Sightseeing for those not in great health?

Hi, I don't have something to contribute about your area, but more about old people. Maybe you have to intersperse their visit with rest days. When my father was alive (he lived in another town about 2 hours away) we used to visit him in the mornings on weekends we drove there, have lunch, and then go out for a long walk / visit to the town shops after lunch to allow him a chance to recover. We could then go back and say goodbye without an argument or a meltdown. Whether or not he napped is not the whole picture, it just allowed him to get over the intensity of a visit. Maybe your mum and dad just need a day off. It also sounds like scenic drives might be a better thing for them if they are puffed walking around. It's a hard moment when you realise your parents get puffed easily. My husband's parents are just at that point now and travel might be off the agenda in future. No wonder cruises are popular with the elderly!

Lavandula

Hello

I am old and I have health issues but I still enjoy traveling. However I have my limitations and I know them. I go with the flow.

You have mentioned things that your parents do not enjoy but what do they enjoy? Ask them what they want to do.

Have you considered just visiting? Have them come to your home or go to their hotel? Cook a light meal for them or order in or take out. If you have a nice yard, go out and sit in the yard. Maybe the hotel has nice places to sit outdoors.

Maybe watch a movie together.

lavandula

I am old and have some health issues but still travel.

I usually take one cruise a year but jut returned from a week in Paris, land only. My next cruise is September 2027: Iceland to London with ports in Norway .....

Yes, cruises are great for old people as well as many others but there are.a lot of old people on cruises. It is a great way to travel for those who are old with or without health issues but still want to travel.

If the reason for their trip is to visit you, maybe they are quite happy just to have an extremely low key visit with limited sight seeing and you could ask them what they might like to see and do. Scheduling sight seeing activities on consecutive days can be tiring, especially if they are suffering from a bit of jet lag as well.

bostonphil7, I think it depends widely on the individual as to what they can manage. My parents died both when they were comparatively young, and aged early. By contrast, my great-aunt lived with our family until she was 96 years old, and was quite sprightly into her eighties. She went into a home at 96 and died at 97. But she was able to keep up with our family quite well for many years. You can be in the same family and have different needs at the same age.

I'm glad you find a way to travel still. I was following your Paris trip report and you even went on a Greeter tour, so you must be doing pretty well even though you are as you say, old!

Lavandula

We love foreign travel and are still doing so when close to 80 years old.
Yes, we have limitations, but we still take group tours and can keep up with our groups. I have a bad knee, but take a fold up cane that helps.
We have learned to avoid certain things like hiking up steep hills.

I still walk about 1 1/2 mile ever morning and have avoided gaining weight by not ingesting a lot of sugar.
Life is still good, and I say use it or loose it.

1. Small group tours that don't require walking. Drives to see things from the car.
2. I have found one good use for AI is to enter your mobility challenges and then ask a question for a specific area. It will give you an itinerary that includes how level the ground is, whether there are steps and places to sit, etc. Then you can non-AI research those areas to confirm the information.
3. Can they give you any more information about what would work for them?

This won't help you but for others-They should train in advance by taking walks that gradually increase in length. I think their lack of energy may be due to not getting much exercise at home. I'm 72 and try to walk 1 1/2 miles several times a week, in addition to water aerobics several times a week. My limitation is my knees, one of which I hope to get fixed this fall.

We live on the northern gulf coast but our daughter lives in NYC. When we go to visit her, that is what we want to do - visit her. We don’t particularly care to go sightseeing, we are there to visit her and maybe walk around her neighborhood to see a slice of what her daily life is like. We are not there to be entertained -although she often seems compelled to do so, we are there to visit and enjoy our time with her.
While we do travel - we spend about a month in Europe each year, we do not plan things for every day. If one day has been spent doing a lot of walking and touring, the next day is typically spent relaxing.
Getting older is hard for both parents and their children. When you are not able to see each other often in person, it can be startling to see a decline in your parents overall vigor. I recommend that you ask your parents what they would like to do. Do they want to sightsee (maybe have some suggestions ready like the scenic train you mentioned) or do they just want to visit with you? This may change daily based on energy levels and it sound like naps may need to be part of the plan.

This is a lovely thread with so many thoughtful replies.

Today, after that, they're so exhausted they're taking a nap after
breakfast.

I think that's a pretty good indication that you're doing more than they can handle. Agree with others that 'visit' might just mean hang out, sit in the shade, and well.... visit. Watching the weather this week, it's probably also quite warm in Freiburg, that will drain their energy as well. The most important thing you can do is to sit there and be with them!

I'm 77, and will be traveling to France and Italy in the fall. Yes, I'm slowing down, I have a few non-serious health issues (which are quite manageable.) I used to head around Europe at full speed, getting into a town at 11:00, seeing everything I could in there, finding a hotel and spending the night and moving on the next morning. I didn't pre-book hotels in case I didn't like the town and wanted to move on. (A tip I learned from ETTBD in 1996, thank you Rick!)

This year, it's going to be different. I'll spend at least two nights in every city I visit, and if I want take a nap late in the afternoon I will. I'll walk slower, use subways, buses and taxis more. I'll have my hotels reserved. The number of sites I see will probably be fewer, and I'll probably turn in for the night a bit earlier.

I'm not happy about this, of course. I still want to run with the young crowd and see what's happening at 2:00 at night in the Pigalle. But . . . I'll enjoy the gelato, sip the wine in Beaune and enjoy the sights from the trains and buses even more.

I don't know if this helps you much, Schwatzwalder, but for the other elderly people out there who are considering travel, you're going to get older, but don't get old.

Relationships are complex. This is probably more of a relationship question than a sightseeing issue. If they have visited you before, I suspect (as a mom with a daughter living in Switzerland and Dubai before that) that they have seen sights on previous trips and are coming to see and spend time with you.

It is possible you can actually ask them (as I said, relationships are complex) about how they are feeling and whether they just want to sit and chill in your presence, experiencing a little bit of your daily life. (I am projecting based on my feelings, of course.) Travel itself is physically hard and jet lag hits harder. It’s also possible they didn’t realize the change in their abilities between last year and this. (Or they did and wanted to come anyway to see you.)

I think the question is really whether they WANT to sightsee or if you feel like you should show them things (it took my daughter a long time to accept that she didn’t need to entertain me when I visit) or if conversation is difficult without an activity - rather than WHAT to see or do.

For physical suggestions: Perhaps they could be persuaded to skimp on breakfast so as to be able to eat a late lunch with you and just talk. Or simple drives through the countryside with no walking.

I agree with Bill. We just returned from a rigorous 12-day cruise to the Baltic with only two sea days. We have learned to pace ourselves with rest stops and to call it quits for the day when we are at the exhausted level. Sometimes we didn't get to see all that we wanted to, but... oh well! We just don't do castle or tower climbs and know when to say no.

Maybe golf cart tours would help. We aren't there yet. Also, in an old city with uneven surfaces (all over the Baltics), it can be exhausting to watch your footing so you don't trip. Fear of having an accident may be causing a lot of the exhaustion.

BTW, we are in our mid to late seventies and do quite well independently. Your parents sound like they have other things, maybe emotional, neurological, or psychological, going on. Fear of an accident or becoming ill magnifies greatly as you age.

First off, I'd definitely have to ask how much "recovery" time they had post flight. Jet lag can be brutal especially if not treated with a bit of respect. If you jumped into the walking tour on the day after their flight, that 24 hours might not have been enough for them to recover from the time change, sleep disruption, and general go-go-go of the time surrounding a long flight - last minute stuff at home, airport nonsense, overnight flight, time change, more airport nonsense (worse with connecting flights), and then getting re-situated in a new place.

My parents, who are in their 70's, have come to visit me in the Freiburg area

But, to the quote above, what stands out a LOT is the "to visit me" bit. They are coming to visit YOU, and not necessarily Freiburg or the Black Forest or any of the other things that would draw you or me to the area. I'd make sure the "goal" of the visit first. Spending time with parents is precious (and steadily diminishing), so maybe you are putting your idea of a "vacation" in place of their reason for their "visit".

Also, what have they expressed as the reason for coming to Germany? You? Or the sites? They may be more than happy to just spend their time visiting with you - in your home, in daily interaction, and just being together. Or, they could want to visit churches, castles, markets, waterfalls, or other touristed areas. At 70+, I hope they can express what they want to see and do, and that's the real starting point. Once you know their thoughts, you can craft ways to help make that happen.