Travel Briefs
Open Skies Agreement
The Open Skies Agreement went into effect in March 2008, easing restrictions on which airlines could fly into which airports and opening competition for flights between the U.S. and the European Union.
Porcelain tour, Munich
The historical monument Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory (Nördlichaes Schlossrondell 8, D-80638, Munich, Germany; phone +49 089 179 197 0, fax 179 50, www.nymphenburg.com) offers guided tours year-round every Wednesday at 10 a.m. (reservations recommended).
Essential London kit
VisitBritain is offering an Essential London Kit, which contains a 3-day London Travel Card (Peak, Zones 1-2), one London Eye ticket, one Tower of London ticket and an Original London Sightseeing Bus tour ticket, which includes a river cruise on the Thames.
Chopper over Italy
On 16 of its Mediterranean itineraries, Crystal Cruises is offering optional helicopter excursions.
Crane’s-eye view in Panama
Panama City’s Metropolitan Park, the only protected rainforest in a city, is home to sloths, monkeys, 42 other mammal species, iguanas and more than 250 kinds of birds.
Golf/cruise South Africa
Hapag-Lloyd (East Meadow, NY; 877/445-7447, www.hl-cruises.com) is offering free airfare from New York City on one of the line’s 15-day golf-and-cruise packages on the 408-passenger MS Europa.
Jewel River Cruise Line
The new Jewel River Cruise Line (401 East Las Olas Blvd., Ste. 2270, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33301; 866/342-7607, www.jewelrivercruises.com) will launch its first ship on May 15, 2008, offering 7- and 10-day cruises along the Seine between Paris and Rouen until Nov. 20.
‘How to Drive on the Left’
The Ashford Castle hotel (800/346-7007, www.ashford.ie), near Galway City in Ireland’s west country, offers the program “How to Drive on the Left.”
Chinese cruise pax to Taiwan
Taipei has dropped its ban on Chinese tourists arriving by ship. Taiwan has banned direct sea, air and trade links with China since 1949.
Discoverer
In September, Silversea Cruises (Ft. Lauderdale, FL; 800/722-9955, www.silversea.com) purchased the 6,072-ton expedition ship World Discoverer from Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore.
Tree tips at Kew
At the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew (Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, UK; phone 02 8332 5655, visit www.kew.org), in Greater London, two new installations open May 24, 2008.
Turquoise Coast yacht
Butterfield & Robinson (Toronto, Ont.; 800/678-1147, www. butterfield.com) is offering a 9-day/8-night cruise of the Turquoise Coast aboard a 100-foot gulet.
Podcasts on London
Visit London is hosting links to free podcasts about the city. For example, if you want to visit “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age,” at the hall O2 in Greenwich through Aug.
New at Kew
Opening April 19, 2008, in Greater London at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew (Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, UK; phone 02 8332 5655, www.kew.org), the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art will be the first of its kind open to the public year-round.
Midway Atoll reopens
After six years’ closure, the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, over 1,100 miles WNW of Honolulu, once again is admitting visitors. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is allowing Oceanic Society, a nonprofit marine conservation organization, to offer educational tours during the months November to July.
Fake malaria drugs in Asia
In a joint operation by INTERPOL, the World Health Organization and Oxford University’s Southeast Asian Tropical Medicine Research Programme, samples of the antimalarial drug artesunate were purchased throughout Southeast Asia and subjected to analysis.
Hilton HHonors ups ante
The Hilton Family of Hotels (800/446-6677, www.HiltonHHonors.com) announced on Feb. 1, 2008, “No Blackout Dates” for all members of its HHonors guest reward program.
Mekong journeys
Value World Tours (Fountain Valley, CA; 800/795-1633, www.valuecruises.net) is building the colonial-style ship RV Indochine to sail between Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, and Siem Reap, Cambodia. “Mekong Delta Cruise” voyages start Oct. 10, 2008.
Quick, catch your dinner!
At the restaurant ’s Bagger’s in Nuremburg, Germany, the food is sent to you directly from the kitchen without waiters. It comes stashed in large pots which slide down 15-foot steel spiral ramps, slowing to a stop at your table.
Hadrian in London
London’s British Museum (phone +44 [0] 20 7323 8000 or 8299, www.britishmuseum.org) is hosting the exhibition “Hadrian: Empire and Conflict,” July 24-Oct. 26, 2008, bringing together, for the first time, objects from 35 museums and recent excavations.