LTU Special Winter Fares
LTU, the German airline, is now offering a $598 roundtrip to Düsseldorf and Munich from Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Las Vegas and Phoenix. The flights are on Thursdays only and are nonstop from Los Angeles to Düsseldorf with connections to Frankfurt. Travel must be completed by March 14. Departures through December 14 include a free rental car for one week. For the December 21 departure add $100. There is a 7-day advance purchase requirement and other restrictions.
Book through a travel agent or call LTU at 800-888-0200. Fax your reservation request to LTU at 800-898-9140.
Winter Travel Packages
DER Tours has just released Europe on Your Own, a collection of European winter travel products including its "Christmas Markets From Munich" package priced from $658 per person.
These one-week tours begin December 2 and 9 and include hotel accommodations with breakfast; motorcoach excursions to Christmas markets in Nürnberg, Salzburg and Rothenburg; excursions to Linderhof Castle and Oberammergau; English-speaking guides; admission to all sights; city tours; welcome reception; farewell dinner; flight bag and an inflatable neck pillow.
There are also numerous city packages ranging from two nights in London, including a tour of the city for $139 per person, to a Rome-Florence-Venice nine-night arrangement, for from $1128 to $2118, that includes air tickets from the U.S. to Rome with return from Venice, hotel with breakfast, a tour of each city, first-class rail tickets between cities and a free guidebook.
The Munich Holiday package, from $798 to $2568, depending on hotel, U.S. point of origin and time of travel, is airfare plus six nights hotel, city tour, free guide book and Munich Welcome card for free public transport and local discounts. Similar deals are available for Berlin and Frankfurt. Two-night arrangements begin at $155.
For a copy of the brochure, fax DER at 800-860-9944.
Online Travel Help
The Austrian National Tourist Office has established a page on the Internet's World Wide Web (austria.info/us) The site is for the U.S. market only and while it includes a complete listing of events there is limited information about hotels.
Switzerland Tourism (former Swiss National Tourist Office) reports their WWW site will be up and running in "about two months."
Other WWW sources for online travel info are:
The Rough Guides
Internet Hostel Guide (http://www.hostels.com/)
New Swiss Currency
Switzerland has a new 50-franc note, the first to bear the portrait of a woman - artist Sophie Täber-Arp, who died in 1943. The new note is also the first in a series designed to make counterfeiting more difficult. Those of you who have a suitcase full of them at home are advised that the 500-franc note will soon be discontinued.
Swissair Awards
Swissair has been named "Most Punctual Airline" in a readers' poll of Britain's Business Traveler magazine. In addition, Swissair was named "Best International Carrier" in a survey of travel agents; "Best Airline Worldwide" in a poll conducted among travel trade managers by Germany's Holiday Magazine; and was voted the leading European carrier in the Zagat Airline Survey.
October 1995
