In Switzerland, the Valais SkiCard (phone +41 [0] 27 775 25 82) offers guests the ability to skip ticket lines at the 54 ski areas and four thermal baths covered by the pass.
In increments of 100, points are added to the card at a rate of one point per Swiss franc, with discounts of up to 10 percent for adding larger balances. Points are valid for two years and can be extended with a deposit of CHF100 ($106).
At London Heathrow Airport, bus service between Terminal 5 Business Car Park and the main terminal was replaced by driverless electric “pod cars” in September. Each of the 21 pods can carry four passengers and their luggage. There is room for no more than one wheelchair per pod.
Queen Margrethe II, celebrating 40 years on the throne of Denmark in 2012, is a respected artist, textile designer and book illustrator (she illustrated two Danish editions of Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings”).
Works of hers — oil paintings, watercolors, church textile designs, décopage, scenography and embroidery — can be seen in the exhibit “Essence of Colour,” Jan. 28-July 1, 2012, at the Arken Museum of Modern Art (Skovvej 100, Ishøj Municipality; phone 43 54 02 22), 15 minutes south of Copenhagen.
As of Jan. 1, Slovakia is covered by Eurail’s Global Pass, which allows unlimited rail travel in (now) 23 European countries within specific time periods.
by Randy Keck (Second of two parts)
Every year in Jukkasjärvi, near Kiruna in northern Sweden’s Lapland, a hotel sculpted out of snow and ice is built in stages, with all rooms of the art project completed by late December. The current ICEHOTEL (phone +46 0 980 66 800) opened on Dec. 3 and should close April 14, 2012.
Room rates are SEK1,250-2,900 (near $182-$423) and, for a deluxe ice suite, SEK7,000 ($1,022).
Over the past 33 years I have used many beauty salons all over Europe, and I have nearly always found that European hairdressers do a very poor job when compared with most American hairdressers.
Dial 1188 in Latvia and the State Tourism Development Agency will provide support in emergencies, answer travel questions and trouble-shoot travelers’ issues, in English, 24 hours a day. In addition, the website (click on “EN”) has maps, information on services, a calendar of events, online ticket sales and discount coupons for attractions such as the Riga Zoo.
2012 holds the 100th anniversary of the birth of composer, musician and artist John Cage. In Vienna, Austria, the art-and-culture venue quartier21 (Museumsplatz 1; phone 01 5235 8811 717) is hosting “Membra Disjecta for John Cage: Wanting to Say Something About John,” Feb. 17-May 6, 2012.
The free exhibition will feature more than 50 of Cage’s works and present concerts, performances, lectures and a workshop for children and teens. Open 10-7 daily.
