Travel Briefs
Britain WWII experience
In England during WWII, Eden Camp housed prisoners of war.
Jersey Pass
The Jersey Pass offers free admission to 15 attractions in Jersey, including Elizabeth Castle, on an island in St. Aubin’s Bay, the Jersey War Tunnels, built by the Germans in World War II, and AquaSplash, a water park. A 2-day pass costs £32 (near $53); a 4-day, £45, and a 6-day, £59.
Yellow Book
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s “Yellow Book,” actually titled “CDC Health Information for International Travel” (2010, Mosby.
Whitechapel Gallery
In London, the Whitechapel Gallery (77-82 Whitechapel High St., London, E1 7QX, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 20 7522 7888, www.whitechapelgallery.org) has doubled in size, reopening with expanded galleries, exhibitions, collection displays, archives and more.
Reina Sofia free times
Madrid’s Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Santa Isabel 52, 28012 Madrid, Spain; phone 91 774 10 00, fax 10 56, www.museoreinasofia.es) now offers free admission hours every day (closed Tuesday). Free hours are 7-9 p.m. weekdays, 2:30-9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Bird-watchers to Eilat
During late March, the area around Eilat, Israel, becomes a mecca for birds migrating south from Europe to Africa, and bird-watchers will flock to the International Spring Migration festival, March 18-25, 2010.
Christmas in Edinburgh
In Edinburgh, Scotland, a traditional German Christmas market in the city center will have stalls with toys, gifts and German food, while a Christmas market featuring locally produced food, jewelry and crafts will be set up at the East Princes Street Gardens.
Niigata sake fair
Sake-no-jin, an annual sake fair held in Niigata City, Japan (130 miles northeast of Nagano), takes place March 13-14, 2010. Free admission, and guests 20 or older can pay ¥2,000 (near $21) for a cup to taste the sake of over a hundred producers.
Prehistoric rock art
The valley near Vila Nova de Foz Côa, in northeastern Portugal, is home to extensive displays of underground and outdoor Paleolithic art — horses, aurochs (wild bulls), etc.
English Heritage GPS maps
Helpful to those on self-drive itineraries, English Heritage (phone +44 0 870 333 1181) offers travelers with GPS units a downloadable overlay which shows the locations of the organization’s 400-plus properties and cultural sites on the map relative to one’s position.
Projects Abroad
The service organization Projects Abroad (347 West 36th St., Ste.
Family Cuba visits
Although the general travel ban against visiting Cuba continues for all American citizens, in September the US government eased some of its restrictions.
Swiss history
The Swiss National Museum in Zürich on Aug. 1 opened a new permanent exhibition, Geschichte Schweiz, on the history and development of Switzerland.
French cookery classes
Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse, who has cooked for everyone from diners at the Eiffel Tower’s Jules Verne restaurant to ESA astronauts on the International Space Station, has opened a cooking school in Paris for nonprofessionals.
Himeji Castle scaffolds
Japan’s 400-year-old Himeji Castle is undergoing its first major renovation in 45 years, to effect repair and cleaning of the white-plaster exterior walls, replacement of roofing tiles, and seismic evaluation and protection.
Skyscanner fare browser
The website www.skyscanner.net helps travelers find the absolute lowest airfare when travel dates are flexible. On Skyscanner, users do not have to put in a specific travel date but can browse a graph of the lowest prices for entire months, including multiple airports, to find the lowest airfare.
Book bartering online
Bookins.com is an online site that is trying out a “barter” model for trading used books, DVDs and more.
Orange tossing in Ivrea
The main event at the Carnival of Ivrea (Antico Palazzo della Credenza, 10015 Ivrea, Italy; fax 0125 641521, www.carnevalediivrea.it), to be held in 2010 on Feb. 13-16, is the Battle of the Oranges in the public squares of Ivrea, 30 miles north of Turin.
‘Barrier-Free Travel’
The third edition of “Barrier-Free Travel, A Nuts and Bolts Guide for Wheelers and Slow Walkers” by Candy Harrington (2009. ISBN 9781932603835 — 312 pp., $19.95 softcover) covers the logistics of planning accessible travel by plane, train, bus and ship for the mobility impaired.
Allergy warning cards
For travelers with allergies, SelectWisely.com (Box 289, 2 Main St., Sparta, NJ 07871; 888/396-9260, www.selectwisely.com) offers advice on their website and sells customized translation cards with warnings for food allergies (ex., shellfish or nuts), health problems (ex., d