Here, and Sometimes There

Winter Gardens

Sports travel is the category for this award.

2019 brought several sports travel trips, mostly linked to my son’s ice hockey team’s games.

Those took me to Sheffield three times, and to Nottingham, Manchester and Dundee.

Downtown, Chinatown

My visits to Sheffield now have a pattern - I stay at the Novotel. I take the train, although I did fly to Manchester once and take the train from there.

I went to Krefeld via Brussels and Köln on a sentimental journey to see ERC Ingolstadt play ice hockey. It was fun and they won. It was another journey combining plane and train.

DB Bahn ICE

Belfast hit my itinerary twice - also for ice hockey. In March it was to watch the home team play Dundee Stars, and in August to see them take on Augsburg.

Pub Life

As with previous years, I was looking for an opportunity for trip to watch rugby or horse racing, but nothing suitable ever came up. I did go to see Glasgow Warriors play in the final of the Pro 14 (rugby), but the game was in Glasgow and that hardly qualifies as travel.

My visit to Yerevan was a sports trip in a sense, as climbing Mt Aragats was a key part of it. I would have gone anyway, so the climb was not the only purpose in going.

Mt Ararat (Turkey) in Background

This category produces an easy winner. It is my trip to Sheffield in April to watch my son playing ice hockey. The match was the playoff for the British Universities Division 1 Championship. Edinburgh (his team) as winners of the North group played against Cambridge as winners of the South pool. Edinburgh won.

Winners!

It was the biggest achievement in his ice hockey “career” and it was wonderful for me to be able to be there to see it.

Cafe Leila, Tbilisi

This award category is for restaurants. In this category there are too many places to mention, so only the most memorable ones get a name check.

Where will I start!

One of the best of the year was also the first of the year, on 1st January. At Joanos Carinovos Smuklė in the Belmontas Centras (Vilnius) I had a wonderful lunch in a lovely place. Cobwebs were blown away.

Traditional

My short visit to Barcelona produced several successes with restaurant choices. Good judgement or luck? Both, probably.

La Bicicleta

My hotel in Kirkwall - The Storehouse - describes itself as a restaurant with rooms, so I gave it a try. It was really good quality.

Restaurant

I also “ate in” when I stayed at Chateau Bruale in Tkhilitstskaro. It gets a lot of points for giving me the chance to try the vineyard’s own Rkatsiteli Mtsvane and because in September it was still warm enough to eat outside. The food was excellent quality - of country style rather than sophisticated.

Dinner Time

Can in Istanbul is a place I returned to, as I have several times. I love the cafeteria type set up, and the food is always excellent. Dinner there is almost always followed by ice cream and tea at Mado, a few meters along the street.

Baklava & Dondurma

I went on walking food tours in Tbilisi and Athens and learned a huge amount about the cuisine of those countries in addition to enjoying great food.

Ariston Pie Shop

Street food attracted me in Tòrshavn and Reykjavík - fish and chips being a stand out meal in each city.

In fact Chateau Bruale is this year’s winner.

Top Class

Drinking wine which has been produced on the premises from grapes grown in the surrounding fields is an unusual experience, and the wine was sublime.

The Storehouse

This category is for the various types of accommodation I enjoyed over the year.

What a variety!

When I think back over the last 12 months, that is my impression of my accommodation choices.

I had several Airbnb experiences - Barcelona, Tbilisi, Yerevan, Reykjavik and Athens. I was very happy with all of them, and indeed I went back to the Tbilisi place for a second visit. In fact I would happily return to any of them.

Apartment Terrace

When it comes to chain hotels, yet again Novotel was my preference. I used them in Sheffield and Brussels. I used an Ibis in Nottingham and the Sofitel at Athens Airport - Accor brands as well.

I stayed at Marriott’s AC Hotel in Belfast twice and would do so again - price, location, style…

AC Hotel

I stayed in quite a few airport hotels in 2019. I tried the Moxy brand at Aberdeen Airport - yes, I would use that one again. At Edinburgh Airport I stayed a Hampton by Hilton for the first time - I guess it is a budget/airport type sub-brand. It was OK, but nothing special.

Inter City Hotels seems to be a mainly German brand, part of the Steinberger group, and the one I used at Berlin Schönefeld Airport was ideal. It is a short walk from both the terminals and the railway station. It is great value for money - at least on a Sunday night.

Radisson Blu was my choice at Manchester Airport - it was good, but expensive. It is walking distance to the airport and the railway station, which was the attraction for me.

When it comes to independent hotels, my second visit to Georgia introduced me to several - 5 Rooms and Ilja’s in Tbilisi, Chateau Bruale in Tkhilitstskaro (in the Kakheti region) and Hotel Vache in Stepantsminda. I would happily go back to any of them - clean, comfortable, quiet, stylish and good value.

Ilja's

Chateau Bruale is a bit special because it is part of a vineyard, and I was there at harvest time. I also tried their 2017 produce. Zero air miles…

Top Class

Hotel Vache is also special, but for its amazing views of Mt Kazbegi and the horses running free in the street outside.

Morning Visitors

I loved my first visit to the Faroe Islands and whilst my hotel (the 62⁰N) in Tórshavn ticked all the usual boxes, it was never going to be good value for money. It is a very expensive destination.

Kirkwall was an expensive destination too - at least in accommodation terms. Maybe it is an island thing. I had 2 nights in The Storehouse. It is excellent, but not cheap.

In Köln I chose the Lint Hotel. It is a small family run place, and really good. For me, the location was part of the attraction, being in the Altstadt and a short walk from the main railway station.

Lint Hotel

Last but certainly not least - I was back in Istanbul and stayed a few nights in the Terrace Guesthouse. It has been on my list of special places for a long time, and it has been a “Best of” winner before.

Sunrise, Terrace Guesthouse

No doubt I have forgotten one or two, but I suppose that means they were not memorable.

In the end for my favourite of the year I have gone for the Hotel Vache.

Mt Kazbeg

In addition to the views and the horses outside my bedroom, the breakfasts were superb and the quality of the room was excellent.

The Ternan

This category is for any kind of transport other than flights, as they come into the airline category.

I used a good variety of train services during 2019. The one from Dublin to Belfast in March was a “first”. It is a joint venture between Northern Ireland Railways and Iarnròd Èireann. It was comfortable, but slow. That route cries out for a high speed rail service.

I got my high speed service in October, between Brussels and Köln. A German ICE in one direction and Thalys in the other. Both were delayed…

Köln Hbf

The service I used in January between Arlanda Airport and Uppsala is quick enough, although not high speed like the service into Stockholm. That made it affordable, of course.

In Britain, I used several train companies on my trips to Manchester, Sheffield and Nottingham. I had mixed experiences.

I did not have as many boats trips as usual during the year. I took short ferry sailings in the Faroes (Tórshavn to Nólsoy) and Istanbul (Europe to Asia). The vapur in Istanbul was wonderful.

Vapur

I took a couple of long distance (as opposed to local or airport) bus rides, which is unusual for me. One was a 2 hour journey from Klaksvík to Tórshavn. It was spectacular.

So was the 5 hour marshrutka trip from Tbilisi to Yerevan. It was uncomfortable, however.

Minibus Recovery Mode

I had rented cars in Georgia and Iceland, and they were definitely a good decision for getting around to see the places on my itineraries. I had a bike while I was in Reykjavík - it came with my Airbnb. I really enjoyed using it to get in and out of the city centre.

Sadcars' Sadcar

I used trams in Dublin and in Sheffield - they are still a novelty to Scots. We tore up our tram lines in the 50s and 60s to make more space for cars. Yes, quite.

I got back on the metro in Barcelona after an absence of 45 years. I got on the metro in Tbilisi for the first time. At £0.13 per journey, the Tbilisi metro has a lot going for it.

Metro

I also took a cablecar and a funicular in Tbilisi. Ideal for getting up those hills in warm weather.

Cablecar

Last, but most definitely not least, I took a scheduled helicopter service in the Faroes. Atlantic Airways operates inter island services and I flew from Tórshavn to Klaksvík. It was a 12 minute flight and going back on the bus took 2 hours.

Klaksvík Helipad

A decision has not been easy. It came down to a choice between the minibus trip to Yerevan, or Atlantic Airways’ helicopter flight. Eventually I went for the helicopter experience for this year’s winner.

Parthenon from Stadium

I flew to Athens from Edinburgh via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. The first flight was on 25th December and the other at 01.15 on the 26th. Both were excellent.

I had a long wait between flights in Istanbul, but that is part of the price you pay for getting a flight on Christmas Day. The cost was £206. It included my checked in bag (30kg) and I had an emergency exit seat on the 1st leg - it was not booked but TK put me there to let a family sit together in the row I had chosen.

Panathenaikou Stadium

TK has in flight entertainment on its flights out of Edinburgh, and serves a full complimentary meal with drinks. Both are good quality.

My flight home on 1st January was on easyJet, and direct. It cost €228. That price includes the extra cost of a checked in bag (15kg) and an emergency exit seat to give extra legroom. Needless to say easyJet does not provide free catering, nor any in flight entertainment.

Akropolis and Parthenon

Had I been able to book earlier I know I would have been able to get a much cheaper deal on flights, but I was held back while waiting for my employer to decide what the office arrangements would be for the end of December.

I stayed in the Sofitel at Athens Airport on the night I arrived. My flight got in at about 2am, which is to late to take the metro into the city. The cost was €141, without breakfast. It is literally across the street from the airport, so ideal in the circumstances. Breakfast is an eye-watering €25.

Hadrian's Arch

Most of my time was in an Airbnb apartment in the Koukaki neighbourhood. It cost £321 for 6 nights. I could not fault it. It was ideal, and just as advertised. It is located a short walk from Syngrou-fix metro station, making travel to and from the airport quite simple.

I took the metro from and to the airport. It takes around 40 minutes to/from Syntagma Square. The cost was €10 each way. The service is only every 30 minutes which makes for quite a long wait if you have just missed a train. However, the airport has display screens to keep you advised, and the train times are also published on the website of the city’s transport authority.

Ariston Pie Shop

My top tip for Athens is to take the gastronomy tour I went on. It cost €65 - for a 4 hour tour and a huge amount of delicious food. I learned a lot, the food was great, and it was a lot of fun.