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March 2005 issue

Dining in Croatia

On a trip to Croatia in June ’04, we found three restaurants which were excellent.

In Krk Town on the island of Krk, we recommend Konoba NONO (Krckih iseljenika 8, Krk, Croatia; phone +3 85 [0] 5 1222 221). It’s just outside the Old City and across a small inlet.

The great-grandson of the founder was spinning noodles on a thin stick for their fabulous goulash in front of a wood-fired, open oven. The very filling goulash with beer cost a bit under $17 for the two of us. When we didn’t have quite enough kuna to pay for the meal, they suggested we walk back to the Old Town, find...

January 2004 issue

Not ready to leave the Borghese

The following will be of interest to art lovers, especially, since Rome’s Borghese packs one of the strongest punches of any museum in Europe.

I visited the Borghese Gallery (Piazzale del Museo Borghese, 5, 00197 Rome; phone 39-06-328-10) in April of 2003. Admission cost €8.50 (near $10).

Now, you are probably aware of how Italy falls on the process-oriented versus goal-oriented scale of societies; that is to say, you will find that Italians generally are not so concerned with being on time. This attitude will influence you when you plan your itineraries for visiting the...

August 2010 issue

Chip-and-PIN dilemma

In Europe, my husband, Jim, and I use our US-issued credit union debit card to make withdrawals from ATMs. We seldom use charge cards and mostly operate with the local currency.

When the ATM is outside a bank, everything works perfectly, but when banks have the machines inside a vestibule between the sidewalk and the bank lobby — and the outside door is locked — the only way you can enter to access the ATM is if you have a chip-and-PIN card.

Our debit card, with a PIN but no chip, does not work on the vestibule door locks!

The last time this happened, in Greece in 2008...

July 2010 issue

Istanbul guide

My companion and I visited western Turkey on the 14-day/13-night “Glories of Turkey” tour from Neon Tours (Istanbul, Turkey; phone +90 [212] 274 90 00), a subsidiary of Key Tours (Fairfax, VA; 800/576-1784), in October-November ’09.

The land cost was $1,499 per person. The hotels were excellent, mostly five-star, alternating two-night stops with one-nighters.

Our guide for the tour, Yusuf Burak Ozdur (phone +90 532 231 1415 or e-mail bozdur@yahoo.com), was really a cut above the ordinary. Yusuf has a PhD in Archaeology and has participated in digs in Turkey. His knowledge of...

January 2004 issue

Eighth trip to Istanbul

I found Istanbul as interesting as ever on my eighth trip to my favorite city. Istanbul is all about the people in the streets, both past and present. If you are not too timid, you should stay where the Turkish people are — bustling about the streets in the Sirkeci district (pronounced Sirkajee). From there you can walk anywhere you would want to visit.

If you go off-season (October through April) you will have a choice of hotels with no need to make reservations. May and November are excellent times to go because there are few tourists and the weather will be great. It is still...

May 2010 issue

Leper King Terrace

Almost all tour itineraries at Cambodia’s ancient Khmer capital, Angkor, include a stop at the Elephant Terrace. If you’re lucky, your guide may mention the Leper King Terrace located north and to your right as you face the Elephant Terrace. You’re even more fortunate if your guide mentions the narrow corridor excavated behind the facade of the Leper King Terrace. This corridor is concealed and not marked well, so it’s hard to find without having it pointed out to you.

This corridor can be entered along the side to your left as you face the terrace. Inside are wall reliefs that...

February 2011 issue

Credit union card gaffs

When my wife, Diane, and I travel, we always advise our credit card and ATM card issuers of our travel plans, even when we leave California to visit other states. We belong to separate credit unions.

In 2009, after a European river cruise, we were on a tour extension in Transylvania. Immediately after leaving the ship I successfully accessed funds from an ATM. Later on, the card was refused, but we used my wife’s with no problem at that same ATM. Subsequently, on another occasion, her card was refused (mine was still not working).

Upon our return home, we talked to our...

January 2011 issue

Zeppelin in Germany (day trip)

My husband, Bernie, and I love flying, not only in big jets but by many different methods.

While we were in Germany in 2007, we wanted to take a zeppelin ride from Zeppelin Reederei GmbH (Allmannsweilerstr. 132, 88046 Friedrichshafen, Germany; phone +49 7541 5900 547). Unfortunately, the weather had been bad for weeks and they had had to cancel quite a few flights, causing a waiting list of three to four weeks. For our visit to Germany in September ’10, we made our reservations ahead of time.

As of September ’10, there were only two airships making commercial flights, one in...