NEWS for the TRAVELER
Looking for a change in locale for your winter skiing? If you have a chance to take a European vacation and are an avid ski enthusiast, you'll find 1,000 miles of well-groomed cross-country ski tracks through Finnish Lapland, and snow-laden trees sparkling in the sun throughout the rest of Finland, too.
Cross-country skiing is a way of life in Finland, actually the country's national winter pastime. For centuries, skiing was the only means of transportation, especially in the far north of Finland, and thus this method of travel became a natural form of exercise.
Throughout the country the trails are well marked with colored bunting and maps. Trails vary in length to accommodate your skills and endurance, with waxing stations posted along the routes and a few stations where you can pick up hot drinks and snacks. Boots and skis can be rented or bought inexpensively anywhere in the country, and you can take then aboard trams or buses without anyone fussing.
If you wnat to know more about skiing in Finland, write for a free Winter Finland brochure to: Finland National Tourist Office, 75 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10019.
The Elbow Beach Hotel offers a package during the resort's "Rendevous season, " effective through March 15, 1981, giving vacationers a chance to explore this little island.
For six days and five nights, adventurers can browse around the Bermuda Museum, gaze at fish at the Bermuda Aquarium, and explore the Crystal Caves and the perfume factory, with admissions to all these included in the package. In addition, one complimentary luncheon at Palmetto Bay, transportation to and from Hamilton for a day excursion, plus breakfast, afternoon tea, and dinner served daily are part of the package. Prices per person double occupancy are $255 minimum accomodations, $300 standard, $335 superior, and $390 for junior suites. Single rates are $373, $463, $533, and $643 respectively. Air fare is not included in the package.
Additional information may be obtained from Robert F. Warner Inc., 71 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017.
A meseum entirely devoted to the two Hollywood comedians, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, is located in the small town of Ulverston, in England's Lake District, Laurel's birthplace. Housed in a 17th-century building, the museum is full of posters, programs, portraits of the pair. Laurel and Hardy films are shown from time to time in the museum, which is open only on Thursdays. The address is 7 King Street, Ulverston, Cumbria, England.
The s.s. Rotterdam has been scheduled for a series of 7-day cruises from Vancouver, B.C. to Alaska from June 25 through August 27, 1981, replacing the previously scheduled 7-day cruises of the m. s. Prinsendam. The Rotterdam will call at Ketchikan, Juneau, Stika and Victoria. All but four of these cruised, between July 23 and August 13 will include cruising through Glacier Bay.
Passengers will have the choice of booking the full 7-day cruise or combining a portion of the cruise with a variety of overland Alaska air/sea/land packages offered by Westours, Inc. Reservations may be made through Holland America Cruises Two Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10121, or through Westours.
A landmark in east Baltimore for over fifty years, Haussner's Restaurant is known locally as "the restaurant with the paintings." All are originals, including oils by Gainsborough, Van Dyck and Rembrandt. Two thousand meals are served daily, by a team of more than 200 employees, and each meal is made to order. All baking is done on the premises, and an excellent choice for dessert is strawberry pie. Everyday Haussner's uses about 300 pounds of fresh strawberries, flown in from California, to make the pies.
German cuisine is a specialty at the restaurant, with dishes such as Wiener Schnitzel a la Hostein and Hasenpfeffer offered. But the menu includes some forthy meat dishes, sixty seafood entrees, and at least thirty kinds of sandwiches. One warning -- no dinner reservations may be made, so there is apt to be a line outside the restaura nt door, and no credit cards are accepted.