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Amsterdam’s Het Scheepvaartmuseum, or Maritime Museum (Kattenburgerplein 1, 1018 KK Amsterdam, Netherlands; phone +31 [0] 20 52 32 222), closed in 2007 for what was supposed to be a two-year renovation; it reopened on Oct. 2 with exhibits ranging from whales to Amsterdam’s Golden Age.
Two life-size replicas, the three-masted East Indiaman Amsterdam and the steamship Christiaan Brunings, are moored alongside the museum, which was built in 1656 as a warehouse for the war fleet.
A dining-and-sightseeing “Tram Experience” is being offered in Brussels, Jan. 15-Dec. 31, 2012. Holding 34 passengers, the tram passes city landmarks for two hours while serving classic Brussels dishes. The cost is €75 (near $105).
It departs Place Poelaert at 8 p.m. Tues.-Thurs., at 7 and 9:30 Fri. and Sat. and at noon Sun. Reserve a spot with Brusselicious (phone +32 [0] 2 55154 70 or e-mail Olivier Marette at o.marette@visitbrussels.be).
For more info on Belgium’s “Year of Gastronomy” events, visit www.visitbelgium.com and click on “Belgian Bites.”
Downloadable “Backpacker Cheatsheets” for 11 countries, including many in SE Asia plus Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, are available free from GuideGecko (www.guidegecko.com).
Paris’ Musée d’Orsay (62, rue de Lille; phone +33 [0] 1 40 49 48 14) unveiled, in October, the results of its 18-month-long, €20-million renovation. The Pavillon Amont now has four new levels of gallery space, while the museum’s fifth-level Impressionist space has been redesigned, with pieces rearranged.
As of Jan. 1, 2012, travelers to Sri Lanka will have to apply and pay for an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) in advance of arrival. (Citizens of Singapore and the Maldives are exempt.)
As ITN went to press, the State Department had travel warnings on 33 destinations: Afghanistan, Algeria, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Israel/West Bank/Gaza, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of South Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
For details, call the State Department at 202/647-5225 or visit www.travel.state.gov.
A large container ship went aground in the Bay of Plenty area off New Zealand’s North Island on Oct. 5. Of an estimated 1,700 tons of heavy fuel oil in its fuel tanks, more than 350 tons leaked out.
In the Gorakhpur area of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India, by mid October an outbreak of viral encephalitis had killed more than 400 people and hospitalized 2,300 others, most since July. Encepahlitis occurs regularly in this region during the monsoon season, but this viral form is different from the Japanese encephalitis for which there is a vaccination. This different form may spread not only by mosquitoes but in contaminated water.
After the death of Muammar Gaddafi on Oct. 20, the Libyan Transitional National Council and NATO began the process of winding down the military action in Libya and continuing the country’s transition to one of civilian control.
