International Travel News

Travelers' Intercom

May 2014 issue | Appears on page 44

Now carries a doctor’s note

By Ed Reynolds

Traveling by myself in November ’13 on a tour arranged by a tour company, I was using Djibouti as a base of operations to fly to Puntland, Somalia, and to Mogadishu, Somalia, and back. The flights required that I pass through the Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport security, first while entering the terminal and then at the gate for departure. On the return flight, I had to pass through security again in the Customs area.

Djibouti’s terminal did not have that many security officers...

May 2014 issue | Appears on page 44

Panama, Costa Rica train rides

By Henrietta Hallaq

While on a 15-day cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles on the Island Princess of Princess Cruises (800/774-6237), Oct. 30-Nov. 14, 2013, I signed up for two shore excursions involving trains.

• The “Panama Canal Railway” tour ($159 per person) started at the port of Fuerte Amador, Panama, following the canal, crossing over bridges and Gatun Lake and going through tunnels and dense jungle.

Dating back to 1855, the Panama Canal Railway is known as the first transcontinental...

May 2014 issue | Appears on page 44

Stave church near Bergen

By Paula Prindle

When in Bergen, don’t miss the stave church at Fantoft, about 3¾ miles from the center of Bergen. On our September ’12 trip to Norway, my husband, David, and I took the tram there from Bergen for NOK27 (near $4.50) one way.

Stave churches are wooden churches built during the Middle Ages. (The name refers to the corner posts; in Norwegian, stav means “pole.”) While other European countries were building grand churches in stone, the Vikings were building...

May 2014 issue | Appears on page 46

Art old and new in Amsterdam

By Marilyn Hill

The art I saw during my visit to Amsterdam, Sept. 5-16, 2013, ranged from paintings by Vermeer and Rembrandt to modern photographs and films. I started by buying a Museumkaart (not the I amsterdam City Card) at a museum for €54 (near $74). The card provides admission and other benefits throughout the Netherlands for a whole year.

A complete list of museums in Amsterdam can be found on the “I amsterdam City Card” map, which can be purchased for €2.50 ($3.50) at the information booth...

May 2014 issue | Appears on page 47

Turkish dessert

By Albert Podell

I find it ineffably sad whenever I see an old friend for what I believe may be the final time, and so it was with Istanbul on my sixth and last visit there in January ’14.

On my final night, I feasted with longtime Turkish buddies in the Asian part of that venerable and booming city, topping the meal off with something special, tavuk gogsu, an amazing dish of sugar-infused mashed chicken covered with ice cream.

Yes, I know it may sound gross, but don’t knock it until you try...

April 2014 issue | Appears on page 14

Parking in Freiburg, Germany

By Stephen O. Addison, Jr.

Rathausplatz Christmas market — Freiburg.

Freiburg is reputed to be both the warmest and the sunniest town in Germany. When my wife and I visited this “jewel of the Black Forest” in late November 2013, it was at least somewhat sunny, but temperatures were near freezing.

Like many travelers, we were there to see the town’s medieval Altstadt (Old Town) and cathedral, along with its Christmas markets. In addition to enjoying our brief visit to this university town, we learned some useful information about...

April 2014 issue | Appears on page 15

Amsterdam museums

By Marilyn Hill

I visited many of Amsterdam’s more than 50 museums during my Sept. 5-16, 2013, visit. A list of museums can be found on the “I amsterdam City Card” map, which you can buy for €2.50 (near $3.50) at the information booth in front of Centraal Station. The map is good and includes ferry routes.

Most of the museums I visited were in or near the Jordaan district. The eight museums described below were former residences.

• An orphanage until 1975, the Amsterdam Museum (Postbus 33+31 [...

April 2014 issue | Appears on page 16

‘Otherworldly’ Yemen

Yemen proved to be an “otherworldly” experience, unlike any I’ve had.

Our visit there, Jan. 25-Feb. 1, 2014, was part of a trip with a local guide and driver that had been arranged for two adventurous American women and me by Spiekermann Travel Service (Eastpointe, MI; 800/645-3233), which advertises in ITN.

The people we met in Yemen were remarkably friendly and welcoming, the arid scenery was like Arizona on steroids, and we traveled through mountains that soared from 6,000...