This is a postscript to my letter “Pros and Cons of Tour Group Audio Systems” (Sept. ’08, pg. 15), with clarifications.

My wife, Janet, and I cruised the Danube from Vienna to Nürnberg with Grand Circle Travel (Boston, MA; 800/248-3737, www.gct.com), Nov. 24-Dec. 12, 2008. En route we visited Melk Abbey and the Christmas markets in Linz, Passau and Regensburg and at the cruise’s origin and destination.

In each of these venues, the shore tour entailed the use of personal audio...

I read with interest the reader’s account of being required to pay money to agents on a train traveling from Chisinau, Moldova, to Kiev, Ukraine (Dec. ’08, pg. 11).

According to www.bahn.de, the Chisinau-Kiev night train goes through Transnistria, stopping in the capital, Tiraspol. Almost certainly, the gentleman and his wife were hit up for money on this train by the Transnistria border guards. This is standard practice when transiting Transnistria (and it’s hard to get from Moldova...

I disagree with the statement made by the author of the article “Peru — Exploring Machu Picchu and Beyond” in the January ’09 issue. He stated, on page 24, “… most Peruvians speak little English, even those in the tourist industry.”

My wife and I visited Peru and Bolivia as part of a group in 2006. We stayed in modestly priced hotels and essentially were on our own for most meals. I can speak and read some Spanish but by no means am fluent, and my wife speaks very little Spanish....