Travel Briefs

August 2008 issue

Race car museum, Hamburg

Open since April in Hamburg, Germany, the museum “Prototyp” (Shanghaiallee 7, Beim Lohseplatz; phone 040 3999 69 68, www.prototyp-hamburg.de) shows the history of race car driving. On three floors are 50 cars, from a 1949 Porsche to the Jordan 191 in which German Formula 1 Champion Michael Schumacher gave his debut.

Open 10-6, Tuesday-Sunday. €7.50 ($12) adult. 

October 2009 issue

National Geographic back issues

National Geographic (888/225-5647, www.completenatgeo.com) is releasing all of its issues from October 1888 through December 2008 on either a 6-disc DVD set ($69.95) or a USB hard drive ($199.95). 

The set features an interactive browser that allows users to find articles by issue date or map location (map location browsing requires Internet access). Included are lists of articles on specific topics, a DVD feature on the magazine’s history, and a trivia quiz.

January 2009 issue

Kew Gardens at 250

Founded in 1759, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (www.kew.org), celebrates its 250th anniversary in 2009. (Open 9:30-4:15. £13 adult; free for children under 17.)

Special events: • The Princess of Wales conservatory will run “Kew’s Tropical Extravaganza,” Feb. 7- March 8, brimming with orchids, anthuriums and insectivorous plants. • In March and April, Kew’s “Spring Celebration” will have five million bulbs and feature a crocus carpet, daffodils and snowdrops. • May to September, the exhibit “Role of Botanic Gardens” in the Nash Conservatory will feature Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank....

July 2009 issue

Cadw pass in Wales

The Cadw Explorer Pass allows free admission to historic properties in Wales operated by the Welsh government conservation organization Cadw (Plas Carew, Unit 5/7, Cefn Coed, Parc Nantgarw, Cardiff, CF15 7QQ, U.K.; phone 01443 33 6000, fax 6001, www.cadw.wales.gov.uk). These include the 14th-century Caernarfon Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Plas Mawr, a 16th-century Elizabethan townhouse.

The pass costs, for one person, £11.50 ($17) for three days or £18 ($26) for a week or, for two people, £18.50 or £30, respectively. It can be purchased at any staffed site operated...

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May 2008 issue

Germany Trabi tours

Several of the most-used cars of old East Germany, the smoky, 2-stroke Trabi, are used on guided tours of Berlin and Dresden in convoys for up to eight people.

In Berlin, the Classic Route covers historical sites and modern city life, and the Wild East Route focuses on relics of the planned economy and socialism. Dresden’s route takes visitors to parks, villas and the castles on the Elbe River.

A one-hour tour costs €30 (near $45) per person for four passengers per car, €35 each for three passengers and €40 each for two. Contact Trabi Safari (Maxstraße 5, 01067 Dresden,...

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September 2009 issue

Brussels’ winter fun

From late November to the first week of January in Brussels, Belgium, the Winter Wonders festival features a skating rink (for 300 people plus another for kids), Ferris wheel, playground roundabouts, a brasserie and other booths along an illuminated 2-kilometer route through the streets. There are street artists, choirs, a sound-and-light show at the Grand’Place every evening till midnight and music on Saturday nights.

The attractions are open 12-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Sunday. Roundabouts, €2; Big Wheel, €5; Ice Monster, €4; Skating Rink, €6 per hour (...

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August 2010 issue

Papua New Guinea province alcohol ban

In Papua New Guinea, a ban on the selling and drinking of alcohol was implemented in the Southern Highlands province in May. Police feel that excessive drinking has contributed to an increase in interclan violence that has killed dozens and hope the ban will reduce crime.

October 2010 issue

Germany event tragedy

Nineteen people died and more than 300 were injured on July 24 in Duisberg, Germany, when a crush of people panicked during the annual Love Parade.

Billed as the world’s largest techno music party, the Love Parade was first held in 1989. With about a million people attending this year, officials closed off one end of an access tunnel to the site to avoid overcrowding. The press of thousands of people entering the tunnel was not diverted, however, and a stampede resulted. The festival will not be held again.