Bach museumFans of one of Germany’s greatest composers, Johann Sebastian Bach, will be able to learn more about his life, works and family when the new Bach Museum opens March 20 in Leipzig, Germany.
It will include an interactive multimedia exhibit, a treasure chamber with original Bach manuscripts, and exhibits including a casket with relics from Bach’s tomb. There also will be a garden, audio room and museum cafe.
The museum will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. Admission is 6 euros for adults and free for children 16 and younger . Its Web site is www.bach-leipzig.de.
Alsatian adventuresIf you’re interested in exploring Alsace — the French area just across the border from Germany — the regional tourist board has organized a number of packages that appeal to many interests. Listed prices are per person, double occupancy.
• Wine connoisseurs can try the “Safari in the Alsatian Vineyard.” Participants are given a walking tour of the Zinnkoepflé vineyard with the wine grower to learn about growing grapes, after which they sample wines. There’s also a second wine tasting at Zellenberg and a visit to the Munster cheese dairy. The cost is 189 euros for two nights in a two-star hotel in Rouffach, breakfasts, two Alsatian dinners, safari, cheese tasting and wine tasting.
• Flower lovers might prefer the “Les Folies d’Jardins,” a garden stay in Les Trois Epis. This package lets participants visit local gardens between May 15 and July 15. The price is 144 euros and includes two nights of accommodations in a flowered room, breakfasts, two dinners, visits to gardens with owners’ receptions and a small flower gift.
• City-goers might prefer to see Strasbourg and Colmar. The package costs 120 or 130 euros and includes a night’s accommodation with breakfast in Colmar, a visit to the Unterlinden Museum, dinner in Colmar, lunch in Strasbourg and the Strasboug Pass.
Other tour themes include hiking, bike rides, gastronomy, arts and crafts and fitness.
Find more details under “Holiday Packages” at www.tourisme-alsace.com/en.
Basketball campIf you’re 11 to 19 years old and love to play basketball, you can test your skills against players from across Europe at the International Basketball Camp in Würzburg, Germany, this summer.
The camp has three sessions: Camp 1 runs from July 30 to Aug. 3; Camp 2 is Aug. 3-7; and Camp 3 is July 30 to Aug. 7. Participants are divided into groups, with several groups for boys only and the rest including girls, who make up about 30 percent of the participants. Instruction is in English and German.
The daily program includes conditioning exercises, station drills, scrimmages, competitions and an evening program with coaching staff from professional basketball teams. The facilities have seven full courts and two half-court areas indoors and two outdoor full courts, a full track, and weight and conditioning rooms. There is also an onsite restaurant.
The cost for Camps 1 and 2 is 250 euros. The cost for Camp 3 is 475 euros. The price includes basketball instruction, use of the complex, supervised accommodation with separate quarters for boys and girls, full board, total basketball immersion, medical supervision with on-site physician, T-shirt and jersey and training handbook and personal evaluation.
For details, contact Scherer Tours by telephone at (+49) (0)931-409046 or by e-mail at scherer_tours@t-online.de.
Gardens Web siteGarden lovers will want to check out the Web site www.gardenvisit.com.
Launched by Tom Turner, a landscape architect and garden historian based in London, the site lists garden tours on five continents.
For those who would prefer to visit gardens on their own, he lists public gardens with information about each and their Web sites.
He has quite a list. For example, in Europe, he includes 136 gardens in Germany, 793 in England, 160 in Italy, 160 in France, 66 in Spain, 57 in Holland and 29 in Portugal.
The site also offers information on garden products, garden designers and landscape architecture.
Best BetsSWITZERLAND: Catch the newest models, concept cars and prototypes through March 14 at Geneva’s International Motor Show.
From the Alpha Romero Guilietta and BMW Series 3 Coupe LCI to the Volkswagen Cross Polo and Volvo S60, the show attracts many of the world’s top premieres, exhibitors and innovations, such as Honda’s three-wheeled battery electric 3R-C, a design for a future urban vehicle.
Check out other electric cars and alternative-powered cars, special bodywork, converted cars and new accessories and parts, as well as enjoy other attractions.
The show is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the weekend. Admission is 14 Swiss francs (about $13.40) for adults, 8 Swiss francs for ages 6 to 16. Find more details at www.salon-auto.ch.
— Jayne Traendly
