Thirteen pictures taken at the launch of the Titanic in Belfast in 1911 are among 116 pictures never previously exhibited that have recently been added to the permanent TITANICa exhibit at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum (Cultra, Holywood, BT18 0EU, Northern Ireland, U.K.; phone +44 28 9042 8428, www.nmni.com/uftm).
The sepia-toned pictures were originally owned by the director of Harland & Wolff, the shipyard that built the ill-fated ship.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site in the center of Riga, Latvia, the enormous, public Riga Central Market (7 Negyu St., Riga, LV-1050, Latvia; phone +371 67 22 99 85, www.rct.lv/en) comprises five hangar-sized buildings (each 787 feet long and 148 feet wide, with ceilings 123 feet high) with a total of 3,000-plus booths.
Guests at Shanghai’s The Langham, Xintiandi (99 Madang Rd., Xintiandi, Shanghai 200021, P.R. China; phone +86 [21] 2330 2288, http://xintiandi.langhamhotels.com) may book a 3-hour class British etiquette that covers afternoon tea, pastry manners and one’s duties as a host or guest. The class costs $450 and must be prebooked.
A room at the hotel costs from CNY1,840 ($300) to CNY2,800 ($456) per night.
In Brisbane, Australia, visitors may take escorted rides/tours on X-WINGs, 2-wheeled conveyances much like mini Segways. Rides of 15 minutes (AUD25, or near $22), 30 minutes (AUD55, $49) and 60 minutes (AUD99, $88) operate Wed.-Sun. hourly from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Reservations recommended.
The route follows the South Bank Parklands along the Brisbane River. X-WING (phone +61 0419 000 575, http://xwing.com.au).
In Warsaw, Poland, visitors have a choice of four bike tours with Station Warsaw Tours (phone +48 513 605 518, http://stationwarsaw.com).
Completed in 1873, the Royal Greenhouses on the grounds of the Royal Palace of Laeken in Flanders, Belgium, were built to resemble a glass city, with rotundas and cupolas harboring exotic plants, some of which were brought back from the Congo.
Each year, while the azaleas are in bloom, the Royal Greenhouses are open to the public for three weeks only. In 2015, they will be open April 17-May 8. Entry costs €2.50. Tickets cannot be purchased in advance. Contact the Flanders tourism office (phone +32 0 2 513 89 40, www.visitflanders.us).
The first automatic teller machine (ATM) in Somalia began accepting transactions in September 2014 in the capital, Mogadishu. Owned by Salaam Somali Bank and located at the luxury Jazeera Palace Hotel (Airport Road, Mogadishu; phone +252 1 857500, www.jazeerapalace.com), the ATM accepts Visa and MasterCard (including debit cards) and American Express and provides only US dollars. (Somalia’s currency, the shilling, has almost no value.)
Visitors to Myanmar now can apply for eVisas online; visit http://evisa.moip.gov.mm. The eVisas, which cost $50 each, are available only to tourists, are valid for trips up to 28 days and are good for three months from the date of issue. Holders of eVisas are limited in their arrival destinations to Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw international airports.
Near Munich, Germany, the wrought-iron gate at the Dachau concentration camp was stolen on Nov. 3. The gate proclaimed the slogan “Arbeit Macht Frei” (“Work Makes You Free”), as did the gate to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, which was stolen in December 2009. Recovered later, the Auschwitz gate had been cut into three pieces, and a Swedish man with neo-Nazi ties was arrested for having ordered its theft.
A 16-year restoration of the Virgin Mary Church in Cairo, Egypt, was completed in October.
Once the seat of the Coptic Pope, the church, also known as El Muallaqa, or the Hanging Church, because it sits above the gatehouse of the Babylon Fortress, is one of the most important and oldest sites in Coptic Christianity. It houses 110 religious icons, including one of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ and St. John the Baptist that dates back to the eighth century.