September 2010

This month’s winner is PAULA LA BAR of Modjeska Canyon, CA:

My husband and I are not yet veterans of overseas travel. On our fourth trip to Europe, in 2009, we arrived at the Luzern train station. It was late on a Saturday, so we wanted to get a few provisions.

We gathered a roasted chicken and veggies, then stopped at the cheese counter. When asked what kind of cheese I wanted, I was quite over- whelmed by the selections and replied, “Swiss cheese.”

The worker behind the counter looked at me funny, then said, “It’s ALL Swiss cheese!” 

This interactive crossword puzzle is no longer available online.

Every day of the year in Stratford, England, the “Stratford Town Walk” starts at the Swan Fountain in Waterside at 11 a.m. Monday-Wednesday and 2 p.m. other days (10:30 a.m., Christmas). Shops, attractions and eateries offer discounts to participants. It lasts up to two hours. £5 ($7) adult, £4 senior.

Also offered: a 1½-hour “Ghost Walk” (£6) and a 1½-hour “Ghost Cruise” (£11); book in advance. Phone 01789 292478, www.stratfordtownwalk.co.uk.

Two- and four-hour guided bike tours of Beijing’s sights, including the city’s hutongs (narrow streets with traditional housing), are offered by The China Guide (Building 7-1, 8th Floor, Rm. 81, Jianguomenwai Waijiaogongyu Diplomatic Compound, Beijing, China; phone +8610 8532 2274, www.thechinaguide.com).

Two-hour tours, including bike and helmet rental, a guide and pickup/dropoff at your hotel, cost $81.50 per person; four-hour tours cost $93.50. Two people minimum. Payment may be made in advance by credit card or at the start of the tour in cash.

With its self-guided cycling and hiking tours in 2010, Discover France (8502 E. Via de Ventura #124, Scottsdale, AZ 85258; 800/960-2221 or 480/905-1235) is including the use of Garmin GPS units.

Thirty-plus itineraries from four to 14 days are offered, with baggage transfer and emergency support. Example — the six-night “Alsace Wine Country” bicycle tour, from Strasbourg to Colmar, costs €898 ($1,170) per person, double occupancy, for two-star hotels and €1,125 ($1,591) for three- and four-star hotels.

Near Telford in Shropshire, England, the Tar Tunnel is one of 10 Ironbridge Gorge Museums.

In 1787, miners struck a spring of natural bitumen, a black, treacle-like substance. The eerie, brick-lined tunnel was a great curiosity in the 18th century, and today visitors can don a hard hat, enter the 365-meter tunnel and still see the tar seeping from the rock.

£2.50 per adult, £2.15 senior, £1.95 child up to 18 (and still in full-time education). Call (01952) 884391, www.ironbridge.org.uk.

Based on Tom Blofeld’s series of books about Swampy, a two-foot-high marsh boggle, the 50-acre adventure park BeWILDerwood (phone 01 603 783900), in England’s Norfolk Broads, is aimed at children from four to 14.

Follow Swampy’s footsteps on a short boat journey through a marsh, along an aerial walkway through trees across a “broken” bridge with invisible glass and through a maze.

The Damyang region in Jeolla-nam-do Province, Korea, is where many bamboo items and crafts are created, and many can be seen in the Damyang Bamboo Museum (phone +82 61 1330).

The first floor exhibits 183 antique bamboo items and the tools used to create them. The second has 1,400 modern bamboo products, over 200 of which are foreign-made.

From Seoul, take the bus from Seoul Express Bus Terminal or Dong Seoul Bus Terminal to Gwangiu, then take the bus to Damyang and walk 10 minutes. Open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. 1,000 won (84¢).

In Britain, the upkeep of 72 lighthouses in England, Wales and the Channel Islands is overseen by Trinity House (Tower Hill, London, EC3N 4DH; phone 020 7481 6900, www.trinityhouse.co.uk), which was granted its charter by Henry VIII in 1514.

At 13 of these sites, visitors can stay in cottages that were once the homes of lighthouse keepers. Many have a minimum stay of two or three nights. 

Britain’s Lancaster has 30 kilometers of off-road bike routes created from disused railway lines. Travelers can rent bikes for £1 per hour or £6 per day from Cyclepoint (at Lancaster Station, LA1 5NW; phone 01524 389410). Bikes can be delivered to other stations, such as to the Lake District.