Travel Briefs

September 2009 issue

Zürich New Year's

Every New Year’s Eve in Zürich, 150,000 people attend an open-air festival with food stalls, bars and music. Fireworks at midnight. Contact Zürich Tourism (P.O. Box CH-8021 Zürich, Switzerland; www.zuerich.com).

August 2010 issue

Netherlands Antilles disbanding

The five Caribbean islands that make up the territory of the Netherlands Antilles, in the West Indies, have voted to change their status and, as of Oct. 10, 2010, no longer will be one political unit. 

Curaçao and Sint Maarten will govern themselves as autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Opting for closer ties to the Netherlands, the islands of Saba, Sint Eustatius and Bonaire will be special municipalities and governed directly by the Dutch government, although it has not been decided if they will adopt the euro or not as well as certain more lenient...

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October 2010 issue

Video camera rental

Adventure Eye Video Systems (42354 Deluxe Plaza, Ste. 13, Hammond, LA 70403; 866/558-2387) offers rentals of four types of digital video cameras: standard; high-definition; wearable POV (point-of-view), and snorkel mask cameras. Including shipping both ways, rental of each costs $100 for 14 days (upon receipt) with a full damage waiver or $75 without waiver. A 4GB memory card is included.

January 2009 issue

Unusual Hotels of the World

Unusual Hotels of the World showcases on its website www.uhotw.com 149 “avant-garde” lodgings around the world, organized by location, price and “wow factor.”

Example — the Old Jail in Mount Gambier, South Australia, built in 1866 as a prison and now a hostel; from AU$22 (near US$15.50) per person for a dormitory bed. Another — the Woodpecker Hotel, a tree house in a large oak in Stockholm, 40 feet above a public park and accessible by rope ladder; $250-$350 per night.

April 2008 issue

Fake malaria drugs in Asia

In a joint operation by INTERPOL, the World Health Organization and Oxford University’s Southeast Asian Tropical Medicine Research Programme, samples of the antimalarial drug artesunate were purchased throughout Southeast Asia and subjected to analysis. The findings were printed in the February 2008 Public Library of Science journal (http://journals.plos.org).

More than half of the samples collected contained either no artesunate or only a trace amount that could have no prophylactic benefit but could contribute to the development of drug-resistant strains of bacteria. Carcinogenic...

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July 2009 issue

Luxury steam train

The Keighley & Worth Valley Steam Railway (West Yorkshire, England; phone 01535 645214, www.kwvr.co.uk) is offering a “Super Luxury All Day Guided Tour” from Keighley through Brontë Country for £350 (near $509) per person for up to 12 people.

The trip on the historic steam engine No. 957, which dates from 1887 (and was used in the film The Railway Children), includes an expert guide; a gourmet lunch with wine; a tour of the engine shed, restorations, etc., and a reception in the Old Hall Hotel in Haworth. Tours begin Sept. 25, 2009, and will run May to December, mostly on...

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May 2009 issue

Coke machines in Venice

The cash-strapped city of Venice, Italy, has signed a €2.1 million ($2.7 million) deal with Coca-Cola to place soda and snack vending machines around the city.

The 60 machines will not bear the red-and-white Coke logo and will not be on public property but will be placed at the train station and at main waterbus stations, including that at St. Mark’s Square (but not in the square, where picnicking is banned).

The funds are slated to go to preserving Venice’s landmarks, as the Italian government has cut the city’s funding for culture and arts in half.

December 2009 issue

‘Super Granny’

Sally Wendkos Olds, a grandmother of five, talked to others about what they love to do with their grandkids, then printed their narratives — with ideas, how-to directions and helpful websites — in the book “Super Granny — Great Stuff to Do with Your Grandkids” (2009, Sterling Publishing, New York, NY. ISBN 1402757166 — 220 pp., $14.95).

Only a handful of the 75 stories refer to travel. Icons help in choosing an activity based on cost, energy level, creativity and a child’s age, even for those who live far away.