TRAVEL
Home & Away with Robert Walshe 4 kids have launched their new annual A-Z of Ireland and believe they have produced the most useful book for parents in Ireland! The guide is jam packed with ideas for day trips whether you want somewhere local to home or are planning your staycation for 2011. Included are contact details and many entries having opening times and admission charges to help you plan your trips effectively and there are also many free attractions listed. The guide is currently available to buy from their website but are also seeking more outlets who wish to stock it, see their website for further details www.4kids.ie
Holiday Hotspot
Kempinski Hotels & Resorts my favourite luxury hospitality brand rolled into Bratislava last year bucking the trend and forging ahead with another new and wonderfully stylish opening. Topping the list of exquisite properties in the Vienna-Bratislava twin city region the River Park Bratislava combines the service-oriented brand-values that I have come to expect from Kempinski while establishing a new standard of true 5 star hospitality in Central Europe. The hotel has 191 rooms and 40 suites with the romantic river Danube alongside. I got to visit the Presidential Suite and could see the attractions that have drawn celebrities here from Bob Dylan to the President of Cyprus! Guests can choose one of six cafes and restaurants on site, including a cigar club and the executive floor offers private butler services. At either one of the twin cities airports, Kempinski’s guests can be picked up in a limousine or even the hotel’s own Rolls Royce; the transfer from Vienna can also be done by water on a new and regular ferry service. The rooftop Zion Spa has every luxury with a beautiful pool and a large hydrotherapy area. As for the dining; the breakfasts buffets were ample and stylish and I can imagine the “a la carte “was equally impressive. The River Park Bratislava is only steps away from the historical center of Bratislava. This city has blossomed into the quintessential post-communist Central European city, showing what can happen when a government and its people work together to rebuild a city. A decade ago, the city was virtually a ghost town. But today, Bratislava is down-
right charming, bursting with colorfully restored facades, lively outdoor cafes, swanky boutiques, in-love-withlife locals, and on sunny days — an almost Mediterranean ambience. Following the war, communists showed little interest in preserving the city’s heritage, razing the Jewish quarter to make way for their ultramodern New Bridge, erecting a highway that slices through the Old Town. With the fall of communism in 1989, the new government began a nearly decade-long process of sorting out building rights and returning them to their original owners. By 1998, most of these property issues had been resolved, and owners were encouraged to restore their buildings. The city also did its part, replacing all of the street cobbles, sprucing up public buildings, and making the Old Town traffic-free. Bratislava was reborn, and life returned with a vengeance. During the festive holidays, a Christmas market blankets the square. The buildings that surround this location date from different architectural periods, including Gothic and Art Nouveau. The city is busy transforming its entire Danube riverfront area into a people-friendly park. And just downstream from the Old Town is the futuristic Eurovea, resembling a computer-generated urban dreamscape come true. This development includes a riverside park, luxury condos, a modern shopping mall, and an office park. With 70,000 students at six universities, Bratislava has a youthful energy and optimism. You can feel their presence, especially at night. Because there are no campuses as such, the Old Town is the place where students go to play. And much of the partying goes on in former bomb shelters, built during the tense times around the Cuban Missile Crisis. The River Park property is the second Kempinski hotel in Slovakia, joining the Grand Hotel Kempinski High Tatras which opened in May 2009. Weekend packages start from 159 euros for a one night stay including a non alcoholic welcome drink upon checkin with buffet breakfast & Rolls Royce transfer to the” Old Town” (one way) if available www.kempinski.com
Weekly Best Buy
Stay in a baronial room at Kinnitty Castle in Co Offaly with dinner one evening in the Sli Dala restaurant &
Pet’s Corner...
Living
have a complementary pint of Guinness in the library from €145pps www.kinnittycastle.com The Strand Hotel in Limerick will include a €3 quickpick Lotto ticket with two-night packages until the end of August. The package, from €119pps, includes BB and dinner on one evening in the splendid River Restaurant. www.strandhotellimerick.com Beacon South n Kempinski America are running their River Park Bratilslava “ Discover Brazil “ speLobby. cial from September 1st to December 10th when you can spend a week between Rio de Janeiro and the beach resort of Buzios from €1,680, including flights and accommodation. Check out their website www.beaconsouthamerica.com See the best of the US this September with 3 nights in the 4* Doubletree Hotel in Manhattan and then fly to Vegas for 4 nights in n Bratislava Old Town. the Egyptian themed 3*+ Luxor Hotel from just €989 based on 4 sharing or €1129 based on 2 sharing. www.sunway.ie The arrival of summer heralds the start of the theatre season at Kilworth House in Leicestershire. The opulent VicThe 2011 Cork Cycling Festitorian hotel near Lutterworth has a val team is moving into the fast fabulous outdoor theatre in a wooded lane to prepare for the longest glade in its 38-acre grounds where it and most imaginative free event stages a lively programme of profes- of the year in Cork. For 9 days sional musical productions and one- from July 16th to July 24th a prooff shows from July -September. This gramme of bike-themed events year’s line-up includes productions will roll out across the city, all of The Pirates of Penzance, Little aimed at getting more people Shop of Horrors, Ken Dodd’s Happi- onto two wheels. ness Show, Bjorn Again, Blake, 10cc, This year’s festival will enand Last Night of the Proms. Thea- courage participation by visitre-break packages with tickets to a tors, supporting Cork City show, pre-theatre dinner, overnight Council & Fáilte Ireland’s plans stay and breakfast start at £100 per to make Cork a cycling tourism person, with dinner free for anyone hub. Guided daytime tourist booking a second night’s stay www. cycles will take place, as well prideofbritainhotels.com/kilworth_ as bike-sharing and bike-hire house/ initiatives. Jam-packed programmes of events by day and Robert Walshe is a freelance con- night are planned, building on tributor / broadcaster and guest the strengths of the past three travel writer for River Media news- festivals. paper titles across the island of IreThe My Lovely Bike beauty pagland eant returns, as well as themed
Home and Away Extra evening cycles through the city and a range of family friendlyevents. A curated art exhibition will run for the duration of the festival, this year expanding to incorporate a children’s art section at Cork City Library. Workshops for repairing and improving bicycles will give plenty of opportunity to revamp rusty wheels. The 2011 festival will include two new parades, Sound Out! and Cycle of Light, as well an outdoor cycling fashion show, Back to the Future. The festival will pilot an exciting new global bike-sharing initiative, Second Wheel, which will allow visitors to the city to borrow bicycles for events. The project is being developed in Cork, with plans to establish an international community of participants. www.corkcyclingfestival.com
with Kathleen Murray
Pedigree v. Mongrel – the choice with Kathleen Murray: Animal Behavioural Therapist
What is the right dog for me? What are the advantages of getting a pedigree dog and what are the advantages of getting a mongrel dog? If you buy a pedigree dog then you have a history of where the dog came from. The pedigree form has the names of several generations of your dogs relatives on it. You will know the mother and father, the grandparents etc. You will know if any of the dogs on the pedigree form have won anything at dog shows (if they are champions). Pedigree dogs are bred for specific purposes. Some are herding dogs, some are gun
dogs, some are “toy” dogs (lapdogs) etc. so you will know what the dog is most likely to be attracted to e.g. a springer spaniel like to run over to hedges and bark, a border collie likes to herd things even children, a husky likes to run, a terrier type dog likes to hunt mice etc. Dogs work with the instincts that their type is bred to work with. Some pedigree dogs are prone to certain types of medical problems. Please don’t ignore this fact as veterinary costs can be quite high. Money-wise alone, pedigree dogs can cost a lot of money. First you have to buy the dog, then you need to pay attention
to grooming. Some dogs need a lot of grooming and this is another frequent and regular bill for you to allow for. Pedigree dogs often develop behaviour problems as their owners think of them as more than a dog (because they paid a lot of money for it) and this can lead to trouble. Mongrel dogs have their ups and downs also. You can get beautiful cross breed (mongrel) dogs at dog shelters or dog pounds. Mongrels tend to have fewer medical problems than pedigree dogs. Because their blood lines are more hap-hazard they can go their whole lifetime with only the necessary trips (vac-
cinations and neutering etc.) to the vet. Mongrels can have any kind of behaviour as the breeding is unknown. This is not a bad thing. They tend to have friendly personalities and can be very intuitive and playful (if brought up properly, like any dog). I have a “Joe Soap” average looking collie (sheepdog). She is not a pedigree dog. She is 13 years old and that little dog has been the greatest companion anyone could want. She has worked her whole life to make life better for other dogs by demonstrating to farmers, children in schools, private individuals etc. what dogs are
capable of. She has never been sick in her life although her heart is weak now as she is older. She is in great form, sharp as a button and I wouldn’t part with her for anything. She will be a great loss when she goes. I also have pedigree dogs (given to me) which have cost a fortune over time in vets bills and in grooming care, so getting a
dog is a very personal thing. One is as good as the other if brought up the right way. No matter what dog you pick please make sure you get it neutered if you are not an above board, full time breeder, otherwise you risk adding to the population of unwanted dogs as your dog will breed with some “ship that passes in the night”... or day.