to prayer from the mosque adding a reminder that this little town is first of all home to the locals.

The harbour and town square are the focus of the town.  The harbour is full of Turkish Gullets on day trips to hidden beaches and week trips cruising the coast as well as fishing boats.

Kas has ample restaurants with delicious food, although some can get repetitive.  Maze is severed as starter including Vine leaves, yogurt, cucumber and garlic dips with fresh flat breads, aubergine and feta cheese sticks.  Bar Barcelona was our pre evening meal bar of choice, with its friendly Mr Bean owner and lively outdoor setting.

After a late arrival from the UK we settled into our home for the week, the Hotel Club Phillos.  A lovely hotel at the top of the hill moving away from the harbour.  Spacious rooms, buffet breakfast with lots of choice and a pool with slide, what more could you need? Except for a Hallam in the hotel, which it has too.

Our first day was spent canoeing down the Xanthos river to Patara.  Approximately a 15 km trip with a riverside BBQ lunch part way through.  The pace was gentle with ample opportunities to take in the scenery.  Strong winds made the last 3km section harder, but still fun.  Later in the afternoon we moved on to Xanthos a UNESCO World Heritage site of the ancient capital of Lycia.  It’s an impressive site with a spectacular theatre and ruins to explore. 

Xanthos

The second day was walking in the mountains above Kas.  We walked for around 5 hours stopping for a picnic lunch in a lovely little mountain hut.  A working well provided plenty of lunchtime entertainment.  Fascinating fossils we’re dotted along the route giving us an insight into how the scenery was formed. 

Taurus Mountains

Day three was Sea Kayaking in Kekova Bay.  Following a 45 minute paddle across the bay we swam in at lovely beach surrounded by ancient ruins and ate ice creams delivered by the Ice Cream boat.  We then headed onto the Sunken City.  Created by earthquakes, the remains of streets and buildings are visible below the water line.  We paddled back across the bay to the tiny village of Simena where the medieval castle towers high on the mountain top above the village.  The village is dotted with houses and stalls selling goods handmade by the locals.  Stopping for a lunch of barbequed chicken and maze we could take in views of the fishing boats stretching out into the clear waters.  The partly ruined castle is fantastic for exploring.  It has the smallest ancient theatre along the Lycian coast with seating for 300 people.  The views are incredible, looking over the bay and beyond.  Well worth the walk up through the steep village.  From here we paddled back through the rocks and bay and back to our start point of Ucagiz.  Roughly 2 hours and 45 minuets of kayaking gave us a great view of a beautiful area.

Views from Castle

Sea Kayaking

Our next day was a free day.  Some of the group explored the Kas Friday market.  It draws in both tourists and locals and sells just about anything you can imagine.  The rest of the group headed over to the small Greek Island of Meis.  

Meis is situated just 2.5km for Kas and more than 100km for Rhodes.  We took the Meis express from Kas harbour for the 30 minute journey. Getting onboard wasn’t as simple as imagined with us needing us to book the day before, hand our passports over in advanced for checking and only being able to board when our names were individually called out.

View over Meis

Meis Harbor

The small village surrounds the big harbour.  It is typical Greek architecture with many restaurants and cafes giving view over the harbour.  Climbing the steep steps away from the village we visited the monastery.   While going up the steps it’s well worth turning around to admire the view of the harbour and back towards Turkey.  Back in the village we spent a leisurely few hours eating lunch and watching the delivery boats come into the harbour.   Visiting the island just twice a week everything they need arrives on the boat.  Lorries and tanks were unloaded alongside toilet rolls and food.   Heading back to Kas we did some shopping before heading out to Bar Barcelona for drinks followed by another lovely evening meal.

Meis Deliveries

The following day we were back to activities, heading back to the Taurus Mountains above Kas for mountain biking.  This day really did have something for everyone.  We did both on and off-road, up and down-hill. Some sections offered a bit of technical challenge where others allowed us to wiz down quite winding roads.  The scenery was stunning and maintain biking is bar far one of the best ways to experience it.  Another picnic lunch gave us a break in the woods

We cycled a total of 42km including a 10km up hill stretch.  This was a tough section made easier by the local kids running out to the road shouting hello and asking for high fives as we passed. 

The support bus followed the whole way, expect for off road sections, so if anyone wanted to stop and hitch a lift they could.   

Our final day on this section of the trip was a full days boat trip swimming and snorkelling in a selection of bays around Kas.  It was a lovely relaxing day, soaking up the sun, reading and eating a BBQ lunch.

Snorkelling

It was then time to change onto the Blue Sea Cruise part of the tip.  We transferred to Fethiye where our trip began.  Fethiye is a big busy town with a huge harbour.  Rock tombs are visible high about the town.  When you get up to them the tombs themselves are a little disappointing, but the views across the town and sea make the short walk to them well worth the time.

Later in the afternoon following a nice leisurely lunch we boarded Sobek, our traditional wooden Turkish Gullet which was home for the next week.  It was a surprisingly spacious boat with a large sunbathing area at the front, covered seating area at the back, in door seating area under the deck and further down under the deck some small simple cabins.

Sobek

Leaving Fethiye we headed along the coast to Kalkan bay which was to be our first overnight stop. All food was cooked on board by our own chief.  He cooked up some lovely food, all freshly cooked and plenty to go around.   Each meal had at least 4 different dishes as part of the main course with lots of fresh bread.

This section of the trip was a much slower pace than the first week. Most days were spent swimming in bays, reading, sun-bathing or eating some of the delicious food.   There were some optional trips throughout the week, which we took up the opportunity to do. 

Sunset

We repeated the Sea Kayacking.  This was on a much calmer day so we were able to see much more of the sunken city.

A small group of us braved Parasailing.  This is a strange experience as although you are being pulled along by a speed boat while up in the air it feels very slow and calm.  The views from high above the sea were incredible. 

Parasailing

Saklikent Gorge meaning Hidden City, is the second longest gorge in Europe at 20Km long.  It is a spectacular place with high walls high above on both sides and interesting rock formations.   Water running through the gorge from melted snow high on the Taurus mountains and is freezing cold as the high walls means no sun can get in to warm it. 

The first few hundred meters are along a walkway suspended along one wall, but from then on it’s time to get wet.  After entering the water you pass the bottom of a fast moving water fall. A rope is available to give some balance, but expect to be vey wet as the water is chest deep.  This is a relatively short section leading to a much calmer stream trickling through the gorge.  As you get further in the terrain gets trickier, with rock pool to climb through some of which are waist deep and again freezing cold.

Outside the gorge is a streamside restaurant with seating areas on wooden platforms suspended just above the water.  Tables and seats are very low so you almost feel like you are sitting on the floor.  Turkish rugs and cushions make it a nice and comfortable place to sit and eat.  The food was once again delicious which a wide selection to choose from.

  

Waterside Restaurant

An overnight in Kas gave us more time to do shopping, visit the market and try another of the harbour side bars.

We visited Gemiler Island with it's extensive ruins dedicated to Santa Claus.  In the past the island was used as a shelter for pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem.  Views from the top over the Mediterranean coast and sea were superb.  

Gemiler Island

Arriving back in Fethiye harbour at the end of the week we headed into town for one last explore and experience the night life. 

Fethiye Rock Tombs

Seeing people try to Ice Skate in 30 degrees was an experience I don’t think I’ll repeat again and the outdoor bowling ally is a brilliant idea.

It was clear it was coming to the end of the season as a few of the restaurants and bars further away from the harbour were closing but their were plenty of places still open and offered a relaxed evening soaking up the final Turkish heat.

Seefeld, Austria

This years ski trip was to Seefeld in Austria, a traditional Tyrolean village just near Innsbruck.  It hosted the Nordic events of the 1964 and 1976 winter Olympics and is now a massive area for cross-country skiing.  The village has plenty of shops, bars, restaurants and café 

The downhill ski area, which we were there for, is quite limited.   It has three areas, the beginners nursery slopes in the centre of the village, the Gschwandkopf and the Rosshutte. 

The Gschwandkopf area has three slopes, two blues and a red.  Apart from the very top of the red they are all very wide runs with a few steeper sections.  You can go up and down the big long blue under the chair lift many times choosing a different route each time giving a different skiing experience.  The red is narrow at the top, but not very steep, not a particularly challenging red.  There are two huts at the top of the Gschwandkopf and both are lovely, one self service and the other table service.  Both are very cosy inside with big outside terraces for those sunny days with a good range of tasty food.

The Rosshutte area is the bigger area with some more challenging runs for intermediate skiers.  There are only two short black runs so expert skiers may get a bit bored if looking for a challenge.  There isn’t much difference between the blue and red runs in fact some blues, particularly the narrow steep top of blue 3 running next to the Rosshutte Funicular should be red.  The Rosshutte has a lot of lovely mountain huts all with excellent food and friendly staff.  They are defiantly worth stopping at for the compulsory Gluhwine.  It’s possible to ski all the Gschwandkoptf and Rosshutte in one day, a nice challenge which is easily doable as long as you don’t have to wait two long for the two cable cars at the top of the Rosshutte.

I read a lot about the Seefeld area being a beginners area and whilst there are a lot of blue run, good for getting some practice in and some speed up, it’s defiantly not a place for someone who has just learnt to ski and first coming off the nursery slopes.  The runs are wide, but can be steep in places.  The Gschwandkopf is the easier of the two main ski areas.

Night skiing, down Blue 6 on the Rosshutte, is available on Wednesday and Friday evenings.  The top of blue 6 is quite narrow and flat, but it opens out to be a wide run with lots of room to get some speed up.

The pistes were very well maintained.  We were treated to awesome weather, snow one day and another with low cloud over the village, but high on the Rosshutte this was not a problem and skiing above the clouds was fantastic. The rest of the week was clear blue skis and bright alpine sun.

There are lots of activities for non-skiers.  The Olympica Centre is superb.  It has a huge warm pool including a heated outdoor section and two slides.  A tame kids slide and a brilliant white-water slide. Just be prepared to get some bruises on the white-water slide as you are thrown from side to side and dropped into mini pools on the way down.  Sauna world also at the Olympica Centre is excellent with saunas, steam rooms, heated pools, plunge pools, lots of rooms for relaxing and panoramic views over the village and cross-country ski area.  Just what is needed to relax those sore skiing legs.  It’s all very clean and high tech, much better than anything that you would find in the UK.  Seefeld supposedly has lots of toboggan tracks, although we didn’t find them. As always the tour companies had a huge range of activities, snowshoeing trial, trip to Innsbruck, Quiz (which we won),

We stayed in the Krinserhof Hotel on the edge of town.  It’s a 15 minute walk into town but only a 5 minute walk to the Rosshutte lift.  The Krinserhof is a lovely little family run hotel, very traditional and welcoming.  The Binder family are friendly and will do anything to make people feel at home.  Once a week the family play traditional Tyrolean folk music during and after dinner.  You also get a traditional Austrian Fondue once a week.  The food tastes lovely with excellent portion sizes.  Each day you have a 4 course meal with choice of main course.  Our room was massive with two beds, two sofas and a desk.  If you are lucky enough to get a room at the front you are also treated to a lovely view over the village and surrounding mountains. 

If there was a bigger downhill ski area I would defiantly return to Seefeld.