March 2018

From the Editor — ITN subscriber J. Roger Nowell of Seattle, Washington, related an experience that his wife and daughter had when they tried to have their luggage interlined (that is, have their bags moved from one airplane to another without having to claim and recheck them) between two British Airways flights, one from Nice, France, to London, England, and the second from London to Seattle.

As part of a 3-week, self-planned trip to Northern Europe, my husband, Steve, and I traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia, staying only three days, Aug. 23-26, 2017. With our short stay, we wanted to maximize our time there, plus knowledgeable friends (from Russia and Bulgaria) strongly suggested arranging for a tour if we wanted to visit the State Hermitage Museum.

On Aug. 7, after visiting their website, I emailed Dancing Bear Tours (Bryantsev str. 18-67, St. Petersburg, 195269, Russia; phone +7 812 379 26 33, http://dancing-bear-tours.com).

My friend Dan and I went to Iceland in August of both 2016 and 2017, flying Delta from Minneapolis, with connections in Albany, New York.

For our last night in Iceland, we went to Keflavík, the town next to the airport. We took the airport bus for a round trip (about $42) and then at the airport took a taxi to Hotel Grasteinn (Bolafótur 11; hotel grasteinn.is/en/location), a nice, new hotel on the north end of town.

My husband, George, and I returned on Sept. 20, 2017, from a 26-day trip exploring the beautiful country of Brazil. We think this wonderful place is seriously underrated by many travelers.

Not to diminish the roaring wonders of Iguaçu Falls, the wilds of the Amazon and the Pantanal or the white-sand beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, but there is so much more to this huge, rich, remarkable country to explore and see!

“I would appreciate hearing from any traveler who has been on an extended solo tour."

Islamist militant group the Taliban made multiple attacks in Kabul, Afghanistan, in January.

On Jan. 19, Taliban gunmen stormed the InterContinental Hotel, killing 22 people and taking more than 160 people hostage. Witnesses said that the gunmen specifically targeted Westerners, with four Americans among the victims. All of the gunmen were killed by Afghani armed forces, and the hostages were rescued.