Sabbatical - ideas....
Discussion
So - I've been thinking about this for a while and whilst not officially approved yet, I intend to take a 4-6wk sabbatical from work next year and most likely spend the vast majority of this time travelling with my wife & daughter in the motorhome. It's basically been brought to my attention that I can take up to 15wks paternity leave up until my daughter's fifth birthday so it would make sense to try and avail of some of this time, in spite of the financial penalty for doing so. So I'm starting to save up now so that I can afford to cover my salary for the time I'd not be earning. I figure now is the time to make real memories with my daughter before she goes to school and we're limited to school holidays or exam timetables etc.
But we're a bit stuck on what to do! On the face of it, 6wks is an awfully long time, on the other hand, I remember from my time of being unemployed for 3 months in 2012, time can easily slip away unused.
The question really hangs on how much is sensible to try and pack in and where to Focus our efforts. Will likely be end-May / June 2017. I'm thinking Germany, Austria and maybe Italy. But then I also fancy France and Spain!
So - fire ahead touring folk - what would you do in my position, what have you done and why?
For the record, it's me, my wife and by that time, 4yr old daughter (and maybe a Labrador).
But we're a bit stuck on what to do! On the face of it, 6wks is an awfully long time, on the other hand, I remember from my time of being unemployed for 3 months in 2012, time can easily slip away unused.
The question really hangs on how much is sensible to try and pack in and where to Focus our efforts. Will likely be end-May / June 2017. I'm thinking Germany, Austria and maybe Italy. But then I also fancy France and Spain!
So - fire ahead touring folk - what would you do in my position, what have you done and why?
For the record, it's me, my wife and by that time, 4yr old daughter (and maybe a Labrador).
Edited by Spuffington on Monday 15th February 11:16
Good call on heading eastwards. I do like the idea of going deep into Hungary and Slovakia, but having a little girl who's had some health challenges in the past, both myself and Mrs Spuff are a little more conservative on our travel plans, which is a shame. Perhaps things might change by next year if she has a good run of it.
I'm naturally skewed towards Germany, being bi-lingual and feeling very comfortable there - which is also reinforced by the fact that if anything does go wrong (with any of us) then I can ensure we're all looked after.
What I'm erring toward at the moment is a trip up through Netherlands, up to Hamburg (I used to live there and would love to show my daughter around) and then head up via Copenhagen to Norway and get to Trondheim for Midsummer (maybe get some norther lights if it ever gets dark!). From there, head towards Stockholm and then potentially get the ferry back over or retrace our footsteps back to Germany and head eastwards to Berlin and then on to Prague. South to Vienna, Venice, Geneva, Zurich, Black Forest, Frankfurt and then home via Luxembourg & France.
Reckon that should do for 45-50 days. On average working on 2.5hrs driving per day but in reality probably taking some days of driving 4-6hrs and other days doing nothing and staying put.
I reckon for that period of time on the road we probably need to think about some modifications to the van? Anyone have anything in mind?
We already have Nature Pure water filter, 2 x leisure batteries & 80w solar Panel. But would it be worth fitting habitation aircon? Any other things to consider when "full-timing"?
I'm naturally skewed towards Germany, being bi-lingual and feeling very comfortable there - which is also reinforced by the fact that if anything does go wrong (with any of us) then I can ensure we're all looked after.
What I'm erring toward at the moment is a trip up through Netherlands, up to Hamburg (I used to live there and would love to show my daughter around) and then head up via Copenhagen to Norway and get to Trondheim for Midsummer (maybe get some norther lights if it ever gets dark!). From there, head towards Stockholm and then potentially get the ferry back over or retrace our footsteps back to Germany and head eastwards to Berlin and then on to Prague. South to Vienna, Venice, Geneva, Zurich, Black Forest, Frankfurt and then home via Luxembourg & France.
Reckon that should do for 45-50 days. On average working on 2.5hrs driving per day but in reality probably taking some days of driving 4-6hrs and other days doing nothing and staying put.
I reckon for that period of time on the road we probably need to think about some modifications to the van? Anyone have anything in mind?
We already have Nature Pure water filter, 2 x leisure batteries & 80w solar Panel. But would it be worth fitting habitation aircon? Any other things to consider when "full-timing"?
Thanks KT - I was hoping you'd post since I know you'd done some longterm touring.
It's funny, whilst chatting it over again with the wife last night, we were thinking we might be biting off more than we can chew with Scandinavia AND Prague, Venice, Switzerland. Which brings me to my next point - how firmly do you plan things? Do you plan everything down to the last detail and choose & book where you're staying or do you completely play it by ear, go where the mood takes you and wing it? Or a mixture of the two?
Good tip on the aircon. Would like to hear others' views on it too since I've heard that electricity provision on sites is better than it used to be, but know it's generally lagging the UK. Also KT, were you tripping the electricity when using it, or just insufficient to run it full stop?
It's funny, whilst chatting it over again with the wife last night, we were thinking we might be biting off more than we can chew with Scandinavia AND Prague, Venice, Switzerland. Which brings me to my next point - how firmly do you plan things? Do you plan everything down to the last detail and choose & book where you're staying or do you completely play it by ear, go where the mood takes you and wing it? Or a mixture of the two?
Good tip on the aircon. Would like to hear others' views on it too since I've heard that electricity provision on sites is better than it used to be, but know it's generally lagging the UK. Also KT, were you tripping the electricity when using it, or just insufficient to run it full stop?
Great advice here - keep it coming.
I've had some other advice on another forum that I should look at the Med / Adriatic given my 3yr old and the fact she may be bored just driving around Scandinavia. Good thought and has perhaps steered us away from spending too much time in Scandinavia (have heard it can get a bit samey; one Fjord much like the other, etc) but we're not great sunworshipers either, me and Mrs Spuff, so I think we'll do the beach thing around Denmark, Sweden and NE Germany instead.
Current route only goes as far North as Bergen in Norway and Stockholm in Sweden, although may even skip Stockholm and concentrate on the southern part, given my wife and I have already "done" Stockholm on a City Break and I've spent lots of time there on business over the years. We'll see.
As a result of the tips on here, I'm keen on getting the driving time down so that we get maximum opportunity to enjoy the places we come across. Less distance, but more enjoyment. Perhaps sans child, we might seek to do more mileage, but it's not fair on the little'un.
I've had some other advice on another forum that I should look at the Med / Adriatic given my 3yr old and the fact she may be bored just driving around Scandinavia. Good thought and has perhaps steered us away from spending too much time in Scandinavia (have heard it can get a bit samey; one Fjord much like the other, etc) but we're not great sunworshipers either, me and Mrs Spuff, so I think we'll do the beach thing around Denmark, Sweden and NE Germany instead.
Current route only goes as far North as Bergen in Norway and Stockholm in Sweden, although may even skip Stockholm and concentrate on the southern part, given my wife and I have already "done" Stockholm on a City Break and I've spent lots of time there on business over the years. We'll see.
As a result of the tips on here, I'm keen on getting the driving time down so that we get maximum opportunity to enjoy the places we come across. Less distance, but more enjoyment. Perhaps sans child, we might seek to do more mileage, but it's not fair on the little'un.
Thanks for the advice, chaps. Really useful stuff and all things for me and Mrs Spuff to chew over during the next 14months.
On a positive note, I've had my time off approved by my Line Manager. There will be a bit of negotiation over exact timing, since he wants to take parental leave next year too but I have an inkling that he will want to take July & August, which will work fine for us since we want to take May/June to keep away from peak season but late enough in Spring to avoid freezing temps in Scandinavia.
And that's basically about the only thing we've got fixed in our minds; we want to do Scandi and everything thereafter we'll maybe decide on the hoof. So far the plan is..
- Harwich - Hook of Holland (Ferry)
- Take our time working up through Holland and on to Hamburg.
- Hamburg, Flensburg, northern tip of Denmark.
- Ferry to Kristiansands in Norway. Then either along to Stavanger or Bergen, then on to Oslo.
- Oslo down to Gothemburg, Malmö, Copenhagen.
- Ferry over to Rostock.
- Berlin and then wherever we can squeeze in in the remaining time.
Have no idea at this stage how long it will take us to do the above, although with sufficient time, I think we're probably looking at 4wks. I'll start doing some proper reading up, map reading, planning etc. in the coming months. But reflecting on all the advice here, what I've read elsewhere on the net from blogs etc. and chatting with the wife; it's more important for us to enjoy the time we spend touring than to try and cram in too much over too short a space of time and spend more time driving than enjoying and relaxing.
Now that I've got the in principle approval, it's all seeming a bit real now. Just need to save up for the damn thing now!
On a positive note, I've had my time off approved by my Line Manager. There will be a bit of negotiation over exact timing, since he wants to take parental leave next year too but I have an inkling that he will want to take July & August, which will work fine for us since we want to take May/June to keep away from peak season but late enough in Spring to avoid freezing temps in Scandinavia.
And that's basically about the only thing we've got fixed in our minds; we want to do Scandi and everything thereafter we'll maybe decide on the hoof. So far the plan is..
- Harwich - Hook of Holland (Ferry)
- Take our time working up through Holland and on to Hamburg.
- Hamburg, Flensburg, northern tip of Denmark.
- Ferry to Kristiansands in Norway. Then either along to Stavanger or Bergen, then on to Oslo.
- Oslo down to Gothemburg, Malmö, Copenhagen.
- Ferry over to Rostock.
- Berlin and then wherever we can squeeze in in the remaining time.
Have no idea at this stage how long it will take us to do the above, although with sufficient time, I think we're probably looking at 4wks. I'll start doing some proper reading up, map reading, planning etc. in the coming months. But reflecting on all the advice here, what I've read elsewhere on the net from blogs etc. and chatting with the wife; it's more important for us to enjoy the time we spend touring than to try and cram in too much over too short a space of time and spend more time driving than enjoying and relaxing.
Now that I've got the in principle approval, it's all seeming a bit real now. Just need to save up for the damn thing now!
Edited by Spuffington on Tuesday 8th March 09:05
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