Spontaneous holiday?

Karmella · 31-10-2016 01:20PM

Oh I'm so jealous! Have a brilliant time, was in Berlin before but it was -10 so didn't do a huge amount of sightseeing. Great buzz there.

anewme · 31-10-2016 01:22PM

About 6 years ago, very stressful time in work, tough boss was leaving after 3.5 hard years, Went into Trailfinders on Saturday said where can I go that's as far away from here as possible. By following Saturday was in Vietnam on an Intrepid group tour. If I had the time to back out I probably would gave but time was so tight I just went with it.

I was picked up in ho ChinMin airport by a taxi guide. It appeared that western people were few and far between and I was getting a lot of looks. I remember asking him if there was a scooter rally as everyone was bombing around on scooters. He looked at me like I'd 10 heads and I went, oh Feck woman, what the hell are you after getting yourself into. It cost a fair packet too!

Met the rest of the group that night from Canada, Australia, Uk and had the best experience ever ft the next 3 weeks!

PowerToWait · 31-10-2016 01:31PM

Got myself a Last Minute deal to Berlin for 5 days a few years ago. Randomly bumped into old friends I'd not seen for too long and basically had a blast.

Curry wurst and Berliner Weisse for breakfast. Nobody bats an eyelid.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k · 31-10-2016 01:43PM

Yep, the OH lived in Toronto when he was my ex. We were still close friends, and talked a good bit. This one night he was drunk, I was drunk and he begged me to go visit. So, I booked it and 9 hours later I was on my way to Toronto. Best trip I ever made. I've booked New York last minute too but that was for a funeral

31-10-2016 01:47PM

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Took a mad notion last night of going somewhere, I'm in the BA first class lounge at Heathrow now heading for Berlin. Have you ever just said feck it and fecked off somewhere? How did it work out.

If you are the beer type - make sure you go to that beach bar they have just outside the main train station. Its basically a bar in the open air on concrete covered in sand and deck chairs to make it up like a beach bar.

There was also a great bar call the Stock Exchange or something where the price of the beer fluctuates on a stock exchange screen while you sit there - so you have to try and buy them on the cheap. Always a great laugh when the stock exchange crashes and all the beers drops to 2 euro.

We take the notion to go off like that quite a lot. We go on the whim of cheap travel options. Once a week or once a forth night we each check our travel websites of choice and every so often we will spot that some destination we have never been to before is impossibly cheap if you fly on inconvenient times - on inconvenient days.

France - Italy - Spain - Sardinia - Morocco - Germany - and so on - we are slowly working our way through the full list of Ryanair destinations. So far has always worked out with no real issues. One guy did quite insistantly in morrocco try to buy my girlfriend off my for a large number of camels or some wild stock of some sort which was a bit uncomfortable - but otherwise it has all been great. Eating Steak and Lobster in a balcony restaurant in Sardinia with a fiery sun set was the highlight of all the trips though.

Fleawuss · 31-10-2016 02:17PM

Christ almighty the Backwards Man isn't slow coming forward is he! Good on ya. Send reports please: hope to get to Berlin in the next year.

pauliebdub · 31-10-2016 02:26PM

Would love to! But booking a flight at the last minute tends to be very pricey. So I usually book everything well in advance.

AlekSmart · 31-10-2016 02:35PM

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Back on Thursday, I'm staying at the zoo, well, beside the zoo, only 50 Euro a night, no breakfast, but I think they like sausages in Germany so I should be grand for something to eat.

Take the route 100 Bus (Double Deck) from end to end...It will give you a full tour of Berlin's visitor attractions for the price of an ordinary ticket (€2.60 ish ?)

Then,if you have time,take in afternoon tea in the Hotel Adlon Kempinski and just watch the upper reaches of Berlin "society" interact....always worth the few € for the excellent Coffee and Cake ....then off witcha to the TV Tower for a fantastic panorama of the City and an idea of what a vast City it actually is !!!

ChikiChiki · 31-10-2016 02:39PM

The morning after the 2008 Champions League final myself and a mate ended up on the ferry to Holyhead following a night on the piss planning to get a train onwards to Manchester to join in the celebrations. About half way over the Irish Sea common sense kicked in and we realised it was a ridiculous idea. We both were supposed to be in our respective jobs that morning. Talk about losing the run of ourselves.

snubbleste · 31-10-2016 04:55PM

The Backwards Man wrote: »

I don't know how the internet works out foreign so you'll be safe enough.
Na, no turf or Tennent's but you know what they say about being in Rome. . .

Isn't London furrin?

JohnCleary · 31-10-2016 06:15PM

The_Valeyard wrote: »

First class lounge?

We'll, la di da, Mr.posh head.

Seriously, enjoy it dude.

You can usually just pay a few quid to go into these. For example, the one in Dublin Airport is about 20 - 25euro. We get it comp. when flying business class but if flying economy with time to kill and in the mood for a few drinks, it's well worth it.

Rum Ham! · 31-10-2016 06:24PM

Fair play to you, I went to London last year for the rugby world cup last minute, had a great time.

uck51js9zml2yt · 31-10-2016 06:31PM

Went to Kerry this weekend on a whim... it was a wild time! Will take me years to get over it.

Your Face · 31-10-2016 06:51PM

Wow

The Backwards Man · 31-10-2016 07:13PM

They have pubs with beer and power ballads and everything, if they had Tennent's I might not come at all!

The Raptor · 31-10-2016 07:29PM

I booked a holiday to Las Vegas on a whim but then I had 5 months to prepare for it. It was booked, so no going back. Had the time of my life.

Can somebody help me out for a few days next week. Want to go somewhere cheap, i don't care where but preferably outside from Ireland.

maudgonner · 31-10-2016 07:31PM

How's the language barrier? The poor sods, trying to decipher German spoken with a Donegal accent.

Or worse...English spoken with a Donegal accent.

The Backwards Man · 31-10-2016 07:39PM

maudgonner wrote: »

How's the language barrier? The poor sods, trying to decipher German spoken with a Donegal accent.

Or worse...English spoken with a Donegal accent.

Ah we're getting there, I know the basics such as bitte and danke and achtung and rauss and schnell, and I'm learning them the basics of Donegal such as 'I couldn't cadge an oul fag off ya there could I?'

maudgonner · 31-10-2016 07:49PM

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Ah we're getting there, I know the basics such as bitte and danke and achtung and rauss and schnell, and I'm learning them the basics of Donegal such as 'I couldn't cadge an oul fag off ya there could I?'

I can imagine it now...

TBM: "It's a wile cauld night, hey?"

Random Germaners: "Heil? Did he say heil?! Mocking ze war!!!"

harry Bailey esq · 31-10-2016 08:48PM

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Took a mad notion last night of going somewhere, I'm in the BA first class lounge at Heathrow now heading for Berlin. Have you ever just said feck it and fecked off somewhere? How did it work out.

Enjoy!Although I'll have to admit that I'll miss your traditional Monday closing time power ballad thread.Or,if your not lounging in some deliciously seedy FKK club maybe a David Hasslehof number might be apt?

getzls · 01-11-2016 02:29AM

About 30 years ago I decided to go to London on visit a friend.
Only problem as I didn't really know where he lived.
Got plane over nabbed a taxi and said take me to ? The name of a pub.
Driver said mate there's a dozen pubs called that in London.
Remembered the name of road so driver dropped me off there.
Here's me 11 o'clock on a Sunday night standing lost in London.
Seen a house with looked like a party going on so rapped door.
Irish guy answered an idea said I'm looking for ----'. He brought me in. It was a squat with all sorts of people in it.
Stayed the night on a mattress .
Next morning some guy took me around to friends latest.
Needless to say drink did influence my decision to go to London.

BabyE · 01-11-2016 02:40AM

All the time, we live in such a diverse small place in the world with redic cheap flights, its basically asking to travel on a whim.

Spontaneous holiday?

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