November 2013

This interactive crossword puzzle is no longer available online.

The Leipzig Christmas market, a tradition that goes back to 1458, is one of the largest Christmas markets in Germany. The 2013 market will feature a fairy-tale forest, a model railway display, and holiday performances in the city’s many churches. The market will have about 250 stalls.

In Belize, Francis Ford Coppola’s Turtle Inn Resort (Placencia Village; phone 011 501 523 3244 or, in the US, 800/746-3743) offers 2-tank dives off Gladden Spit, where whale sharks swim in the spring. The world’s largest fish, the filter-feeding whale shark, has been recorded to reach as long as 41 feet and weigh up to 21½ tons.

In Barbados, visitors to the Mount Gay Rum distillery (Spring Garden Highway, Bridgetown; phone 246 425 8757) may take a 45-minute tour of the facility that includes a tasting session. 

Available 9 a.m.-3:45 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Admission costs $10 (includes tour) or, (advance booking required) including lunch and transport from Bridgetown hotels, $50.

Quito Tour Bus (phone 2435 458 or 2458 010), the city’s first double-decker tourist bus service, allows passengers to hop on and off at 12 bus stops throughout the city. 

The 3-hour ride, departing daily from Ave. Naciones Unidas every hour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., covers all the major attractions in the north and center of the city. 

Lahemaa, meaning “Land of Bays,” is the crown jewel of Estonia’s national parks. After a July ’08 visit, my wife, Kathy, and I wish to return to this wonderland of stony, unspoiled coastline and inland forests teeming with wildlife. The largest national park in Estonia, it covers 280 square miles and features sleepy villages, restored manor houses, 14 lakes, eight rivers and four waterfalls.

HARVEY HAGMAN

In Quito, Ecuador, the Quito Teleférico climbs 3,609 feet to the summit of Cruz Loma, a starting point for hiking the peaks of the Pichincha Volcano complex. 

The online printable map of the Leipzig Music Trail, which winds around five kilometers of downtown Leipzig, Germany, has been updated to include a selection of events in 2013/2014. 

The trail visits 23 places of interest where famous composers have lived and worked, passing such locations as the Leipzig Opera, the New Gewandhaus, the Bach Museum and the Schumann House. The map includes historical info for each stop.

North of Great Slave Lake in Alberta, Canada, travelers can view the aurora borealis from the comfort of a hot tub or even their own bed at Blachford Lake Lodge, with the 5-day/4-night “Aurora Escape” package from The Great Canadian Travel Company (Chicago, IL; 800/661-3830).

In Italy, a 7-night “Florence for Foodies” tour is offered by Tourcrafters (Libertyville, IL; 800/482-5995). This land-only package includes arrival transfer; 3-star hotel; buffet breakfasts; a food-tasting walking tour; hands-on cooking classes in English; dinner in a Florentine palace, and a full-day tour of Siena, medieval San Gimignano and the Chianti wine district.

At $915-$1,266 per person, double (depending on hotel), it’s available Nov. 1, 2013, through March 2014 (with some holiday blackout dates).