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Attractions offer glimpses of life under communism
BERLIN (AP) — If you're interested in the history of Eastern Europe under communism, a number of places around the region offer glimpses of life before the Berlin Wall fell. Here are a few of them, ranging from somber museums to historic sites to themed attractions that are downright kitschy or bizarre.
One must-see for tourists visiting Germany is Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, the former border crossing where U.S. and Soviet tanks dramatically faced off after East Germany sealed its border by building the Berlin Wall in 1961.
Gates along the wall were opened on Nov. 9, 1989, and crowds began to tear down the wall. This year marks the 20th anniversary of that event, which has come to symbolize the end of communism in Eastern Europe.
The DDR Museum, opposite the Berlin Cathedral, focuses on everyday life before the wall fell. The entertaining, interactive exhibits include a typical kitchen in an East German apartment, TVs where you can choose between East and West German programs, and a simulated ride in the once-ubiquitous but notoriously unreliable Trabant model car; http://www.ddr-museum.de/en/.
The Germans also use humor and a retro-chic sensibility to make fun of the past and shed light on the bleakness of that era. Zur Firma is a bar themed on life in East Germany under communism; its name translates as "at the firm," an allusion to German slang for the Stasi secret police. It's located at Normannenstrasse 5 A, in the Lichtenberg section of Berlin. Or you can stay at the budget Ostel hotel, located at Wriezener Karree 5, with communist-era East German furnishings, http://ostel.eu/en/index.html.
In Prague, in the Czech Republic, the chilling Museum of Communism describes itself as portraying "the dream, the reality and the nightmare" of life under totalitarianism from 1948 to 1989. Visitors will see an interrogation room, propaganda and artifacts, from statues and flags to a noose, http://www.museumofcommunism.com. A Nov. 17 concert in Prague's Old Town Square will mark the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in the former Czechoslovakia, when six weeks of peaceful protests between Nov. 17 and Dec. 29, 1989, led to the demise of the Soviet regime there.
In Poland, an exhibit in the city of Gdansk — located at Waly Piastowskie 24, http://www.fcs.org.pl — tells the story of the Solidarity movement. These pro-democracy strikes began in the city's shipyards in 1980, led by a worker named Lech Walesa who later won the Nobel Peace Prize and served as Poland's president.
In Riga, Latvia, the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia documents life from 1940 to 1991, described on the museum's Web site as a "50-year-long subjugation" of "Soviet and Nazi terror," http://www.omf.lv/.
Latvia also invites tourists to visit a former military prison, Karosta, in the city of Liepaja. Billed as Latvia's Alcatraz, Karosta offers audio tours in various languages and even a night's stay in a dank cell, complete with prison guards, a toilet that consists of a hole in the floor, and a bed made from a plank. Because fall and winter are the slow season for tourism, visits are only available upon request from October to May. Click on "EN" for more information in English at http://www.karostascietums.lv/.
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Frommer's produces its first guide to Honduras
HOBOKEN, N.J. (AP) — Frommer's has just debuted a new travel guide to Honduras.
Nicholas Gill, author of the first edition of "Frommer's Honduras" ($22), says the Central American country has "a little bit of everything: beaches, active adventures, historical sites, indigenous cultures, wildlife and laidback getaways."
His recommendations for best travel experiences include:
—Semana Santa in Comayagua, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday when "vivacious daily processions and hordes of pilgrims" show their devotion.
—Diving the barrier reef in the Bay Islands, which the author says is not only spectacular but cheap when compared to diving rates in other parts of the world.
—Bird-watching in places like Lancetilla, Lago de Yojoa, Pico Bonito, Cerro Azul and Celaque. Some parts of Honduras have recorded as many as 400 species of birds.
—Visiting La Mosquitia, known for wildlife and for ethnic groups that you can learn about through community-based indigenous tourism programs.
Other recommendations include touring the Flor de Copan cigar factory, rafting the Rio Platana river, exploring the Mayan ruins of Copan, shopping in handicraft markets, and chilling out on beaches like West Bay Beach in Roatan and Playa Negra, a black sand beach in Southern Honduras on Isla del Tigre.
Ensley Eikenburg, associate publisher at Frommer's, says the company decided to publish its first guide devoted to Honduras partly because of a 65 percent increase in North Americans traveling there in the last five years but also because of increased interest in the region.
"In Central America, we have seen a huge amount of activity," she said. "We started publishing our Costa Rica guide in the early 1990s and since 2000-2001, it has been in our top 10 bestselling guides."
She said a Frommer's guide to Belize also sells well, and as travelers "get more comfortable going to places like Costa Rica and Belize, they get interested in the whole area and want to explore more." Frommer's recently published guides to Panama, Guatemala and an omnibus Central America book, and is coming out later in October with a book about Nicaragua and El Salvador.
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25-cent room rate to celebrate U.S. Virgin Islands quarter
ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — To celebrate the minting of the U.S. Virgin Islands quarter, the islands' Department of Tourism is promoting 25-cent room rates at participating hotels.
The hotel stays are limited to three nights, while supplies last, and also include a $25 dining credit and a $25 per person activities credit. Trips must be booked before Nov. 2 and travel must take place before Nov. 15.
Reservations must be made through BookIt.com for air-hotel packages at these hotels: Bolongo Bay Beach Resort, Carambola Beach Resort & Spa, Hibiscus Beach Resort, Hotel Caravelle, Marriott Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Beach Resort, Secret Harbour Beach Resort, The Palms at Pelican Cove, Windward Passage, and Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort & Spa.
A limited number of packages are available and the offer does not apply to existing bookings. Hotels can also establish blackout dates, and the 25-cent rate does not include taxes or resort fees.
Symbols on the newly minted quarter for the U.S. territory include the bananaquit bird, the yellow cedar flower and the tyre palm tree, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands' motto, "United in Pride and Hope."
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Longtime Illinois amusement park closes after 80 years
MELROSE PARK, Ill. (AP) — The rides at Kiddieland near Chicago have been shut down forever.
The longtime Chicago-area family amusement park permanently closed at the end of September.
Kiddieland Amusement Park in suburban Melrose Park opened in 1929. But park owners announced it would close in May, due to rivaling factions in the family that owns the park. One group that owns the land wants to use it for other purposes.
Tom Norini, who is related by marriage to the park's founder, German immigrant Art Fritz, has said family members made a group decision to not start over.
In its last few weeks, Kiddieland fans came from all over Illinois and out of the state to visit the park for a final time. The park had over 30 rides.
"It sounds crazy to cry over a park, but it's not just a park; it has always been there, and it's something you can count on," Vickie Perkins, who grew up nearby and brought her daughter to visit on the park's last day, told Preservation magazine in an article that appeared on the PreservationNation.org Web site.
The rides, including a 1950s German carousel and roller coaster, are now for sale.
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Parents magazine recommends 10 snow resorts for families
NEW YORK (AP) — Parents magazine looked at more than 100 winter resorts and came up with a list of 10 places in snowy destinations that cater to families.
All of the properties offers rates that are less than $250 per night for a room or $400 for an all-inclusive daily package for a family of four.
The magazine looked at family activities on site and at nearby ski areas, quality of ski lessons for young children, standard room size, child care services, kids' clubs or supervised play areas, prices, and amenities like childproofing supplies.
The 10 resorts that made the final list, as it will appear in the magazine's November issue, are: Jackson Gore Inn in Ludlow, Vt.; the Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa, Beaver Creek in Avon, Colo.; The Lodge at Suncadia in Cle Elum, Wash.; Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, N.H.; The Peaks Resort & Golden Door Spa in Telluride, Colo.; Woodloch Pines in Hawley, Pa.; Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vt.; Crystal Mountain Resort & Spa in Thompsonville, Mich.; Resort at Squaw Creek in Lake Tahoe, Calif.; and Dakota Mountain Lodge & Golden Door Spa in Park City, Utah.
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Winter cruises: Try the Arctic Circle instead of the beach
NEW YORK (AP) — Most travelers who book winter cruises are trying to escape the cold weather by heading to Mexico or the Caribbean. But the expedition cruise company Hurtigruten is betting that some travelers will bundle up to experience the unique wildlife, culture and scenery of Norway above the Arctic Circle.
Hurtigruten is offering six itineraries between January and March along Norway's 1,250-mile west coast between Bergen and Kirkenes, with each seven-to-12-day trip offering different experiences and adventures. Fares range from $2,499 to $6,048 per person, double occupancy, with higher rates for suites.
Highlights of the cruises include the Northern Lights Festival in Tromso; the landscape of Finnmark, where puffins can be seen tending their young in rookeries along the cliffs; and a night in a hotel in Kirkenes decorated with artwork made from snow. A Sami Day & Reindeer Races package includes the annual Feb. 6 Sami National Day festivities and a reindeer racing championship in Tromso, while the Ice Hotel Adventure includes a cruise through several port cities, an overnight in the fishing village of Honnigsvag, and a night in the Alta Igloo Hotel, where beds, drinking glasses and everything else is carved from ice.
Fares include round-trip tickets from JFK, domestic land transfers and flights, land hotels, all meals onboard and port fees. Cruise fuel and airline fuel surcharges, air taxes, gratuities, ticketing fees and air add-ons from other airports are additional.
Details at 800-323-7436 or http://www.hurtigruten.us.
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Doll exhibit opening in Wisconsin museum
WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — More than 150 dolls representing ethnic groups from 65 different countries will soon be on display at the Waukesha County Museum.
The museum is collaborating with The Toy Museum of New York to feature the dolls representing ethnic groups from 65 different countries, including England, Ireland, Germany, France, Japan, China, India and Africa.
It will also showcase 11 dolls from local philanthropist Lisa Cudahy, who has been collecting since she was a child.
The exhibit will explain why dolls are found across cultures, what role they play in childhood and how they help children model adult behaviors.
"Dolls of the World: Customs, Cultures and Celebrations" starts Oct. 17 and runs through Jan. 30. The Waukesha museum's executive director, Kirsten Lee Villegas, said the exhibit will travel to other venues, but they don't have a definitive schedule yet.
Details at http://www.wchsm.org/.
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Plans for police force for tourists heading to Baja
SAN DIEGO (AP) — City officials in Mexico's Baja California state are drafting plans for a bilingual police force that caters to American tourists headed south of the border.
The plan, announced at San Diego City Hall, is to create a joint Mexican force that patrols a 50-mile tourist corridor from Tijuana through Playas de Rosarito to Ensenada. Tourism in the region has been battered by drug-fueled violence, congested border crossings and a weak economy.
San Diego police officers will help train the officers.
Details have not been worked out, but Tijuana Mayor Jorge Ramos says the joint force could have as many as 350 officers. There is no budget.
Rosarito already has a tourist police unit of about 30 officers, and Ensenada has one with about 20 officers.
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'Lens of Impressionism' opens soon at U. of Mich.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — An exhibition making its debut at the University of Michigan Museum of Art explores the relationship between photography and painting along the Normandy coast in mid-19th-century France.
It's titled "The Lens of Impressionism: Photography and Painting Along the Normandy Coast, 1850-1874." It runs to Jan. 3 in Ann Arbor before traveling to the Dallas Museum of Art from Feb. 21 to May 23.
"There has been a long discussion about how much influence that photography had on avant-garde painting, what became Impressionism," said Carole McNamara, the Michigan museum's senior curator of Western art. "Painters looked at photos, collected photos. Photographers were aware of painters."
The exhibition includes the work of painters Gustave Courbet, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet and Edgar Degas as well as photographers Gustave Le Gray and Henri Le Secq.
Archival materials related to tourism in the region also are a part of the exhibit. The photos, drawings and paintings on display include representations of beach scenes, seascapes, fishing villages and resorts.
"Photographers and painters were both using this imagery and capitalizing on the new industry of tourism," said McNamara, who organized the exhibition.
Some works are on loan from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, or the National Library of France.
Lectures and musical performances are planned this fall in Ann Arbor as part of the exhibition.
Details at http://www.umma.umich.edu.
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Outside magazine recommends iPhone apps for adventurers
NEW YORK (AP) — Outside magazine tested dozens of iPhone programs for outdoor adventures and settled on these five as the best apps, as described in the October issue:
—Google Earth, a free program that offers 3-D views, navigation and detailed high-resolution imagery.
—Topo Maps, $5, recommended as the cleanest of GPS-enabled U.S. Geological Survey topography applications, allowing you to easily plot your location.
—iTrailMap 3D, $5, which lets you track vertical distance and map a ski run, in real time, on a 3-D rendering of any ski resort in America.
—RiverGuide for Kayakers, $5, providing U.S. Geological Survey flow data for rivers.
—Surf, $5, providing Web cams, tides, and swell data for every major surf spot in the world.
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