Columns

by Yvonne Horn

“I’ll tell you all about the monu­ments as we go along,” Sylvia Kolbe suggested as we set out to walk what was once the city of Leipzig’s fortified walls and today is the Promenadenring, an encircling ring of leafy, sometimes flowery, greenery.

I’d requested a city guide knowledgeable about not only the city but plants and gardens. Sylvia was perfect. She is not only a Leipzig resident with long generational ties to the city but one with a love of gardening...

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For countless trips around the sun, my discourse on subjects of interest to international travelers has required constant diligence to keep from lapsing into preaching to the choir. It is my choice to risk that, on this occasion.

Many ITN readers are among the most traveled humans on the planet, while countless others aspire to be included in that grouping. Few of us have completed all of our international travel goals, despite our efforts and intentions, and, for many, even coming...

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Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 418th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine, the one you help write. The news writes this page, however, and this month it includes a number of warnings.

ITN reported on the increase in crime in Ecuador (Aug. ’10, pg. 65). In October, the US State Department rated Quito as “critical” for crime, adding that that is “the highest level that a post can be rated.”

In September, the US Embassy in Quito issued a warning about the...

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by Sandra Scott

My husband, John, and I spent March 2010 traveling along the coast of Turkey enjoying the local cuisine, which included plenty of fresh fish and vegetables. We inquired about cooking classes at our hotels. The answer was always the same: “No, but we are thinking about it.”

In Bodrum we posed the same question at the tourist office. They suggested we check with the restaurant Komodor Meze Evi (Umurça mah, Dervis¸ Görgün Cad. No. 23/C, Bodrum, Turkey; phone [0252...

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Some train ticket machines in Western Europe work only if your credit card has an embedded microchip, but, at this point, essentially no US banks are issuing these “smartcards.” Photo: Steves

If you’re bound for Europe, be warned: your US credit card won’t always work. Thanks to new technological advances, old-fashioned tax evasion and merchants’ disgust with fees, your US credit card is not nearly as welcome as cash.

Much of Europe has started implementing a chip-and-PIN system, using credit cards that are embedded with a microchip and require a Personal Identification Number (PIN code) for transactions. What this means for Americans is that your...

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by Julie Skurdenis

Three of the most remarkable ships from the Viking Age rest together in an Oslo museum. Although discovered and excavated separately between 1867 and 1904, the three ships share much in common. All date from the ninth century AD. All were found on the Oslofjord, south of Olso. All once actually sailed Norway’s coastal waters or the open sea. And, finally, all were used later on as “coffins” for burial of presumably important Viking-era individuals.

Each of...

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Jay Brunhouse wrote ITN’s “All Aboard!” column.
Dear Globetrotter: Welcome to the 417th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine. As we reported (June ’10, pg. 16), airlines based in European Union countries must reimburse passengers for losses and expenses due to delayed or canceled flights. Tons of claims were filed when ash from the volcano in Iceland stranded passengers in Europe in April.
 John Scott checking on the Caramel Pork in Clay Pot.
I love Vietnamese food, so when John and I were in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in February ’09, I searched the Internet for cooking schools and located the Vietnam Cookery Center. It turned out to be a good choice and an excellent value. John and I participated in one of their morning group classes; there were only two other participants. The afternoon class includes dinner.