April 2008

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Travelers heading to these rewarding destinations will be greeted by a host of new museums, improved infrastructure and special events. Here’s what to expect if you visit.

Germany

10-day/9-night wildlife safari in UGANDA, Aug. 25-Sept. 3, 2008 & March 2-11, 2009.

Highlights: From Arusha, drive to Fort Portal, stopping at Sebitoli village/in Kibale Forest Primate Reserve, see red and white colobus monkeys, chimpanzees/game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park, home to elephants, leopards, antelope/motor launch Mweya Channel for hippos, crocs, birds/Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for gorillas and tree-climbing lions/canoe Lake Bunyonyi/hyenas, buffalos, zebras at Lake Mburo National Park.

Land only, $2,290. Gorilla fee, $570.

8-day/7-night “challenging” hiking tour (some 8-hour walking days) in Albanian Alps. Stay in traditional guest houses and local homes. June-September 2008.

Highlights: From Kruja, hike up holy mountain of Sarisalltik and visit Sufi Dervish Sanctuary/ferry Drin River Canyon and Valbona River to Dunishë/hike shepherds’ path through Alps/hike from Rragan to Valbona Pass (1,966 meters) and Thethi village/walk toward Boga, viewing “the Accursed Mountains.”

From $2,052 from New York. Single supplement, $145.

14 days/12 nights, May-September 2008.

Highlights: From Reykjavík, visit Gullfoss, Geysir and Thingvellir National Park/boat around Breida­fjördur island to see puffins and white-tailed eagles/Icelandic horses in Skagafjördur/boat a fjord from Akureyri to Hrisey Island/unique bird species at Lake Myvatn/see lava field at Dimmuborgir, climb ash crater, soak in Myvatn Nature Bath/Dettifoss, most powerful waterfall in Europe/at Lake Lögurinn, see farm mansion and visit Seydisfjörder village/boat among icebergs at Vanat­jökull, Europe’s largest glacier.

Themed walking seminars in six cities: London, Paris, Rome, Naples, Florence and Venice. Examples follow. Vasari Corridor (FLORENCE), April 25, May 23, June 13 & July 11, 2008, 3:45-5:45 p.m., at €110 (near $165) including Uffizi Gallery admission. The Vasari Corridor was built in the 16th century to allow the Medicis passage from the Uffizi to the Pitti Palace without having to mingle with commoners.

 6 days/5 nights, Aug. 4-9, 2008. On 55-mile circular route in Yorkshire, ENGLAND, visit setting of books and TV series “All Creatures Great and Small.” Up to seven hours of hiking a day.

At the restaurant ’s Bagger’s in Nuremburg, Germany, the food is sent to you directly from the kitchen without waiters. It comes stashed in large pots which slide down 15-foot steel spiral ramps, slowing to a stop at your table.

You order and pay on a touch screen at your table. Entrées, salads, desserts and drinks are sold à la carte and cost €3-€8 (near $4.50-$12). Busboys clean up, but no waiters hover and recite the “daily special.”

At the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew (Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, UK; phone 02 8332 5655, visit www.kew.org), in Greater London, two new installations open May 24, 2008.

• At the Rhizotron, an underground display, visitors will enter through a “crack” in the earth and watch a changing LED light mosaic that depicts the interactions between tree roots and soil microorganisms such as fungi. Animated wall displays further carry out the theme.

The Hassler Roma hotel’s “Roman Skyline Package” includes a helicopter ride in Rome over the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica, the Colosseum and the Pantheon. 

Until Dec. 31, 2008, the package cost of €6,570 (near $9,800) per room, double occupancy, includes three nights in a Classic Suite, airport/hotel private transfer (a charge of €50 applies 9 p.m.-7 a.m.), dinners (excluding beverages), buffet breakfasts, a 30-minute helicopter ride (additional time with supplement), hotel/heliport limo transfer and more.