Ideas for autumn solo trip (possibly to Europe but not 100% set on it)

I am hoping the Fchat brain trust might be able to give me some ideas/guidance for a trip I am pondering taking by myself later this year, perhaps in October.

Short version of the background story: I am in the process of splitting from my wife (no kids or anything complicated to worry about), and I have been thinking it might be nice to take a week or two later this year to go on a trip by myself to sort of relax and reset. I have other things in mind for the not-too-distant future involving friends and family, but this would just be for me.

With respect to Europe, I have been to Germany several times in the past (mostly spending time in the Black Forest area), as well as the Alsace region of France and some time in Basel/Lucerne/Zermatt in Switzerland, and time in Vienna. I loved all of those places. I am leaning toward making this solo trip to Europe, partly because I really like it there (and have a somewhat easier time being conversational in German) and partly because I am enticed by the GBP/USD and EUR/USD exchange rates at the moment. I could also stand being brutalized by the CHF and accompanying exorbitant prices again in exchange for the unrivaled beauty of Switzerland.

In broad strokes, I'd like to take something like 7-14 days and make a few stops in different areas, minimizing travel time in between as much as possible. Generally speaking, I am a fan of authentic local culture and tend to have a better time when I'm rubbing elbows with locals in less touristy places. For example, as far as the UK is concerned, I might spend a day or two in London but then head out to the countryside and hit some pubs, visit a scotch distillery or two, etc. I am not looking to spend a fortune, but I am somewhat flexible - historically, I have gone on this sort of trip and spent part of the time in really nice hotels and part of the time in more out of the way and rustic lodgings. I love food and drink, but under the circumstances I'm not concerned about trying to hit really upscale places and sit alone over a romantic meal.

Anyone have some good ideas for a trip like this? If you think that I can answer some clarifying questions to narrow things down, I am happy to do so. A few things I have considered so far are England/Scotland (maybe swing by Reykjavik for a couple days on the way to or from), Norway/Sweden (I have a friend in Sweden who could probably help me out with plans), flying into Geneva or Zurich and renting a fun car to cruise around the Alps and maybe to northern Italy, or just returning to familiar haunts in Germany (maybe a bit tainted for me in this context after taking my wife there and later eloping to be married there).

Of course, if there are Fchatters in any place I end up, I'd love to buy any of you some adult beverages.

Sorry if this was a bit of a ramble.

 

If you're willing to do it in the USA, the time you're allowing yourself would be perfect for driving the entirety of Route 66, like I did in 2019 (see separate thread). There's plenty of history, culture, and interesting people along the way, and I found it great fun. And I did it by myself, accompanied by Jerry McClanahan's "EZ66 Guide". (And you can visit Jerry's gallery in Chandler, OK!)

 

Brad, a couple of things occurred to me and there is probably higher quality opinions to come from our Fellow F-Chatters. Here's mine:
Scotland and Ireland. You don't want to deal with unpleasant people and you will find some of the friendliest, welcoming people here. Driving can be unhurried if you are comfortable on the left side of the narrow roads. Edinburgh is spectacular and even Glasgow has come around. Drive to the West Coast to Oban and for real tranquility, take a ferry or two to the out islands. Loch Ness isn't much, Aberdeen is OK, All of Fyfe is beautiful. Glencoe and the highlands are spectacular and calming. Ireland has good combos of a little city life in Dublin and beautiful scenery around any of the roads along any of the coasts.
Belgium, Normandy, Paris, Loire Valley. Brugges is one of my very favorite places in the world. Great cooking, lovely people. Some of the larger cities on the North Coast (Caen, Calais) are not so hot, but drives through all of the WW II sites (especially the cemeteries (don't miss St. Laurent-sur-Mare) and Bayreuth (the Tapestry is the most boring thing imaginable). Go down through Giverny and a couple of nights in Paris, then the Loire Valley for Chateaux, food and wine.
Italy. Lakes Como, Garda and environs, Milano, Florence, Lucca, Forte di Marme, Assisi, Sienna, just about anywhere is fabulous and then a couple of nights Roma.

 

Thanks for these thoughts. I am increasingly intrigued by the Scotland/Ireland idea (perhaps with a stop for a couple days in Reykjavik on the way there or back). My only potential concern is that it could be particularly dreary weather around the time I'd be looking to go, and I might want more cheerful surroundings under the circumstances. However, friendly, welcoming people could certainly offset a lot of the concern about cold/damp.

 

South Island of New Zealand.

Iceland is nice - to visit once, and not memorial.

 

October fine in Italy. not too bad but expect rain Northern Europe and France, 50s and 60s in Scotland

 

Maybe consider Thailand ? If you like it hot

 

Haha. I definitely have plans to visit Asia down the road, but I'm not sure I want to expend the mental energy weeding out ladyboys on this excursion.

 

Sorry to hear about the split Brad. Hope it's for the better.

I'm more familiar with the south (Italy, Spain). October is one of my favorite months to travel. Less crowds, less expensive, cooler weather. I'd throw in Ostuni in the south of Italy. The island of Mallorca, or Seville for Spain. Prague is another great option. However, it sounds like you want to stay north. So I'll leave that to the experts in that region. We were supposed to go to Edinburgh for New Year's last year, so I did a lot of research on it and I'd second Keith there. Unfortunately, it fell through so that recommendation does not come from experience.

 

Thanks, and yes, the split was my idea. I think it will ultimately be for the better, but it's a very uncomfortable situation at the moment.

I have certainly had my eye on Prague as an option too. I am going to take a deeper dive in the Edinburgh possibility too - I continue to hear good things and could also potentially use that as a jumping off point to visit some scotch distilleries and cruise some really scenic roads.

 

By the way, I am definitely not opposed at all to southern Europe. It merely struck me that some places might be worth saving for visiting sometime in the future with a female companion who might appreciate southern France, Monaco, Italy, etc., more than Edinburgh or Oslo in October. Haha.

 

Good point! In that case, cross out Ostuni since it's pretty romantic, lol. I just tend to trend south for the food and climate. I don't handle the cold very well. I'll see if I can think of some other places. We haven't travelled overseas like we'd like to because of the small kids and couple of years of headaches with all of the restrictions. However, my project wraps up in September so there's a good chance we'll take a Europe trip in October, if I don't get offered a job in Saudi Arabia that I'm supposed to interview for this month. May run into you out there!

 

If so, I will buy you [insert local alcoholic beverage of choice]!

 

Have you considered a week in Newark, DE?

 

Haha. Maybe if I find someone nearby to loan me a 575 for that week....

 

A road trip between Italy and Greece could be nice

 

Oh man of little Faith...
- the tapestry might be boring (I remember I find it to be indeed the first time I saw it, but I was 15 and starting to get interested by other things than needles and thread)
- but you certainly would'nt find it in Bayreuth, which is in Bavaria, Germany, and host an annual Wagner festival (and Wagner too can be quite boring to some ears, to mine certainly)

The tapestry in supposed to be in Bayeux; I say "supposed" as it seems to me that, for the time being, France has actually lent it to our british neighbors (??)
(I guess the confusion Bayreuth/Bayeux is just a typo, but I found it amusing)

The rest of your ideas I do agree with. As for almost any place of interest in France, avoid July and August (except for Paris, empty of its plague, the Parisians, during the second and third week of August, BUT many restaurants are closed) The two last week of September, the first week of October would be the best.
I would suggest the "Sud-Ouest" also (Dordogne, Lot, Bordelais, even the Pays Basque from where one could push to Spain, but be aware that the weather might change a lot in the "Pays Basque" some days, alternating between rain and sun several times a day)

Rgds

 

Thanks very much for your thoughts. I am targeting sometime in October for now. Still a bit up in the air while things on the home front continue to evolve. Depending on how things go, I may also go in the weeks leading up to Christmas, but that would depend a bit on where I end up going (it may be preferable to still have somewhat warmer weather, relatively speaking).

 

Also...it might be not very agreable, but...as for France, be reminded of the Covid situation. I don't know exactly the number of the actual "wave" (I would say 7?) but it's on the rise again. For the time being, nothing closed, but who knows...it fluctuates a lot. Face masks are "on" again, not mandatory, but highly advisable.

Rgds

 

Nerofer. Merde! Je vous demande pardon! I am horrified at my error. Thank you for pointing it out and I am pleased that you had a laugh. Our late cousin, Dr. Jean Menier, who was with my wife and me at Bayeux, would have had a big laugh as well!

 

No harm done, Keith; I found that "slip of the pen" actually rather funny.

Checked yesterday to see if my memory was still working well: the tapestry was supposed to go to the U.K as per a 2018 agreement, BUT experts have declared that its condition isn't strong enough to allow any transportation without being restored first, so it will be in Bayeux at least until 2025, while being restored.
There are some groups actively opposing the move, saying that "once they would get their hands on it, the British will never return it to France"...

Rgds

 

If you're outdoorsy, I can't recommend enough the Camino de Santiago https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_de_Santiago

I hiked it as I was saying goodbye to 11 years of marriage. Best choice I've ever made.

 

Going to Ireland in few weeks. If you fly Play airlines they layover in Iceland to Dublin and other EU locations. Cheap too.
Dublin great to fly into, but fly home out of Shannon. Easy peasy. Dublin to fly out of is bad

 

Thanks. At the moment I am sort of leaning toward the idea of going to Ireland/Scotland with a couple days in Iceland on the way there or back. I appreciate the airport info; I was curious about that.

 

Your descriptions of what you like and where you have been and so on are helpful, but I'm still left wondering about what you really want in this trip...

I may be completely off base here...but I've been there, done that wrt a trip to clear the mind after a split. Several actually. I learned a couple of things that applied for me, and might be helpful for you. First, you have to figure out what "type" of trip you want:

- Do you want an "I'm free and want to bang" trip? (I gather not, clearly the trips mentioned thus far are not of that type.)
- Do you want "me time" to just lose thought of the recent events and hang out by yourself?
- From experience, I'd recommend avoiding very romantic places where you might be surrounded by couples and wishing you had a partner with you (for example, much of the Italian coast, or lake district)

Example of trips I've done in similar timing/circumstances to you:

- Road trip from my home in SF area up the cali coast, thru the redwoods in a convertible sports car by myself. Met some strangers here and there and had a bit of an adventure. (this one worked and still sticks in my mind 30 years later as the best of these types of trips)
- Travel to Italy (Florence, Ligure coast). This one did not work (see above comment re romance)
- Travel to the South Island of New Zealand fly fishing, eating, wine tasting. This one actually worked well too. Price point was $40k more than the inside the US road trip however.

So...for me, a driving tour of someplace "easy" like Route 66, or San Diego to the Canadian border via the coast, would be top of my list. Stopping in small towns, eating in diners, grabbing beers in local hang-outs. Seeing some cool scenery. And, importantly, either of these can be done in October, or later (you indicated the timing is up in the air...and the cost of changing dates/plans here is minimal, especially if you are rescheduling to November when the roads and hotels will be quieter.

Let us know what you are thinking...