Travelers' Intercom

July 2009 issue

Czech Rep. and Poland

My husband, Joseph, and I traveled to Berlin, Prague, Kraków and Warsaw, March 30-April 21, 2009.

In Prague and Warsaw you can use public transportation free if you are over 70 years old. The ticket sellers do not tell you this, but it’s in the fine print of the brochures that are printed in English. You need to have a picture ID that shows your age.

We would like to recommend Hotel Cloister Inn (14 Konviktska St., 110 00 Prague 1, CZECH REPUBLIC; phone +420 224 211 020, fax 210 800).

The inn is within walking distance of public transportation, Old Town, a laundry and...

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October 2011 issue

Midway and the tsunami

As a tour operator, I was on Midway Atoll in March ’11 escorting a group of 15. Part of the Hawaiian Archipelago, the atoll is an unincorporated US territory, but everyone needs a valid passport to visit, even US citizens. Midway is probably best known as the site of the Battle of Midway, during WWII the turning point of the war in the Pacific.

The atoll is part of — and is the only access to — Papa­hānau­mokuākea Marine National Monument, one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world. The coral reefs, islands and waters of the monument provide...

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June 2011 issue

Mérida, Mexico, hotels

My wife, Kathryn, and I stayed in two wonderful hotels in Mérida, Mexico, in June ’10.

• La Mision de Fray Diego (St. 61 #524 between 64 & 66, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico; phone +52 [999] 924 11 11 or, in the US, 866/639-2933), in Mérida’s historic center, is located a block from the main square and within walking distance of dancing, theaters, museums and shopping.

This is a 17th-century colonial home converted into an exquisite small hotel. The 17th-century iron-grilled entrance opens onto a bubbling fountain in a 19th-century courtyard. On one side is the cozy restaurant...

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February 2009 issue

St. Moritz restaurant

During a trip to southern Switzerland in May ’08, my wife, Paula, and I visited St. Moritz for two nights during the depths of its spring off-season. Much of the town was shut down, including many shops, hotels and restaurants, and on a pleasant Saturday evening we found ourselves looking for a backup restaurant after discovering that our previously chosen restaurant was closed.

We walked by the Trattoria Bellaval (Hotel Bellaval, Via Grevas 55, CH-7500 St. Moritz, Switzerland; phone +41 [0] 81 833 32 457500 or, for hotel information, visit www.bellaval-stmoritz.ch). The posted menu...

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August 2009 issue

Visiting aid organizations while touring

After I had traveled to over 60 countries, my wife, Anne, and I decided to see what our brother/sister St. Vincent de Paul workers were doing worldwide.

We contacted the national office of SVDP — National Council of the United States Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (58 Progress Parkway, St. Louis, MI 63043-3706; phone 314/576-3993, www.svdpusa.org) — and a coordinator for 130-plus countries helped give us access to staff and volunteers in those we planned to visit.

Our first SVDP visit was to Israel in 1991. I have subsequently met with or exchanged methods of helping the...

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January 2009 issue

Liked Stockholm-Oslo train

A reader reported a very negative experience taking a train from Oslo to Stockholm in July ’07 (Oct. ’08, pg. 18). In contrast, our trip from Stockholm to Oslo on Aug. 8, 2008, was very pleasant.

We booked our tickets with Rail Europe (www.raileurope.com) for the train leaving Stockholm at 8:30 a.m. and arriving in Oslo at 2:35 p.m. Both railway stations were located much more conveniently than the airports in the respective cities.

Economy-class tickets cost $38 each. Compare that to $250 each for our one-way flight from Oslo to Bergen.

When we arrived at the station...

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November 2009 issue

Arrangements for Greece

After staying with friends in a villa in Spain (Oct. ’09, pg. 12), my wife, Betty, and I flew on April 10, 2008, from Valencia to Athens via Rome on Alitalia, with our scheduled arrival in Athens quite late. Our friend Jan, a retired airline executive living in Kansas, flew from Valencia on another carrier.

A word about low-cost airlines — portions of our itinerary involved flying within Europe, and we found a site online, www.whichbudget.com, which shows, worldwide, who flies where and when. It lists low-cost carriers and their schedules, sites and fares.

During our trip, we...

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March 2009 issue

London on foot

I enjoyed Patrick Erricker’s tips on making touring in London more affordable (Dec. ’08, pg. 11). I’m into my sixth year living in Greater London (near the Kew Gardens tube station), and I wanted to share my five tips on enjoying London on foot.

London is a walker’s paradise, especially in April through October when the days are longer. There is more sunshine than people expect, and the weather is rarely worse than a mizzle (between a mist and a drizzle). Best of all, you could walk somewhere new every day for decades and never need a car.

Here are five ways to enjoy London...

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