Europe

On a trip to Europe in May ’11, we wanted to take a break from our itinerary for a short stay in a quiet place with clean air and mountain views. We found the ideal place near Budapest, Hungary.

In the Alsatian wine region of France, we were fortunate to stay at Clos des Raisins (5, rue des Raisins, 68980, Beblenheim, France; phone 0033 03 89 79 45 11) in late April 2011. Built as a winery in 1722 and lovingly renovated in 2008 by Thierry Kruger and his wife, Armelle, I highly recommend this truly charming bed-and-breakfast.

My travel partner and I were scheduled to return from London’s Heathrow Airport to Cleveland, Ohio, by way of Chicago on Dec. 17, 2010. Upon our arrival at the airport, we were handed a notice that our United Airlines flight to Chicago had been canceled because of the nonarrival of an aircraft from the US. The United desk rebooked us on another United flight (operated by Continental Airlines) to Newark the next day.