Travel Briefs
Closed, open in Prague
In Prague, Czech Republic, the “Golden Lane” is an alley lined with small, colorful 16th-century houses, part of the Prague Castle complex. Number 22 Golden Lane was home to author Franz Kafka from 1916 to 1917. The passage will be closed for renovations until May 1, 2011.
Wales walking fest
The Welsh town of Betws-y-Coed will host the Snowdonia Walking Festival, Oct. 13-17, 2010.
Egypt bans VoIP calls
Cell phone service providers lose revenue when people use VoIP (voice over internet protocol) on their mobile phones to link to the Internet and make free phone calls with programs like Skype.
Berlin museums
More than 60 of Berlin’s museums and galleries stay open from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. on the Long Night of the Museums, which takes place on the last Saturday each January and August.
Forms4Travel.com
From a notarized document for children traveling with friends of the family to forms for a child’s medical authorization, Forms4Travel.com (877/210-1410) offers many legal forms that travelers and parents need. Forms (watermarked) cost about $15 each, including delivery.
Stoke-on-Trent at 100
The home of the English pottery industry and of the Staffordshire Hoard gold artifacts, Stoke-on-Trent, England, is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2010.
The young Vermeer
The first three extant works of the Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer will be exhibited May 12-Aug. 22, 2010, in the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis (Korte Vijverberg 8, The Hague, Netherlands; phone +31 0 70 302 3456).
Passport fee hike
On Feb. 9, 2010, the State Department proposed increases — possibly to go into effect as soon as mid-April — in all fees for applications for US passports and passport cards.
North Korea tours
In January, North Korean officials announced that Americans now may visit at any time of year for up to seven days. Previously, Americans could visit only during the Arirang Mass Performances, August-October, on five-day tours.
ElBulli sabbatical
Cited as of the world’s best restaurants, elBulli, located beside Cala Montjoi bay on Spain’s Catalan coast, will be closed during 2012 and 2013, Chef Ferran Adrià announced.
Picasso in Zürich
Seventy-plus works of Pablo Picasso will be shown in Zürich’s Kunsthaus museum (Heimplatz 1, CH-8001, Zürich, Switzerland; phone +41 [0] 44 253 84 84), Oct. 15, 2010-Jan. 30, 2011. The selection, from international collections, is based on Picasso’s self-curated first showing in 1932.
Impressionism
The exhibition “A City for Impressionism: Monet, Pissarro, Gauguin in Rouen” at the Rouen Fine Arts Museum (Esplanade Marcel Duchamp, 76000 Rouen, France; phone 02 35 71 28 40), June 4-Sept.
Petra fees rise
For a one-day pass to Jordan’s Petra Archaeological Park, the entry fee rose by 50% on March 1 and will jump another 50% on Nov. 1, 2010 — a rise from JD40 on Jan. 1 to JD90 (near $127) at year’s end.
Monster-movie Japan
“The Monster Movie Fan’s Guide to Japan” tells fans of Japanese sci-fi and fantasy movies how to visit the filming location of each, where to stay and what other attractions are nearby. It also has sections on customs, currency exchange, weather and more.
Vancouver app
A free application for smartphones running Windows Mobile, Blackberry and Google’s Android contains the locations, descriptions and contact information for hotels, restaurants and activities in Vancouver and can show these places on a map.
Accessible-hotel hunt
Hotel rooms with amenities for mobility-impaired travelers can be found online using new tools added to the websites Expedia.com and Hotels.com.
Iceland volcano
A volcano near Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull Glacier, 75 miles southeast of Reykjavik, began erupting on March 20 and continues to erupt. Five hundred people were evacuated from the area, and planes were rerouted to avoid ash damage.
Machu Picchu Rail
After floods and landslides wiped out access to Machu Picchu in January-February, repairs allowed Peru Rail to begin limited train service on April 1. It was expected that by May, repairs would support heavier locomotives and full trains.
Bocas del Toro jungles
The province of Bocas del Toro, Panama, boasts protected cloud forest with monkeys, toucans and sloths; Caribbean beaches reached by boat or trek; breakers for surfers; snorkeling and scuba diving at coral sites with dolphins and tropical fish; sites with manatees, and indigenous communities to which visits can be arra
Taroko park accident
A Chinese tourist was killed by a falling rock in Taiwan’s Taroko National Park on Jan. 29 while hiking a popular trail, Chiucyudong, or Tunnel of Nine Turns. The eastern end of the cliff path has been closed indefinitely. The tunnel’s western end is still open.