Sled dogs in Scotland
U.K. residents don’t have to go to the Alps to experience the thrills of sled-dog racing. They can head up to Scotland’s Cairngorm Mountains and the Cairngorm Sleddog Centre in Aviemore.
The owners have a long history with sled dogs — one of them has qualified for next month’s Alaskan Iditarod — and are currently working with 30 practicing dogs.
The center conducts day and evening trips with dog-sled teams at a cost of 60 pounds (about $97) for adults and 40 pounds for children. It also offers overnight trips with a cabin stay for 85 pounds per person and a two-person daytime safari for 175 pounds per person. Trips are available even when there is no snow on the ground.
Those who would like to learn something about the sport can take a kennel and museum tour at 8 pounds for adults and 4 pounds for children, while those who are serious about racing can sign up for a two-day sled-dog course approved by the Euro Sled-dog Federation for 255 pounds.
More information is available on the center’s Web site, www.sled-dogs.co.uk.
Slovenia in April
Visit the popular seaside resort and nightlife city of Portoroz, Slovenia, with a side trip to Pula, Croatia, April 9-14 on a tour organized by Interra Reisen. It can be reserved through your local USO.
The overnight bus leaves from Wiesbaden, Kaiserslautern, Heidelberg and Böblingen. The itinerary includes free time in Portoroz to enjoy the beach, nightlife and other activities and a visit to Pula, the largest city of the Istria peninsula. Optional tours include a visit to Venice (79 euros), and one to Postojna’s caves and a Lipica farm famous for its Lipizzaner stallions (59 euros).
The cost is 399 euros per person, double occupancy, and includes round-trip bus transportation, four overnights in a three-star spa hotel by the Adriatic Sea, breakfasts and dinner the first night. The charge is 349 euros for children 3-12, and 170 euros for those younger than 3. More details through the USO.
Napoleon in Rome
From Monday to May 25, the Museo Napoleonico Romano in Rome will be showing a special exhibit of art, jewelry and war mementoes of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
Included in the exhibition are personal pieces illustrating the grandeur of the emperor’s Imperial Court: drawings, painting, miniatures, pocket watches, furnishings, clothing and porcelains. Other works are devoted to Napoleon in battle and Napoleon on Saint Helena, where he spent his last years.
The exhibition is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Tickets cost 5.50 euros. For more details, go to http://en.museonapoleonico.it.
Anglo-Saxon exhibit
The largest discovery of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver will be displayed in the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent, England, from Saturday to March 7.
The Staffordshire Hoard was found in July 2009 by a private metal detector. Most of the 1,500 pieces, the majority of them gold war pieces from the battlefield in the heart of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, appear to date from the seventh century. The collection has been valued at about $5.3 million.
Eighty of the most important pieces will be on display.
The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 2-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.
More information on the museum Web site, www.visitstoke.co.uk/Staffordshirehoard.aspx.
Best betsFRANCE: It’s the Year of the Tiger beginning Sunday, a time that, according to the Chinese calendar, is associated with change and uncertainty. The Chinese community in Paris marks the arrival of this courageous and adventurous cat with a celebration Sunday between the Place d’Italie and the Porte de Choisy in the city’s 13th arrondissement. A colorful procession starts at 2 p.m. at the l’Hôtel de Ville and makes its way to the celebration site, where there will be fire-cracker shows, music, performances, red lanterns and lion dances. For those who miss this parade, a second is scheduled for Feb. 21, beginning at 1:30 p.m. around 44 Avenue Ivry in the 13th arrondissement. For the official program, see www.chine-informations.com/nouvelanchinois (in French). The Paris Web site is http://en.parisinfo.com; click on “Top Events in 2020,” then “Festivals” and “Nouvel an Chinois.”
GERMANY: Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan, both starring in Roman Polanski’s “The Ghost Writer,” and Leonardo DiCaprio, starring in Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island,” are among the guests expected at this year’s Berlinale, Berlin’s film festival, which runs through Feb. 21. Held at the Potsdamer Platz, this year’s event celebrates its 60th anniversary, again with up to 400 films divided into several categories: bigger international films in “Competition”; the independent art productions and documentaries in “Panorama”; German films in “German Kino”; experimental in “Forum”; and children’s and youth films in “Generation.” Panel discussions, exhibitions and parties round out the program. Ticket prices for screenings range from 4 to 7 euros. For the complete program and reservations, go to www.berlinale.de.
• According to Mainz’s motto, “die Fassenacht kennt keine Krise” (“Fasnacht knows no crisis”). The city’s carnival party is in full worry-free swing through Monday (Rosenmontag) with parades, dinners and costumed balls. The highlight on Monday is the four-mile-plus grand parade with thousands of participants and more than 100 floats. It begins at 11:11 a.m. from the corner of Josefsstrasse and Boppstrasse and winds down to the Rhine River and back up past the cathedral, train station and Schillerplatz to end in Binger Strasse. Be prepared with a funny hat, warm clothes, a bag to collect candy thrown from the floats and a strong voice to shout “Helau!” More information under the Mainz tourist board at www.mainz.de; there is an English version.
• Heidelberg’s Stadthalle is the site of Saturday’s 36th annual Vampire Ball, one of the area’s biggest carnival parties. According to sponsors, guests can either arrive looking like vampires or “other equally ghoulish creatures,” or have make-up artists on site give them the right look. Bands playing rock, funk, soul and jazz will be performing on four different stages. Tickets are available through the Heidelberg and Mannheim USOs for 29 euros — they cost 34 euros at the door — and through www.ticketonline.com.