With the festive season now with us, here are a few ideas for gifts to give to someone special…   or maybe to treat yourself!

 

♦ Membership of English Heritage

Annual membership of English Heritage is a unique Christmas gift that lasts a whole year. And the good news for Senior Travellers is that they get big discounts. For one person 60+ it costs £37, for a couple £58. SeeThe Writerpostings on English Heritage versus National Trust and on Winter Openings.

♦ Flying Gift

For Seniors Travellers who fancy something adventurous, then why not give a ‘Flying’ gift. Choose from helicopter rides, hot air balloons or light aircraft. You can select by UK region the flying experience that suits the person you are giving to, or yourself.

♦ Books for Senior Travellers

My list of Travel Books gives some excellent gift ideas, including  1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die. The new paper back version can be obtained from Waterstones for £10 (a 50% discount) with free UK delivery.

The Book People offer 33% discount on many travel book including Rough Guides, Berlitz and Insight Guides.     

♦ Ferry Minicruise to Holland or Belgium

A winter minicruise to Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Bruges or Ostend provides an unusual, but very enjoyable, Christmas gift. PO Ferries are now offering their two night minicruises on a 2 for the price of 1 basis; excellent value at only £75 for two. Entertainment is provided along the way. An extra night at the continental destination can be added. See PO Ferries to Rotterdam forThe Writercandid review of the on board experience.

♦ Hotel Stay 

Why not give a gift of a winter hotel break. There are many offers out there at the moment, including the IHG Group (Intercontinental Hotels, Crowne Plazas, Holiday Inns, Holiday Inn Expresses) offering various winter break discounts, plus free late check out. If you are treating yourself to a winter hotel break, then make certain you claim your Senior discount rate, see: Hotel Deals for Seniors.

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The weather during my exploration of New South Wales had been, to say the least, rather inclement. So The Writerwas very much hoping that the Queensland stage ofThe WriterRound the World Trip would live up to its billing as the ‘Sunshine State’.

The Writermust admit The Writerknew very little about Queensland or its capital, Brisbane. But in three days travelling around the south-eastern tip of the state, The Writersaw enough forThe Writerto decide to return in the near future for a much longer visit. And yes, the sun shone brightly most of the time.

The Writerstayed at hotels in Brisbane and at Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast, about 60 miles north of Brisbane. The Pelican Waters Spa Hotel near Caloundra overlooked a golf course, with kangaroos grazing early morning on the fairways!

My Five Highlights of SE Queensland

• Travelling along the Brisbane River on the CityCat Ferry through the heart of Brisbane. From Bretts Wharf in the east, to The University of Queensland at St Lucia in the west, takes about 100 minutes and costs about £3. There are great views along the way and Brisbanites are happy to tell you about their city as you cruise along.

• Strolling around central Brisbane. Some parts feel almost as if you are walking through a narrow passageway beneath the massive buildings, but then suddenly you come across a fine old building or a green open space. Pause a while at the circular War Memorial in Anzac Square. The City Botanic Gardens provide an attractive oasis of tranquillity, teaming with birds and other wildlife such as the Australian water dragon.

• Relaxing on the attractive beach at Caloundra and enjoying the restaurants there, including an excellent Asian restaurant, the Sakon Thai.

• The Australia Zoo, set up by Steve Irwin but now run by his wife following his untimely death in 2006.  There’s much to see and do in the Zoo (over 1,000 animals in 68 acres), but make certain you see the Sumatran tigers, the koalas, the kangaroos and, of course, the crocodiles. Pensioners get a 20% discount on entry charges; strictly speaking this is for Australians, but they were quite happy to give me, a UK pensioner, the concession rate.

• The Glass House Mountains. These dramatic volcanic plugs, sticking out starkly above the surrounding countryside, were named by Captain Cook in 1770. He thought they resembled glass furnaces in his native Yorkshire.

That completed the Australian part ofThe Writerround the world trip. There was no problem dropping the hire car off at Brisbane airport after its 3,000 mile journey from Melbourne; then on toThe Writernext stop, Christchurch, and a tour of the South Island of New Zealand.

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Think of Munich and October and you’ll probably get an image of thousands of people sitting at benches swilling down large quantities of beer, interspersed with roast pork, ham hock and pretzels. And that was the case a week or so before we arrived, as Munich celebrated the Oktoberfest along with millions of visitors.

Fortunately, by the time we visited, the beer-tourists had largely dispersed and Munich had an almost serene, autumnal feel to it.

The Writerhad visited Munich once before, in 1965, when it was still being rebuilt after the war. The Writerremembered bleak open spaces, unattractive buildings and walking many miles around the central area to find places of interest.

Either Munich has changed massively orThe Writermemory is playing tricks onThe Writer– probably both! What The Writerfound on this visit was certainly the open spaces, but now attractive parks, along with beautifully restored buildings, particularly within the old town. Also, and of importance to Senior travellers, the central part of the city around the old town is compact enough for pleasant, relaxed strolling around the various attractions.

My route tookThe Writerfrom the main market square, the Marienplatz, up past the Residence Palace to the English Garden.  The Writerthen crossed the River Isar and followed it back under the trees in their autumn finery, before crossing back over and finishing at the Victuals Market near to Marienplatz. That took the best part of a day.

The following day, I travelled by car to two attractions further out from the centre, the Nymphenburg Palace and the Olympic Park.

My Highlights of Munich

These ten highlights ofThe Writervisit are in the order in which The Writervisited them:

1. Marienplatz, the main square in the centre of Munich, flanked by the Old and New City Halls. Try and get there for 11 am, noon or 5 pm to see the display from the Glockenspiel perched high on the New City Hall tower. Thirty-two life-sizes figures, including two on horseback, act out aspects of Bavarian history. Don’t worry too much if you miss it, the buildings around the square are enough reason to visit.

2. The late Gothic Cathedral of Our Blessed Lady (Frauenkirche), close to the Marienplatz, dominates the skyline of central Munich with its spires rising to 100 metres. Apparently there are great views from the top of the towers looking towards the Bavarian Alps, but the towers are closed at the moment for urgent repairs.

3. The Residence Palace at the northern edge of the Old Town. This massive structure consists of ten courtyards and attractive, historical gardens. It was a pleasant sunny day when The Writervisited, so The Writerdecided to miss out this time on the Residence Museum, which has a fine collection of interior decoration, and the Residence Treasury, which displays priceless jewellery collected over 900 years. Both have reduced admission fees for Seniors over 65.

4. The Theatine Church (Theatiner Kirche), just beside the Residence Palace. The impressive white Baroque interior of this 17th Century church contrasts sharply with the Mediterranean yellow colour outside.

5. The Hofgarten, which forms a link from the Residence Palace to the English Garden. The garden was set out in the early 17th Century as an Italian style Renaissance garden. The central pavilion is dedicated to the goddess Diana.

6. The English Garden, a 900 acre oasis of tranquillity, with a small river gushing through. We stopped at the Chinese Tower near the centre and enjoyed an obligatory beer and pretzel!

7. River Isar Walk, along the eastern bank, leading back towards the town centre. Halfway along, you pass the Angel of Peace monument erected in thanks for 25 years of peace after the 1870/71 Franco-German war.

8. The Victuals Market (Viktualienmarkt), dating back 200 years, offering a massive collection of vegetables, fruit, cheese, meat, spices, flowers and lots more, all laid out with precision. It’s a great place for a tasty snack.

9. Nymphenburg Palace, which was built as an Italianate villa in 1663/64. It was reworked 50 years later with addition of four pavilions. The resulting massive complex includes a Porcelain Factory, elegant public rooms and extensive parkland. Seniors 65+ get a 20% reduction on entry charges to the palace.

10. Olympic Park, home of the 1972 Olympics, providing a pleasant evening walk. Look out for Father Timofej’s Russian Orthodox Chapel, built without permission from war debris, but allowed to remain when the Olympic Park was built.

Getting There

EasyJet flies to Munich from Stansted, Gatwick, Manchester and Edinburgh, for just over £100 return, depending on when you travel, see: Fly on a Tuesday!  It is also worth checking out British Airways from Heathrow and Glasgow, and Lufthansa from Birmingham and Manchester, as their prices are comparable to the budget airline.

Accommodation

There is an abundance of good quality accommodation in and around Munich, with almost all the major chains being represented. Don’t forget to claim your Senior discount. The Writerstayed at a small hotel to the east of the city at Messe, near the ring road, and had little difficulty driving in to the centre in the morning and finding a parking space.

Previous Short Breaks articles have featured Frankfurt and Nuremberg. The beauty of visiting cities in Germany is that they are so completely different. The most attractive aspect toThe Writerof Munich is the abundance of parkland near the centre, unlike the other two cities.

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