Europe/Scandinavia recommendation for a weekend?

There are lots of options for a short break in Europe, but I think
a weekend would be a bit short. Some suggestions:

Ramsau, Austria.
I have copied the extract below from a previous post.

"Tourist Board website link: http://www.ramsau.com/Englisch/index.htm


You can get there by train from Salzburg or Munich airport. Nearest
train station is Schladming and bus or taxi from there. The tourist
office in Ramsau also will arrange a taxi from Salzburg and try to fix
up a share or a return trip to cut the cost.
As for accommodation, again the tourist office were very helpful -
there are loads of places to stay at all prices and qualities.
Ski-ing - every level of track ski-ing from total beginner to
World-cup. Snow-sure as it is quite high and there is the glacier as
a back-up. Lots of instructors. First-rate ski-hire and they will
even wax your skis for you. The hotel we stayed in, let us use their
downhill-hire shop waxing room for serious waxing and allowed us free
run of all their tools.
Loads of cafes "mit Kaffee und Kuchen". Swimming-pool - don't know
what that was like as the ski-ing was too good to find out. Some
low-key downhill and snowboarding. Schladming is a major alpine
resort if you want a change.
Scenery - picturesque.

Drawbacks - very popular - don't go there for mountain solitude."

We stayed at the Knollhof, which was excellent and had a little spa.
http://www.knollhof.at/ . I did not try any of the treatments, so I
cannot
vouch for them.

There is a bigger public spa and pool in the village, which is
connected
to the Inntravel hotel. However, if you don't know about German and
Austrian spas, it is not good to be modest. Mixed, and clothes off.

You could also try Oslo. One or two of the holiday operators offer a
short break there. Alternatively you can fly from Heathrow (BA/SAS)
or Stansted (Norwegian/Ryanair) for a good price. Stay in the City
Centre and take the tram to the ski-ing; or stay out in Oslomarka, ski
locally
and take a tram or taxi down the hill for the entertainments. Your
wife
can do city things, but don't let her loose with your credit card
unless
you are rich. If you google visitoslo you will get the tourist board
website.
Word of warning, Oslo is a great place, and I keep wondering why I
don't
pack up and move there. However, it can be a bit foggy in the winter
and
the centre can get damp and slushy.

I think Inntravel offer both, if you don't want the hassle of
booking.

I saw you said your wife feels the cold. Is she dressing properly for it?
It is no good expecting to be warm enough in a ski resort in a thin
raincoat
and fashion shoes. Make sure she buys or borrows some proper gear.
We have just had a long discussion on Lapland dressing, which is full
of
good advice. It all applies to the Alps too. Maybe she would like some

silk thermals as a present?

Have fun and perhaps you would like to report back.

Alex

Terje Mathisen wrote:
Jonathan Grant wrote:

I live in London and have done a fair amount of skiing. My wife has nev=
er
skied and doesn't like the cold, but has expressed an openess to a week=
end
away somewhere in Europe or Scandinavia where she can perhaps be pamper=
ed in
a spa or similar whilst I would like to try some cross country skiing.
Nothing too taxing, I've never tried it before, and whilst I like walki=
ng, I
am not what I would consider fit. Preferably somewhere with a bit of
scenery.

Can anybody suggest a place that we could go to in February that might =
fit
the bill, please?

Fly to Oslo, stay at pretty much any mountain lodge/hotel you like. :-)

In fact, since we got several snowfalls over the holidays, conditions
have become very nice here in Oslo, i.e. you could stay at Holmenkollen
Park which afaik has a nice pool/spa area, and is situated directly
alongside the Holmenkollen ski trails.

If you require more mountains then you could take the train two hours
north to Lillehammer and stay somewhere along the Birkebeiner trail,
like at Sjusj=F8en.

The key point is that pretty much every little village and town will
have prepared xc trails, some of them even lighted for evening/nighttime
skiing, and trails fees are still non-existent. :-)

Terje

--
-
"almost all programming can be viewed as an exercise in caching"

Ryanair.com and norwegian.no have very cheap flights from Stanstead to
Olso (actually ryan air flies to Torp which is 100km away, but there
are shuttle busses).

Oslo is a great place for skiing. Miles and miles of lighted xc trails,
some lighted downhill slopes, all accessible by tram, so you can stay
at a hotel in the city center near shopping, operas, etc. If you wish
and just jump on the tram, and 15 mintues later get off into a winter
wonderland of free xc skiing and very cheap downhill. And EVERYONE
speaks English.

Joseph

Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the info.

Jonathan Grant wrote:
I live in London and have done a fair amount of skiing. My wife has never
skied and doesn't like the cold, but has expressed an openess to a weekend
away somewhere in Europe or Scandinavia where she can perhaps be pampered in
a spa or similar whilst I would like to try some cross country skiing.
Nothing too taxing, I've never tried it before, and whilst I like walking, I
am not what I would consider fit. Preferably somewhere with a bit of
scenery.

Can anybody suggest a place that we could go to in February that might fit
the bill, please?


How about Leukerbad in Switxerland - http://www.leukerbad.ch/en/welcome.cfm

Fly to Geneva and 3. hours by train/bus, or Berne is even closer (and a
more picturesque transfer).

Sarissa

Jonathan

I have had second thoughts about my advice. If you are off learning to
ski, your wife is likely to be stuck on her own, in the cold, trying to
find out how to do things in a strange place. What's more, you will be
learning on your own. It might work, but more likely not.

I think you may be better off booking a learn to ski holiday. It is
more fun to learn in a group. If your wife wants to do something, then
she can go off to a spa or something with her friends. Then you can
have a holiday together in the summer. Oslo is great then, and the
hotels are cheapest. The Alps are good too.

If you want some suggestions for tour operators, let me know and I can
point you at a couple.

Alex

Thanks Alex,

We only really want to go for a very short break, 3 or 4 nights. My wife
would be happy to spend the time in the spa or reading by a warm fire. As it
would be a short break I thought I'd like to try x-country, I've been glued
to Eurosport, for the two or three days.

Any pointers for tour operators would be perfect, I couldn't find any that
offered advice on x-c, only alpine.

Lots of choices, but I think the tour operator who offers the best in
the way of spas and things is Inntravel.
http://www.inntravel.co.uk/index.htm

I haven't used them myself. I tend to book my own trips nowadays,
because it is cheaper, and I know what I want. However, I know people
who often go with Inntravel and who recommend them. Inntravel organise
individual holidays, not groups. I suggest you give them a ring to
discuss things.

If you just want to learn to ski, Waymark Holidays have been the market
leader in cross-country for a long time.
http://www.waymarkholidays.com Their holidays are mostly groups with
leaders. However, the hotels they use, especially in Austria, can be
fairly basic. OK for the skier, not so good for the non-skier, who
may be stuck in them all day. Also, because they have group bookings,
I don't think they offer as much flexibility as Inntravel with regard
to dates of travel.

Both of these regularly win awards for customer service.

There are several others, but I don't know much about them. Quite a
few of the big downhill operators also mention cross-country.

Thanks for all your help, Alex.