Travelers' Intercom
Slovenia road tax
My wife, Sigrid, and I took an extended road trip in Europe in August-November 2010. While in Germany, we were warned about driving on the toll roads in Austria without first purchasing a vignette.* We were not alerted about needing a vignette in Slovenia, however, and it never crossed our minds.
Tours for Wine Lovers
My husband, Bob, and I were introduced to Vin Marottoli’s outstanding Tours for Wine Lovers (New Haven, CT; 800/256-0141) in 2002 and have taken six tours with him since then, in the US and abroad.
Give Paris a chance
I was dismayed to read the subscriber’s comments in the letter “France Fast with Cosmos” (Nov. ’10, pg. 28); he said that he and his wife did not care for Paris, mostly because it was “inundated” with tourists.
Lufthansa’s speedy payment
My wife, Judy, and I flew on Lufthansa from Detroit to Budapest via Frankfurt on Aug. 28, 2010. When we picked up our luggage in Budapest, Hungary, one of our suitcases had been damaged. A wheel was missing and the bag had been ripped.
Discovering El Salvador
If you’d like to visit a destination that offers good weather, beautiful countryside, plenty of shopping and some of the best surfing in the world — and you don’t like rubbing elbows with other tourists — El Salvador is hard to beat.
Base outside London (insider’s tips)
A suggestion for those of you coming to London for a repeat visit — why not stay just outside of central London (viz., outside of the West End), where there is good train service into the city centre?
Auto rental ripoff
I read the readers’ auto rental tips (Sept. ’10, pg. 40). On a trip to Zürich during the ’90s I filled the tank of my rental car right before turning it in so as to avoid the higher charge per liter or being charged for more liters than were actually needed to fill the tank.
Argentine adventures
We traveled in Argentina, March 24-April 7, 2010, spending a few days each in Mendoza, Puerto Iguazú and Buenos Aires.
Madrid, Prague & Budapest hostels
Lois Sundeen asked readers to write in on hostels (June ’10, pg. 14).
Quick visit to Uluru
I read the item about Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in the September ’10 “Boarding Pass” column.
Auto-pay handles bill
Often away from the US for many weeks, I have found a method to pay my Chase Continental Visa card bill.
Witnessing illegal behavior on tour
A group tour of Western Europe I took in fall 2010 included a visit to Amsterdam. While there, several tour members tried marijuana, bought from one of the coffee shops.
Britain by foot
My husband, Robert, and I have enjoyed a lifelong love of walking the countryside of England, where if a path between villages was ever a public path, it must be kept so even if the land it is on is sold.
An adventure of the heart… in Bacolod
After flying 18 hours on Cathay Pacific from Los Angeles to Manila via Hong Kong, I continued on Philippine Airlines (PAL) to Bacolod, located on the island of Negros in the Philippines.
India travel tips
Here are some tips from my six weeks of traveling in India in February-March ’10 (June ’10, pg. 27, July ’10, pg. 30, and Aug. ’10, pg. 14).
Travelex prepaid debit cards
My husband, Nelson, and I traveled to France in June ’09 and to England and France in July-August ’10. Each time, we took cash to Washington Dulles airport and, before our flight, found a Travelex counter and got a Cash Passport prepaid debit card in euros. Each had a magnetic stripe but no chip.
Kraków Klezmer-Hois
During a trip to Eastern Europe, my husband, Eugene, and I stayed at a wonderful, small hotel called the Klezmer-Hois (Ulica Szeroka 6, Kazimierz, 31-053 Kraków, Poland; phone/fax [+48 12] 411 12 45, www.klezmer.pl), May 1-8, 2010.
Lively Lima
Drenched in Incan and Spanish history and culture, Lima, Peru, is an amazing place to visit, and the Plaza Mayor, with its Government Palace and cathedral, is a great starting point for a walking tour, as we found in November ’09. The architecture there is only one appeal.
Spray surprise
My wife, Dorothy, and I traveled through the Western Pacific in September ’10, visiting Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Fiji, Guam, Chuuk and Palau. Many of our flights were on Air Pacific, and while in flight the airplane cabins were sprayed with insecticide.