Travel Tidbits

During a trip to Russia, my wife, Patricia, and I learned to always check at the gate at any museum to see if there were any special exhibits. In the Hermitage we saw a special exhibit called “The Hidden Impressionists” (no extra charge) and a display of gold, diamonds and jewelry ($6 extra). In the Kremlin we saw a Fabergé exhibition ($8 extra). — NESSIM CICUREL, Chicago, IL

We timed our trip to Ethiopia so we would be in Gondar for the Meskel festival, held annually on Sept. 27 (Sept. 28 in leap years). The celebration in Addis Ababa is much larger, but we wanted smaller crowds and Gondar was a good choice. The Meskel Festival is second in importance only to Timkat (Epiphany) and has been celebrated in Ethiopia for over 1,600 years.

The festival was quite fun, with families out dressed in their best, church dignitaries with their colorful robes and parasols, and many young people standing in circles with their various church groups singing, clapping, playing drums and waving banners. — NELL Q. McCOMBS, Ventura, CA

On a September visit to Bali, one day I took a private car, with guide, to tour the north coast. We crossed the mountains at Lake Bratan in Bali Barat National Park. It was beautiful beyond description, with clean, cool air and flowers of pink, red, white, yellow, gold and purple against the blue lake and green mountainsides. — EDWIN NANCE, Frisco, CO