03
You are well above the timberline far north, running along the stark, clear-aired, snow-pocked edge of Norway’s Hardanger Plateau. Any speck of color seems to be out of place. Just before your train stops at Myrdal, you look to your right and see the browns and greens of the mountain walls of a grand canyon of a rift. You gasp at the sight many hundreds of feet down the temperate Flåm Valley.
by Lynn Remly, Hudson, OH
Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the United States.) The winner will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Entries not chosen cannot be acknowledged.
This month’s winner is ELLEN RADO of Hollis, NY:
It the autumn of 2007 it was very cold in our hotel room in St. Petersburg and no heat was coming from the radiator.
I went to the front desk to complain.
I would like to address those who avoid renting cars in countries where driving is on the left-hand side of the road. I feel it is not necessary to miss out on the pleasures of independent travel in these places.
My wife, Nancy, and I have rented cars in numerous countries where they drive on the left, and we consider the extra stress to be minimal. In many instances, it is easier to drive in those countries than in some others because signage is usually in English and the roads often are well marked.
On our fall 2009 Europe visit, we found that many gas stations had boxes with plastic gloves for use when pumping gas. Good idea!
My wife, Mary, and I took a tour of Western Africa, Oct. 8-Nov. 2, 2009, with ElderTreks (Toronto, ON, Canada; 800/741-7956). We visited Niger, Benin, Togo and Ghana.
My husband, John, and I traveled in six West African countries for 40 days in January-February ’08, ending with a 10-day stay in Ghana. Our guide in Ghana, Charles Kobina Abakah (phone 00233 244 708878 or 00233 287 092839 or 011 272 150102 or e-mail ckabakah@yahoo.com), did an outstanding job, became a friend and continues to be an inspiration. Every so often he surprises us with a phone call.
My wife, Sandra, and I spent two weeks in Italy with our daughter and 14-year-old grandson in July ’09.
In Palermo, Sicily, in May ’09, we stayed at the three-star Hotel Joli (Via Michele Amari, 11 90139 Palermo; phone +39 091 61 11765) for a little over $100 per night for the small room. The larger rooms are more expensive. WiFi was free.
There is another hotel with almost the same name. The one we stayed in is in a small, beautifully renovated old building. The area is convenient, and parking is available in the area.
During my visit to Austria, I stayed at Hotel Congress Wien (Wiedner Gürtel 34, A-1040 Vienna, Austria; phone +43 1 505 55 06) — a real find for location and price. I booked it through www.booking.com and the cost for my stay, May 19-29, 2009, was €472 (near $710).
Arriving in Vienna by train, I saw the hotel’s sign before I got off at the Sudbahnhof. It was an easy walk from the station to the hotel with my bags.