REPORT ON GERMANY…

In Dresden, the Historisches Grünes Gewölbe, or Historic Green Vault (Residenzschloss, Dresden, Germany; phone +49 [0] 351/49 14 2000), is a treasure chest! Each room is a spectacle in itself, with gilding, mirrors, tables and small shelves, and each had a different type of treasure.

My husband and I saw an ivory-and-tortoise-shell room, a bronzes room and an ostrich-eggs-and-silver room. A jewel room had “garnitures,” complete sets of...

REPORT ON MALTA…

During a visit to Valletta, Malta, July 25-28, 2011, my son and I stayed at the Castille Hotel (Castille Square, c/w St. Paul’s St., Valletta; phone +356 2122 0173), which offered comfortable rooms and a staff who went out of their way to make our visit a pleasure.

At €90 ($129) per night, our room on the second floor (there is an elevator, but the marble staircase was fun to climb) was large, with high ceilings and an updated bathroom. A...

COMPARING AIRLINES...

Having booked a Star Alliance flight from San Francisco to Frankfurt many months ahead, my wife, Joan, and I were excited when it was announced in early May 2011 that Lufthansa was inaugurating service on this route with the new Airbus 380. Here is some feedback on our flights.

The upper cabin has eight first-class seats and 98 business-class seats (where we were seated); 420 economy-class seats are on the lower deck. The business-class cabin is huge, and...