Vienna Opera Dark For 18 Months
The Vienna Staatsoper will use the summer break - normally July and August plus the period from September through mid-December 1994 - to do some reconstruction of its stage and install a state-of-the-art hydraulics system. While the opera house is closed the company will tour Japan and then set up a temporary home at Theater an der Wien. More details are expected in June.
The Hofburg Reopens
Major portions of Vienna's Imperial Palace which were closed for repair following the November fire have been re-opened. These include the Imperial Treasury (in our view one of Vienna's most fascinating exhibits), the Grand Hall of the Austrian National Library and the famous Spanish Riding School.
Eastern Germany Castle Hotels
The Castle Hotel Association, Gast im Schloss, has added two hotels in eastern Germany, the first properties in the new states to be accepted by the association.
Newcomer Schloss Eckberg is a 19th century neo-gothic structure built on a hill at the edge of the Elbe river and surrounded by a 37-acre park with pond and rock garden.
The town of Eisenach is best known for Wartburg Castle, a German national monument built 925 years ago. It is where Martin Luther completed his translation of the New Testament. Richard Wagner used the castle as the setting for his opera Tannhauser. A portion of the castle has been converted and is now the Wartburghotel.
The Gast im Schloss 1992/93 Directory contains full color photos and a description in English of each of its member hotels. Also included in the book are 10 castle-to-castle tours, including one tracing castles and wine along the Rhine and another following the Fairy Tale Road.
For a free copy of the directory contact the German Tourist Office, 122 42nd St., 52nd floor, New York NY 10168, tel. 212-223-2323, or 11766 Wilshire Blvd. #750, Los Angeles CA 90025, tel. 310-575-9799.
Europe Hotel Discounts
Swissair's European Travel Invention brochure details numerous money-saving plans available April 1 through October 31. For example:
1. The Swiss Travel Invention part of the program offers accommodations in 200 Swiss hotels and guest houses in six price categories starting at $37 per person.
2. Hotel rates in nine major European cities Zürich, Geneva, Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Rome and Salzburg at prices ranging from $24 to $72. The brochure contains a photo of each hotel.
3. Interhome rentals of apartments, chalets and villas throughout Europe.
4. A coupon worth $50 toward your next holiday. Contact: Swisspak 800-688-SWISS.
(U.S. Dollar prices quoted in this issue of Gemütlichkeit may be inaccurate for these reasons:
* Prices in local currency have not been updated since the date of publication of this newsletter, and...
* The dollar prices shown were obtained by using exchange rates in effect at the time of publication.)
March 1993
