March 2009

By Arlanda Airport in Stockholm, Sweden, a Boeing 747 plane has been converted into a hostel, refitted with private rooms and dorm rooms. The Cockpit Suite sleeps two and has a toilet with shower. The other, smaller private rooms and dorm rooms share bathrooms in the hostel style.

Room rates are SEK350 (near $45) dorm; SEK1,200 ($154) twin-bed room; SEK1,350 ($173) private room sleeping one to three people, and SEK5,328 ($683) Cockpit Suite. Short-stay, day-room rates are available. A free transfer bus is available.

Cirrus Healthcare’s EarPlanes relieve airplane passengers’ ear discomfort during takeoff and landing. The earplugs use a special ceramic filter to slowly acclimate the inner ear to pressure changes.

It is recommended each pair be used for only one round trip (two flights), then discarded. Available at Walgreens, K-Mart and Target and through the Magellan’s catalog (800/962-4943, www.magellans.com), adult-size EarPlanes cost $11.85 for two pairs or $49.85 for 10 pairs plus shipping; the children’s size costs $11.85 for two pairs.

At almost 2,000 feet high, Takao-san Mountain is 30 miles from downtown Tokyo — perfect for a day trip of casual hiking; for nonhikers, cable cars and chairlifts are available.

At the cable car’s summit station is the beer garden Takaozan Beer Mount, with a metropolitan view.

Rental cars under the “World-Class Drives” program of Budget Car Rental Vietnam (198 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia St., Ward 6, District 3, HCMC, Vietnam; phone [84-8] 3930 1118, www.budget.com.vn) each include an English-speaking chauffeur with strong English-language skills who drives you on a half- or full-day trip and also functions as a concierge.

There are 15 short trips out of Ho Chi Minh City and seven more farther afield, including short tours designed for war veterans, cooking buffs, golfers or families. You also may build your own itinerary.

After a 4-year renovation and expansion project costing $16 million, the Musée International de la Parfumerie, or International Perfume Museum (8 place du Cours, F-06130 Grasse, France; http://en.museesdegrasse.com), reopened in Grasse on Oct. 18, 2008. Housed in the former Hugues-Aîné perfumery built in the 19th century, exhibits trace the 4,000-year history of perfumes, soap and cosmetics. 

Open 10-5 daily June-August and Wednesday-Sunday October-May. €4 ($6).

Couples celebrating wedding anniversaries in multiples of five from their fifth to their 50th receive corresponding discounts of 5% to 50% off the prices of cruises with French Country Waterways (Duxbury, MA; 800/222-1236, www.frenchcountrywaterways.com). Each couple submits a copy of their marriage certificate. 

Michael Brein’s “Travel by the Metro” series of 4"x9" foldable guides helps travelers sightsee in major cities using public transportation. Listing must-see attractions plus the nearest metro stations and directions on which lines to take, the guides now cover  Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Munich, Paris, Prague, Rome, Sydney or Vienna. Printed guides cost $10 each and a PDF downloadable guide costs $8.

Telestial (800/707-0031, www.telestial.com) has a data service for phones on its prepaid SIMs, and while AT&T’s international data roaming rate is about 20¢ per megabyte, Telestial’s prepaid data rates run 5¢-3¢ per megabyte, depending on the country. The service is available on its line of cards, which run from the $5 “Passport Lite,” to the $59 Explorer SIM.

YAPTA (www.yapta.com) is a flight-search engine that finds options for you based on your flight dates, times and preferences. It tracks airfares on flights you want and notifies you via e-mail if the prices change.

Now YAPTA also notifies you when award seats become available for which you may use your frequent-flyer miles. Frequent-flyer programs currently supported include those of the airlines Alaska, Continental, Delta, United and US Airways. The service is free to use; the site carries advertising. 

Forty-nine structures throughout Berlin, including the Brandenburg Gate and the TV Tower, will be showcased using projections and multicolored lighting installations during the Festival of Lights, Oct. 13-25, 2009. Contact the festival organizers, City-Stiftung Berlin (Sophie-Charlotte-Straße 113, 14059 Berlin, Germany; phone +49 30 3267 9887, fax 9884, www.city-stiftung-berlin.de).