The 176th Oktoberfest takes place in Munich, Sept. 19-Oct. 4, 2009. Fourteen large tents from beer distributors across Germany will crowd the Theresienwiesen festival grounds.
Table reservations are arranged through each tent (on the website www.oktoberfest.de, see “Tents”) but may not be necessary for those arriving in the morning on weekends or before 2 p.m. on weekdays. No seat, no beer! At the previous festival, a liter of beer cost about €8 (near $11).
9 days/8 nights, Jan. 20-28 & Jan. 28-Feb. 5, 2009. Highlights: Seven balloon flights, with buffet lunch and wine/stay in resort town of Gstaad/fondue party/take part in 5-day Château d’Oex International Balloon Festival featuring 100-plus balloons, and parachute teams, dirigibles, hang gliders. Land price, $17,283. Single supplement, $1,920. Buddy Bombard’s Europe (West Palm Beach, FL; 800/862-8537, www.buddybombard.com).
These are the locations of some of the Christmas markets operating in Vienna, Austria, in 2008.
• Vienna City Hall, Nov. 15-Dec. 24 — in the park facing City Hall. Held annually for 700 years.
• Schönbrunn Palace, Nov. 22-Dec. 26 — handicrafts and gifts. Choirs, brass bands and ensembles perform. On weekends, games for children plus decorating of cookies and gingerbread in the Imperial Bakery of Café Residenz Schönbrunn.
Leipzig, Germany, will honor the 200th anniversary of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s birth with a series of musical celebrations around the city in 2009.
Performances will include the Emerson String Quartet, Thomas Hampson and the Basel Chamber Orchestra with Paul McCreesh. Several composers, including Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, will present newly composed pieces.
To revive ancient culture, the government of China last December revised the nation’s official holiday schedule to include three traditional festivals.
• Qingming, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, takes place every April 4 or 5 and centers around honoring ancestors’ graves and memories.
• Duanwu, or the Dragon Boat Festival, takes place on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar year. (In 2009, the holiday falls on Thursday, May 28; many businesses and workers are expected to take a 4-day weekend.)
10 days/8 nights, departing Nov. 29, Dec. 6 & Dec. 13, 2008.
Highlights: In Berlin, State Opera House, Kurfürstendamm district, Reichstag/Leipzig’s Thomaskirche, where Bach was cantor, and Leipzig Christmas market/Dresden’s Striezelmarkt, Germany’s oldest Christmas market, dating from 1434/enjoy Rostbratwürste and Glühwein at the Christkindlmarkt in Nuremberg/medieval Rothenburg, with its year-round Christmas Shop/Olympic Stadium, Frauenkirche and Rathaus in Munich/Mad King Ludwig’s Linderhof Castle/Oberammergau, home of the Passion Play/end tour in Munich.
19-day/18-night tour of NEPAL, May 13-31, 2009, includes 3-day festival. “Challenging” level of hikes (daily in rough terrain).
Highlights: In Kathmandu, Monkey Temple, ancient city of Patan, Old Bazaar/fly through Kali Gandaki gorge in Himalayas to Jomson/trek along Kali Gandaki river to Kagbeni/cross plains to Mustang village of Tanbe/walk canyons, fields and forests of Northern Mustang to Lo Manthang/1,000+ Mustang tribal members reenact Tiji Festival rituals, including dances, horse racing and tug-of-war/return via herding trails in Lo Gekar/two days’ Kathmandu.
15-day/13-night tour of BURMA, Oct. 10-24, 2008.
14 days/13 nights in MOROCCO, June 1-15, 2008.
Highlights: Casablanca to Fes by train/any of 19 concerts of music inspired by the world’s great faiths by artists from Ireland, Russia, Afghanistan, USA, Portugal, more/attend classes to learn zikr, the Sufi chant/experience a hammam (steam bath)/Roman city of Volubilis/Palace at Meknes/Moulay Idris, cradle of Moroccan Sufism/Marrakech/fortified city of Essaouira/in Casablanca, Hassam II mosque.
Land only, $2,475. Single supplement, $320.
10 days/9 nights, Oct. 3-12, 2009. Highlights: In Yangon, golden Sule Pagoda, crafts and gems at Bogyoke Market/boat excursion on Inle Lake/Jumping Cat Monastery/Phaung Daw Oo Festival includes leg rower races/Mt. Popa, home to 37 nats (spirits)/three royal capitals: Amarapura, Sagaing and Inwa. Land only, from $1,550. Single supp., $575. Round-trip air from Los Angeles, from $875. Ceylon Express International (Huntington Beach, CA; 800/423-9566, www.ceylonexpress.com).