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November 2011 issue

Hotel in Wengen, Switzerland; Bali hotel, and Bali-Gili Islands ferry

REPORT ON SWITZERLAND…

My wife and I had an outstanding meal in Wengen at the Bernerhof Hotel (CH-3823 Wengen; phone +41 33 855 2721) on Sept. 5, 2011.

Liver dumpling soup, with venison cutlet for her and wild boar steak for me plus wine, sparkling water and ice cream, all for $109. The cuisine far surpassed the other restaurants we patronized during eight days in Switzerland. The Bernerhof features game from late August to mid October.

— Peter Calingaert, Chapel Hill, NC

 

REPORT ON INDONESIA...

• On a visit to Bali in May ’...

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December 2008 issue

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From BALLYCASTLE, Ireland, Oct. 21, 2008. . .

• Fishy Fishy Café (Pier Rd., Kinsale, Cork) — classy restaurant with outstanding food. Lunch for two with wine, $50. They do not take credit cards.

• Rosquil House (Castlecomer Rd., Kilkenny; phone 056 7721419, www.rosquilhouse.com) — modern guest house with beautiful, large bedrooms with facilities en suite. $98. Gourmet breakfast. Helpful owners.

• Kenmara House (45 North St., Ballycastle, Co Antrim, BT546BP, Ireland, phone [028] 20762600) — on a hill overlooking the Ballycastle harbor.

Marconi sent one of his...

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December 2011 issue

Dresden's Historic Green Vault; hotels and restaurants in Malta, and Delta Air Lines appraisal

REPORT ON GERMANY…

In Dresden, the Historisches Grünes Gewölbe, or Historic Green Vault (Residenzschloss, Dresden, Germany; phone +49 [0] 351/49 14 2000), is a treasure chest! Each room is a spectacle in itself, with gilding, mirrors, tables and small shelves, and each had a different type of treasure.

My husband and I saw an ivory-and-tortoise-shell room, a bronzes room and an ostrich-eggs-and-silver room. A jewel room had “garnitures,” complete sets of ornaments, including buttons, hat ornaments, lapel ornaments, etc., and each set was made with a...

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January 2009 issue

Royal Lakeside Novotel, Rotorua, New Zealand

At the Royal Lakeside Novotel (11 Tutanekai St., Box 348, Rotorua 3010, NEW ZEALAND; phone +64 7 346 3888, fax 347 1888, www.novotel

rotorua.co.nz), our 2-night stay, Dec. 22-23, 2007, cost US$300.

This hotel is a must — perfect service, perfect facilities and perfect location, with views of Lake Rotorua. Novotels are very well managed and I highly recommend them. My wife, Eva, and I stayed at the Novotel in Queensland a year earlier and experienced the same type of fabulous service, facilities and location.

Rotorua itself was not so much of a “must,” we felt. There...

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January 2012 issue

Albania tour agency; inexpensive buffets in Bermuda; restaurants in London, and guide in Rome
Subscribers' travel e-mails and postcards
February 2009 issue

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From MUNICH, Germany, Dec. 12, 2008. . .

A delicious find in Munich was Zum Franziskaner (Perusastraße 5, Residenzstraße 9, 80333, Munich; phone 089 23 18 12 0, www.zum-franziskaner.de), centrally located one block from the Marienplatz in the Old Town.

The restaurant, owned by the Reinbold family, is famous for Bavarian specialties. We enjoyed tomato crème soup, a main dish of veal schnitzel with potato, cucumber salad and another main of assorted sausages with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. For dessert we shared a decadent apple strudel in custard sauce. Including local...

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April 2009 issue

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From SÉGOU, Mali, Feb. 4, 2009. . .

• Hotel Mande (Cite du Niger, BP 2639, Bamako, Mali; phone [223] 21 19 93, fax 21 19 96).

I stayed here on my own Jan. 21-23. Secure, well-kept grounds with cottages. Large, clean rooms with TV, AC and large bathrooms. The price for a single was €70 (about $90), including breakfast.

Nice pool and deck overlooking the Niger River. A good restaurant. English-speaking staff. Best to reserve by fax, as e-mail communication was not effective.

• Hotel le Auberge (Centreville BP 400, Ségou, Mali; phone [223] 23 21731, fax 23 20145,...

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May 2009 issue

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On MALAYSIA & SINGAPORE, February-March ’09. . .

• On flights between Los Angeles and Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia, Feb. 25 and March 4, I was very favorably impressed with Malaysia Airlines’ business class, which, at $4,100, cost much less than other airlines’ business-class seats (low of $6,600).

The planes were squeaky clean; the bathrooms were cleaned every hour! Up in the “hump” of the 747, it was quiet and I slept quite well; the seats reclined to nearly flat. The food was mostly Asian and very, very good.

The flight attendants were pleasant and extremely...

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