Golf & basketball campsScherer Tours has organized two sports camps this summer for young athletes who want to improve their games.
Basketball players ages 11 to 19 can hone their skills at the annual Basketball Camp Würzburg. The camp provides instruction by a top international staff in a facility that includes seven indoor full courts and two half-court areas, plus two outside full courts, track, weight and conditioning room and on-site accommodation and restaurant.
The daily program includes conditioning, station drills, scrimmages, stretching and an evening program. Participants play the equivalent of nine games at each session.
Two five-day sessions run Aug. 1-5 and Aug. 5-9 and cost 245 euros. A nine-day session runs Aug. 1-8 and costs 460 euros.
The price includes basketball instruction, use of the facilities, supervised accommodations (separate for boys and girls), full board with energy carbohydrate diet, medical supervision, T-shirt, jersey, training handbook and personal evaluation.
Youth ages 10-18 who want to improve their golf swing can do so at the Golf Camp at Golfclub Kitzingen. The international team of instructors uses a technique-oriented program to impart golfing skills and emphasize the social aspects of the game.
The daily program includes conditioning, stations and play and an evening program of games and theory. On departure day there will be a modified Ryder Camp competition. Optional activities also are available.
Two five-day sessions run Aug. 8-14 and Aug. 14-18 and cost 395 euros. The nine-day session runs Aug. 10-18 and costs 695 euros.
The price includes golf instruction, use of the club’s sports facilities, supervised accommodation (separate for boys and girls), full board, video analysis, camp competitions, camp T-shirt and personal evaluation.
Find more details at Scherer Tours at telephone (+49) (0)931-409046 or e-mail scherer_tours@t-online.de.
Goya exhibitOn May 2, 1808, a group of armed resistance fighters in Madrid, Spain, rose against the French army in their city, sparking a new nationalism and the beginning of the Spanish War of Independence.
To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the event, the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid is showing a major exhibition of Francisco Goya, an engraver and court painter for the Spanish Crown in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Two of his paintings memorialized the uprising and the execution by the French of some of the patriots who led it.
“Goya in Times of War” is divided into sections starting in the last years of the 1800s. The exhibit pairs phases of Spanish history with the artist’s life and development. Through his paintings, drawings and prints, it studies the critical points in his life and examines his relationship to power — an aspect, says the museum, that hasn’t often been considered.
The exhibit begins April 15 and runs until July 13.
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Best BetsBELGIUM: The tourist board rates Herve’s Cavalcade, which takes place at 2 p.m. Monday, as one of the most spectacular processions in the Liège province. What began as a popular county fair has become a colorful folk parade of more than 1,000 participants and musicians. Fireworks end the evening at 9:30 p.m.
Antique and flea market lovers will want to head to Ciney this Friday through Monday for its biannual flea market and antique fair at the fairgrounds. Hundreds of exhibitors will be both inside and outside the covered market. The fair is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday through Monday. Admission is 8 euros for adults, 4 euros for children 12 and younger.
NETHERLANDS: According to its Web site, the Keukenhof gardens are the most photographed place in the world. The gardens, which open Thursday and remain open until May 18, cover about 80 acres and blossoms with tulips in 100 varieties, hyacinths, daffodils and other spring bulbs. Walk along the almost 10 miles of paths and enjoy the floral displays as well as exhibition pavilions and children’s playground. This year also features the world’s largest tulip. The park is open 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily. Admission is 13.50 euros for adults and 6 euros for children 4-11. Parking is 6 euros per car. Bicycles also can be rented at the entrance for 8.50 euros per day for use outside the park.
ITALY: On Easter, the citizens of Florence not only celebrate the resurrection but also pray that a ritual resulting in exploding fireworks is successful so that they will have luck through the year. The Scoppio del Carro (“Explosion of the Cart”) has its roots in the First Crusade in 1099 Jerusalem with shards of stone from the Holy Sepulcher. They started a fire during Holy Week, the flame of which was carried through the city streets as a religious relic. Today’s Easter morning ritual includes a procession in which the holy flame is carried in a cart to the cathedral. Inside, it lights a rocket that travels out of the building on a wire to ignite fireworks bound to the cart. The procession starts at 10 a.m. with the explosion at 11 a.m.
SCOTLAND: This year marks the 20th anniversary of Edinburgh’s International Science Festival. Designed to appeal to both adults and families, its program includes talks and lectures on topics such as climate change, thermodynamics and hypnotism; hands-on family activities such as designing robots, blasting into space, unwrapping a mummy and digging up a dinosaur; and lectures at the Royal Botanic Gardens.
