Insurance against natural disasters?

The flights are finally booked, the hotels have been reviewed to death, my credit card bill has plenty of reading on it and I can almost smell the sun cream.

There is plenty of build up time between now and holidays to get excited, but there is also one small issue (or large depending on your outlook): travel insurance.

For some, travel insurance is a must, it is essential and is booked at the same time as flights are booked and hotels reviewed. And it makes sense of course, because things can go wrong and you could be left paying a whole load of money for that 'budget trip'.

But still I ponder.

If I was to take a short trip to the UK or Europe (under 5 days) there is no way I would take out travel insurance. I would think of insurance as a silly additional cost.

Flights are of course delayed – but only by a few hours usually and there are always plenty of flight options available. Medically as an EU citizen I know I will be treated without question. I don't have medical insurance at home – so why should I panic just because I am travelling?

I have of course taken out travel insurance for holidays before – because it make sense, it is a fail safe, a peace of mind – a fall back.

But when travelling to Cuba a few years ago I was told I would not be covered there. The trip went ahead successfully, with no problems.

Then last year I went on a cruise to Israel. It was only at the last minute I remembered travel insurance, I was sitting in the airport about to depart and it sparked with me. I consulted with my travel partner and we decided to go on ahead. Nothing bad happened. We enjoyed the trip. We didn't need travel insurance.

I know I have been lucky, I have never been stranded for days in an airport, left in hospital with serious injuries or had all my stuff stolen. I also know the other stories the scary ones about thousands of euro of legal fees, medial treatment.

Some insurance companies are now covering against natural disasters. But I feel like travel insurance is putting a downer on my hols:

Passport – check

Money – check

Suncream – check

Insurance in case my boyfriend dies in a horrible complicated accident – check

Is travel insurance essential. Pic: telegraph.co.uk

So travel insurance – is it really essential?

Beer and efficiency

Boozing in Berlin
(c) fifiheavey

Ireland does not not have a drinking culture.

That is a bold statement, but one I most definitely stand over after my return visit to Berlin last week.

In general, us Irish reserve our drinking to the weekend or occasions of celebration or commiseration. We don't drink every day, because despite generations of stigma it is not our culture.

"God invented whiskey so the Irish wouldn't rule the world!"

We are fond of and take to The Drink on a regular basis, but it has never become part of daily life.

Germans are known as pretty crazy party people. Their dance and rock music influences helps hammer in that perception. But from what I witnessed last week, they do not reserve their drinking habits for parties only.

Let there be Rock - Bretter Bube Bar
(c)fifiheavey

Take the U-bahn and you meet locals swigging beer, watch out for the cyclist balancing steering their bike with taking a sip of local brew and don't be surprised to see alcohol ... everywhere.

Currywurst
(c) fifiheavey

Small glass bottles of vodka, gin, jagermeister are sold just above the sweet stands at the counters of supermarkets. "Where is the nearest bar?” is a silly question, every eatery including cafes and some take-aways give you access to an alcoholic beverage.

“Just apple juice?” a waitress questioned confused as we ordered brunch, around us everyone had a a 'real' drink in front of them.

And does all this mass drinking result in chaos? Puke on the streets? Loud singing? Rudeness?

A lack of productivity? 

Nope.

Apelmann - East German pedestrian traffic light
are symbols of German efficiency
(c) fifiheavey

How can a land of beer on every corner result in one of the most efficient systems?

Trains run on time, people queue in an orderly manner, food is fast and yummy, the streets are clean and the people are respectful.

Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin
(c) fifiheavey

And the biggest benefit to drinking German beer?

No Hangover!

Romantic, relaxing, hectic weekend planned

I spent Valentine's evening hovering the house, putting a washing on and sitting down to watch the Irish election leaders debate. But don't feel sorry for me because I am heading away this weekend for a romantic break with my boyfriend.

Well we are not so sure if it is going to be a romantic weekend, we haven't decided on the category of weekend it is yet.

He wants a “relaxing” weekend, you know lie in on Saturday and Sunday, hit the breakfast just before it stops, maybe head for a back massage, a lazy swim and just chill out in the room, making a time for a bit of … before dinner and few drinks.

As usual I want to go see and do. I really want to have a gawk at the Newbridge Museum of Icons (we are staying near by) maybe drop into Kildare Village for a quick look and maybe a spin around to Naas, stopping off for a bite to eat there.

But we are not only celebrating Valentine's Day but also our anniversary (we are not married) – so it has to be romantic.

Problem: the weekend cannot be relaxing, include sightseeing and shopping and also be romantic.
So you see predicament. It is actually a re-occurring situation we seem to find ourselves in.
I love going away for weekend breaks around the country, it is a fun way of discovering the island in small segments, it gets us away from the routine of weekends at home and we actually spend quality time together. But once we get there my lover and I often quarrel over how exactly we should spend the time away!

“Relax and unwind” he tells me as he lies on the massive bed in his boxers flicking through the channels. But I don't want to waste my time sitting around doing nothing, if we are going to relax let's do it at the spa, let's give it a time slot so then at least I know that come a certain time “relaxing” is over with and we can move onto something else … like romancing or eating or sightseeing!
I know loads of couples who go away for a weekend to a hotel and barely step outside the bedroom for the three days, and they come back glowing but I would see that as a wasted opportunity to get out and see what is around.

You may be able to tell but 'Spontaneous' doesn't work for me, I am an organised person I like to know what is going to happen, because leaving it to chance usually means sitting looking at each other doing nothing! The problem with this weekend is that I have way too much to jigsaw together, each of them are fine by themselves, I could even successfully manage two of the above categories – but three, three is a challenge.

Of course I have done out a rough draft of the weekend:
Friday – travel to hotel, have dinner, romance
Saturday – Breakfast, spa/ relaxing time, shopping, eating out, romancing
Sunday – Breakfast, romance, sightseeing, lunch, home

Keeping my boyfriend to my invisible schedule of events could prove difficult though, and if one category runs a lot over time I may have to sing out load to drown out the alarm bells in my head …

You know sometimes it is less stressful to just stay at home!!