Posts filed under 'European Travel'
Winter sports holidays to beat the blues
I’ve always been a fan of trying out new experiences and, since it’s been getting colder and colder outside, my imagination’s been off on the ski slopes around the world, wondering what it’d be like to take lessons and get gliding down stunning vistas of beautiful snow.
The first – and last – time I ever tried anything that resembled skiing was at Hillend in Edinburgh a couple of years ago. My partner thought it’d be a nice, romantic idea to hit the dry slope in Scotland’s capital before heading out for drinks and to nurse our wounds. Well, in the end, I had so many wounds my partner didn’t get a chance to even think about anyone’s other than mine, and I vowed never to go skiing again.
But you know what it’s like – you see those pristine slopes of the Alps and imagine what it’d be like to go speeding down in the cold, crisp air, throwing up sheets of snow as you make a turn, almost feeling as though you’re flying – and you have to admit that it sounds pretty amazing.
Winter sports have always been something that are popular year round because, no matter what time of year it is, it’s always snowing somewhere. So I’ve been doing a little research on some of the hot ski locations, though I already know that if the opportunity arose, I don’t think I could accept – Edinburgh was traumatic enough for me! But while I’m dreaming, I can at least pretend I’m a good skier – one that gets to hit the slopes in America on an amazing winter break stateside, that is! It looks like there are plenty of places in the US that are great for skiers, like mountains in Montana (who’d have thought?) or stunning slopes in Colorado.
Of course, staying close to home is a more tempting option for many ski fans, especially during the tough economic climate. France looks to be one of the best places for supreme ski opportunities, spreading out towards Germany and Switzerland, meaning there’s a great deal of choice if you’re stuck for where to go. And if you fancy hitting the piste in summer, New Zealand’s always an option…
As for me, I think I’ll stick with the après fun – skiers are known for being great partiers once the day on the powder’s up, right? Well, that’s where you’ll probably catch me – sitting in front of the fire with a mug of hot chocolate, resting up for a big night out 
Add comment 16/11/2009
Dream break competition results
Well folks, it’s finally over. Our Build Your Own Dream Break competition had the Superbreak office in a tizz for some weeks, and I have to say we’re glad to have a little bit of time to relax after the rush to collect all of the entries and decide on a winner.
And guess what? The effort was fantastic. We got hundreds of entries ranging from the sweet and romantic to the downright bizarre, with a surprising amount of you choosing to build your dream break right here at home. There were plenty of entries looking to enjoy a break in Edinburgh, London, Liverpool, the Lake District, Inverness and here in York
We also discovered dreams involving Spain, Italy, France, Norway and Germany, with many of you hoping to take advantage of the cold weather by heading off on New Year or Christmas breaks, filled with romance, snow and walks through idyllic city settings. Some of you, however, wanted nothing more than to jet off for a holiday in the sun in destinations like Hawaii, Sydney, the Caribbean, New Zealand and a host of South American destinations like Peru and Mexico. It was clear our entrants really got their imaginations going and ran wild with their dreams – especially one fellow who included the presence of Angelina Jolie in his!
Unfortunately, there’s only so much Superbreak can do – and that isn’t one of them. One thing we did do, however, was pick a winner. And it was tough. There were heaps of fantastic dreams and cutting them down to end up with only one was a truly nightmarish task. But we managed, and our congratulations go to Paul Marshall for his poignant entry, which we hope he can make true with the £1000 prize which can be used to tailor make a break on our website.
As for the rest of you who didn’t manage next time, keep your eyes peeled. We had so much fun with this competition that we’re already brainstorming the next – so good luck and keep dreaming!
Add comment 06/11/2009
Time is running out to win a dream break!
Many of you will be aware that Superbreak is currently running a build your dream break competition, where you have to tell us what your idea of the perfect break would be. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, we want you to do it in twenty words or less – and that’s where the fun begins. Trying to pack your idea of the perfect holiday into just twenty words has clearly been proving to be something of a difficult task, but keep them coming and you never know your luck!
We’ve had heaps of entries so far, from the nice-but-normal romantic city break style choices to some really wacky and adventurous ones. It’s been a pleasure reading them so far, and the competition has had all of the Superbreak office buzzing over the last few weeks – I think there’s more than a few of us who have been eyeing up our last days of annual leave after being inspired by your suggestions.
So go ahead and tell us what your dream break would be. Don’t worry, you can be as imaginative as you like – after all, we’re looking for an eye-catching winner whose dreams we can turn into reality. That’s not to say we don’t adore the slightly more usual ones too, meaning that you’ve got a great chance no matter what your ideal break would be.
And time is running out – the competition closes on Halloween, October 31, which is just a little over a week away – now there’s a scary thought! Keep the entries coming and you can also add me to Twitter to stay up to date on how the competition is going. Good luck!
Add comment 21/10/2009
Halloween traditions in Europe part 2
After doing some research into how Halloween is celebrated on the continent, I found out some pretty interesting facts on what France, Portugal and Spain do in honour of the holiday. One thing tied the holidays together in particular, and that was a day just after Halloween is called All Saints’ Day in all three. This day, which takes place generally on November 1, is dedicated to honouring the dead and was created by Pope Boniface IV in order to quieten down the Pagan celebrations of Samhain, a fire festival that marks the autumn harvest.
However, it seems like the popularisation of Halloween by big celebrator America has managed to influence other countries into considering the spookier side of the festival – with many thanks going out to the American horror industry that exploded in the 80s, with films like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and, of course, Halloween gaining mass global popularity. So, while keeping to their traditional All Saints’ Day celebrations, more and more countries across Europe are beginning to embrace Halloween and its ghoulish festivities too.
Here in the UK, Halloween is a pretty big tradition. Kids get dressed up and go trick or treating – called ‘guising’ in some parts of the north, as well as in Scotland and Ireland (the name comes from children dressing up in ‘disguise’) – and many adults will head out to fancy dress parties and celebrate in other ways.
But that’s enough about us – what about the Italians? In Italy, Halloween is becoming more and more popular amongst children and teenagers, who are beginning to see just how much fun dressing up and trick or treating can be. Italians are notorious for their party hard attitude – so if Halloween gives them another excuse to have a ‘Festa’, then they’ve been reaching for it with both hands over the last few years.
In Germany, you’ll commonly see carved pumpkins adorning the windows of shops and residences as Germans get to know the year’s scariest holiday. It’s not yet tradition for kids to go trick or treating, but it seems as though the party atmosphere in Germany is immense and many Germans take the holiday as an opportunity to get dressed up in their best witch, vampire or werewolf costume and head out to any number of themed parties.
Halloween doesn’t seem to be all that popular all over the continent, sadly – but it is getting there. For example, Copenhagen in Denmark is known for throwing massive events, with Halloween in Tivoli amusement park being one of the greatest, In mid-October, Tivoli Park is transformed into an immersive Halloween world, with pumpkins, witches, scarecrows and vampires roaming around set to terrify and entertain visitors. The festival lasts until the end of the month and all rides are open late into the night. It sounds to me like this could be the winner – a two week Halloween festival! That definitely sounds like one that only hardcore Halloween fans would enjoy!
Add comment 16/10/2009
Discover the life of Picasso in Malaga
As October gets into full swing, I’m sad to see the last strains of the summer disappear – not that that means I don’t love the autumn just as much. Despite how the trees lose their leaves and plants scale back in preparation for bracing out the winter, it’s this time of year that I really think nature has a chance to shine. However, the colder air is one of the things I’m decidedly less keen on, and all I’ve been dreaming about recently – aside from what I would enter in our Superbreak win a dream break competition – is ways I could extend the summer.
I heard about an event that takes place every year in Malaga, a city in Andalusia, Spain, which celebrates the birth and life of one of Spain’s most famous artists, Pablo Picasso. All across the world, people are familiar with Picasso’s surrealist works, as well as his contributions towards cubism, a painting style Picasso was very involved in founding.
Born in Malaga on October 25, 1881, Picasso showed an aptitude for drawing and painting from a very young age. It’s said that his first ever word was the Spanish word for pencil and, from seven years old, he was already en route to becoming the artist he grew into when his painter father began Picasso’s formal training in art. His father was a staunch believer in the idea that great art comes from learning from the masters, and taught Picasso to copy their styles during the development of his own. I wonder if this was where Picasso’s leaning towards creating his own versions of master artworks in his later years came from? I’ve seen several; they range from straight copies with the most intriguingly subtle subversions to more obvious critiques – I’d recommend viewing his extraordinary artwork to anyone.
The festival in Malaga lasts for the bulk of October and involves a growth in festivity every day, with parades stocked with colours and energy like only the Spanish can do, huge concerts with all the best local, national and international music, with dancing, drinking and all the other events you’d expect from a festival of this scale.
And, of course, that’s what’s available for those who aren’t big Picasso fans. If you’re really interested in the artist and his incredible life, many museums and galleries open their doors to the public with special Picasso exhibitions, and myriad tours assemble visitors to take them across the city on a discovery trip of some of the most important places that impacted Picasso’s life.
As October 25 is the big day itself, it’d definitely be worthwhile considering a trip to the south of Spain for the big celebration of Picasso’s 128th birthday. With fantastic fiestas taking place all across town and the party atmosphere in the air, I bet that’s one place where it won’t feel like the end of the summer!
Add comment 12/10/2009
Halloween traditions in Europe
I know I wrote about Halloween fairly recently, but since it’s one of my favourite holidays, I’m going to write about it again. In my post about Halloween last month, I spoke mainly about Halloween traditions in America – big, bold and beastly. The Americans really know how to party at Halloween, almost to the extent of outdoing the rest of the world – which is why I decided to check out how Europe celebrates Halloween to see if there’s a worthy challenger to our stateside friends that I’d missed.
As Halloween has its roots originally in the UK, I thought that Europe should have plenty to offer – and it looks like my suspicions were correct. France seems to be one of the main players in Halloween parties, though it seems like celebrations on the continent seem to be a fairly new trend. In any case, Europe is catching up – and having a lot of fun while doing so.
Although still developing its Halloween antics, France appears to be a European leader and now the holiday attracts lots of attention as well as extensive preparations. Chocolatiers get to work creating intricate Halloween themed chocolates, using their expertise to get the designs just right, and Paris opens its doors to tourists looking for a spooky holiday by holding various events for visitors and locals alike. The main event during France’s Halloween is All Saints’ Day, a day dedicated to honouring the dead. This day was actually created by Pope Boniface IV in order to crush the ancient pagan festival of Samhain – so it’s interesting to see that many European countries are beginning to combine the two after hundreds of years of separation.
If you’re interested in cemeteries November 1 is the day to go, as thousands of French people decorate the graves and tombs of loved ones with beautiful floral displays.
All Saints’ Day is mirrored throughout the European tradition, to greater or lesser degrees. For example, in Portugal, Halloween is still not a tremendous event, but on this day – November 1 – children travel from door to door during the daytime trick or treating to be awarded with fruit, nuts and small cakes.
In Spain, it’s easy to guess that All Saints’ Day is embraced with much passion by the Spanish population. Like their French counterparts, Spanish people take the opportunity to visit the graves of loved ones and endow them with lavish decorations, including gorgeous flowers and lanterns that remain to light up the night, when sometimes prayers are said.
Hmm, I think I’m going to keep researching this – it’s throwing up some really fascinating facts. Be sure to tune in soon to see what else I find.
Add comment 08/10/2009
Give an amazing gift for Christmas this year – a holiday
Every year in the run up to Christmas, we get a lot of interest on the phones about our Superbreak gift vouchers as they’re such a handy gift to give your friends and family at Christmas. Superbreak gift vouchers are versatile and can be used to book trips away through the Superbreak website, meaning your loved ones can choose the holiday and gift they want most of all.
I thought I’d do a blog post about them, seeing as it seems that the Christmas spirit is already in the air – if the number of people Christmas shopping in town is anything to go by. The vouchers offer a way for you to buy thoughtful gifts for loved ones without having to spend hours and hours in town at its busiest times – and means that you’ll be guaranteed to give them the gift they really want. A lot of people think it’s a little impersonal to buy someone vouchers at Christmas, but let’s face it – there’s a good chance that when you make the selection of what particular CD, piece of clothing or even short break a person might like, you could be wrong. By giving a voucher, you get to be as generous as you like while ensuring the recipient has the freedom to choose to spend it on what they really want.
This could be anything, from an amazing romantic trip to Paris, a historic trek along the Great Wall of China or a short break in Berlin to feel the buzz of a city brimming with life. Maybe you think your parents would like a trip to a big city when all they want is to relax on a seaside break, or you think your best friends would adore visiting Prague when they’d love nothing more than to check out London in style – by giving Superbreak vouchers, you can make sure that your friends and family will be able to go on the short break they want to.
There’s a huge amount of amazing breaks to choose from theatre breaks and concerts at the O2 to spa breaks, speciality breaks and even airport products can be purchased with our vouchers.
You can find out more about Superbreak gift vouchers and, conveniently, order them online in various denominations. Don’t forget that you’ve still got the opportunity to score a great break for yourself, too! Our win a dream break competition is still in full swing and you could win your dream break by entering our simple, fun competition.
Add comment 06/10/2009
Disappointing attractions? Hardly
I came across an article recently that rated nine of the most disappointing attractions in Europe – including seeing the Mona Lisa, Manneken Pis in Belgium and going on a gondola ride in Venice. The article is fairly amusing, but I have to say that I don’t really agree any of these attractions could be perceived as disappointing. While it’s understandable that some people may be dismayed that their first glimpse of the Mona Lisa is shared with hundreds of other tourists packed into the room, all a-clamour to see the portrait and take their own photo of it, I would say that being surrounded by such obvious enthusiasm could only serve to make the experience more exciting for me.
Okay, so crowds can be annoying – but they don’t necessarily ruin attractions. The Mona Lisa, which is guardedly stored in the Louvre, Paris, is undoubtedly one of the must see objects in the world. So a lot of people go there – meaning there’s never a quiet moment during opening hours in the Mona Lisa room. And while you may have dreamed about an hour of quiet contemplation in front of this masterpiece, the majority of us aren’t so interested in seeing the picture as we are in having the experience of having seen it – and I think the fact that the business of the room generates such a buzz of excitement is a great thing. After all, we all know what it looks like. The attraction here is taking part in an experience, not viewing a painting (though that’s something you’ll remember as well).
The article also slated gondola rides in Venice, Italy, in part for being like a ‘tourist parade’ for the locals. I’m not sure why that’s such a bad thing. We get tourists here in York all the time and nobody bats an eyelid. Why would people stare at those enjoying a boat ride? Many people think gondola rides are one of the quintessential experiences in Venice – but it is true they’re a tourist attraction. Luckily for me, a bunch of people having a look wouldn’t really put me off if it’s what I wanted to do.
I know that the list, which also included Denmark’s Little Mermaid statue and Dublin Castle in Ireland was intended as a bit of fun, but it saddens me that people reading could be put off some of the most incredible attractions in the world. You make your holiday what it is – so if it’s your dream to take in the Mona Lisa at whatever cost, go for it!
Don’t forget to enter our win a dream break competition and if you’re on Twitter you can follow me for news on the latest Superbreak deals 
Add comment 01/10/2009
More cultural Christmas fun
Following my last post about Christmas in other cultures, I’ve been having a lot of fun doing plenty of research and finding out about how the festive season is celebrated elsewhere around the globe.
Last time, I wrote about Christmas in Spain, Italy and Germany, so I thought I’d look into how some other European countries celebrate Christmas and find out how similar or diverse they are.
There certainly seems to be something about shoes when it comes to Christmas in Europe. I was reading up about Christmas in France and discovered that, yep, once again, children put their shoes out so that Father Christmas – or Père Noël – will fill them with gifts. Thinking about it, however, this is just a more hands-on version of what happens here in the UK with stockings – only over here you can go all out and buy a huge stocking in the hopes of extra presents. I know I’ve pulled that one before!
Depending on the region in France, Christmas starts on different dates. In eastern and northern France, Christmas ‘begins’ on December 6 or, in Lyon, on December 8. These dates are followed with periods of festivities, including the fulfilling of a law that was passed in 1962 – dictating that every letter written to Santa would get a response. So that must be what he does during the year when he’s not busy on Christmas Eve delivering presents.
Moving over to Poland, I found out some weird and wonderful facts about Polish Christmas traditions. In rural areas in Poland, it’s traditionally said that unmarried women who grind up poppy seeds on December 24 will get married quickly and if they go outside following dinner and hear a dog barking, their future husband will come from the direction the dog is facing. Another Christmassy superstition is that Christmas Eve is a time of magic, where animals can communicate with people in human voices – and that it’s possible to tell the future. I think I’ve found my next Christmas holiday destination – it’d be amazing to find out all about the Polish Christmas season firsthand.
In Norway, alongside the Norwegian Santa Clause – julenissen - is another Christmas character called the Fjøsnisse. Unlike our Santa who only shows up once a year, this ‘nisse’ – Norwegian for elf or gnome – lives in farm barns year round and helps out with the animals. That is, if you’re good. If the nisse feels he is being mistreated – like if you forget to leave him a bowl of porridge on Christmas Eve – he’ll play mean tricks on you like move around the animals, scare dogs and blow lights out in revenge.
It looks like lots of places have their different ways of doing Christmas – and now I’m definitely hankering after a Christmas break to experience some of the different customs and traditions.
Add comment 11/09/2009
Christmas in other cultures
We like to make sure we’re prepared for festive bookings as early as possible here at Superbreak. I especially do too, when summer is drawing to a close and I need something new to look forward to – and the addition of our new Christmas and New Year breaks page has got me wondering how other countries celebrate Christmas and what might make for an exciting new experience this December.
It looks as though many countries have different celebrations to us here in the UK, with fantastic traditions forming part of the events taking place in each country. I loved reading about Spain’s Christmas traditions, where Christmas Dinner is actually eaten on Christmas Eve. This is the beginning of Christmas for Spanish people, who get together with their entire families to enjoy a feast the night before Christmas, staying up until after midnight before even getting started.
Christmas Day is spent in church for many Spanish people and, interestingly, it’s not Santa Claus that brings children their Christmas presents, it’s the Three Wise Men who are believed to visit on January 6th and give gifts to children that leave their shoes on the doorstep on the night of the 5th. Christmas continues for some weeks following December 25th and is a period filled with celebration and foody indulgence – sounds like a pretty excellent break to me, especially as it would mean you could still enjoy Christmas at home before heading off to start the year in style in a new location.
While I was researching the types of food and dinner other countries prefer, I came across a little snippet about how they do Christmas Dinner in Italy – it’s no shock if a feast can last for more than four hours in this European country! The meal consists of at least seven different courses, including two puddings and then a cheese and chocolate course too. Well, they do say Italians love food…
Christmas in Germany has got to be a world class affair. If the Christmas Markets that pop up around the UK every year are any testament to a German Christmas, then it’s definitely somewhere I wouldn’t mind visiting for a short break this December. Like the Spanish, German children put their shoes or boots outside their front doors and St Nicholas fills them with either treats or twigs depending on whether the child has been naughty or nice. This happens a month earlier than in Spain, however. My favourite thing about German Christmas has got to be their title for the big dinner they have on Christmas Eve – “Dickbauch”, which means “fat stomach” – and this comes from a belief that those who do not eat as much as they can on this night will be haunted by demons during the night.
Finding out about how other cultures do Christmas is certainly inspiring, maybe I should try out some of the tastiest sounding traditional dishes over the next few months in preparation for the big day. Stay tuned for more Christmas tid-bits as I hunt down the most unusual and nicest sounding Christmas treats!
1 comment 07/09/2009
