October 2005

In April ’03 we booked a cruise with Orient Lines’ Marco Polo. We would embark February ’04 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

From the moment the MS Rotterdam left Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, we moved into another world, a world of opulence in which the rich and famous indulged. Betty and I were sailing on the flagship of Holland America Line with 1,250 other guests, all bound for an exciting 23-day adventure.

The meals on our ship were always delightful and varied. We usually ate our dinners in La Fontaine, the formal dining room. It was thickly carpeted, had a full wraparound ocean view and offered white linen service. Lots of waiters were on hand to politely take our orders.

Springtime turned out to be a great time of year for touring Turkey. As we drove through central Anatolia in April-May several years ago, the wheat fields, stretching to the horizon, were just greening up. Farther south, near the Mediterranean coast, fruit trees were blooming and brilliant red poppies were a splash of scarlet along the roads and in the pastures. Tomatoes were being harvested in the acres and acres of greenhouses.

On a trip to Budapest in September ’04, I ate at the Fresco Fi Café Restaurant (1052 Bp. Vigado ter 3, Budapest, Hungary; tel. 266 2010 or visit www.fresco.hu). It’s located three blocks from the Budapest Marriott.

Excellent food. Friendly service. Pleasant ambiance. Reasonable prices — salad and entrée, $25. It’s able to accommodate groups of 10 to 12.

BEA THOMPSON
Henderson, NV

I would like to offer one more suggestion to those of the great letter titled “Tips for Driving in Britain” (Aug. ’05, pg. 73).

In the letter “Tips for Driving in Britain” (Aug. ’05, pg. 73), the comment that more people drive on the left side of the road than on the right is incorrect. The latest figures I have seen (from 1996) estimate that about four billion people drive on the right versus two billion on the left. And since the most rapidly “automobilizing” country in the world is China, which drives on the right, the numbers are undoubtedly skewed more heavily in that direction every year.

BOB BREWER
Denver, CO

In his July ’05 column, Rick Steves mentioned Wizz Air as a low-cost carrier out of Budapest, so when I decided to tack on a second river cruise out of Antwerp to Basel following an already-booked October-November ’05 cruise that will end in Budapest, I checked out Wizz Air in early August. The fare I found seemed a great deal, even though it used Charleroi Airport in Brussels.

I couldn’t resist adding a P.S. to Norine Matteson’s note about the Wieliczka Salt Mines (July ’05, pg. 85). I was there (with a Rick Steves tour of Eastern Europe) on May 29, ’05, and our experience, while similar in many respects, was also shadowed by a serious problem in getting OUT of the mines at the end of the tour.

In Paula Prindle’s article about Italy (July ’05, pg. 20), she said the conductor was not worried about their unpunched train ticket on the way from Rome to Venice. I suggest that travelers not rely on that as the standard for Italy.

In the June issue, page 50, Kit Lane of Douglas, Michigan, asked if anyone had recently seen the old bridge in Visegrád, Bosnia. I’m happy to report that I saw that wonderful bridge on June 3, ’05, on an extensive tour of the Balkans. The bridge is in excellent condition, and if it did suffer any damage in the Bosnian wars, I certainly did not detect any except for broken protective glass around the lights that are on the walking side of the bridge.