Opera in Europe for young opera lovers

Several opera houses in Europe have come together to create a somewhat bizarre special offer for young opera lovers: A 5-opera European passport valid for a select number of opera houses and performances across Europe for just EUR 90 for the 2007-2008 season. Only individuals 30 years old or younger are eligible to buy the pass.

The offer is slightly bizarre because it combines the concept of affordable opera (it comes up to just EUR 18 per opera) but at the same time requires you to travel around Europe and incur in high transportation and hotel costs (going from Brussels to Warsaw, to Geneva, Barcelona, Copenhagen and then Glasgow and more…) to use the 5-opera pass, since you are only allowed to go to the same opera house at most twice.

The concept is not bad, but it should maybe be complemented by a lodging-exchange program among pass holders (maybe it exists but is not mentioned on the official website).  The other thing they do not mention is the kind of tickets you get – if you get orchestra seats, it would be a great deal, even if you only went to 2-3 operas, but if you get the cheapest  ones, you might get obstructed view tickets with almost no view of the stage at all in some opera houses, such as the Liceu in Barcelona.

Brussels Airlines holiday sale

Brussels Airlines has decided to have another airfare sale during the holiday period – from December 24 to January 6 for 50 destinations within Europe.

This time, they are offering different suggestions every day, which sounds like a trick to make you go to the website every day to see if the cities you are interested in have a deal that day…

Travel can begin as of January 31 and has to finish by the end of August. For more info, check out their flyer or their website.

Family activities for the holidays

Here are a couple of activities for families with kids staying in Brussels these holidays (also good for adults, but you can take the kids as an excuse to visit…):

Dinosaur gallery at the science and natural history museum in Brussels: An impressive collection of dinosaur skeletons, easy to navigate, informative and fun for kids and adults (and manageable for an afternoon, as it is not too large but still big enough to make the visit worthwhile). Check out the website for special workshops and activities for kids, such as the paleontology lab. (The museum is closed on Dec 24, 25, 31 and January 1st)

La Balade des Gnomes: A fairytale hotel in the Belgian countryside, ideal for a weekend getaway. Local activities in the area include hiking (maybe too cold for this time of year), skiing, an adventure activity park, and more, which you can read about on the website.

If you’re looking for the all-out version of a fantasy world and don’t mind a longer drive, consider a trip to Germany’s Phantasialand, which is hailed as one of the best amusement parks in Europe and maybe a better option for the winter. The park is in Bruehl, just outside of Cologne.

Vueling special offer to Spain

Spanish low-cost airline Vueling is having a special 2×1 offer through December 19: Fly with a friend and your friend flies free. Of course, since you still have to pay the taxes, you might end up saving only a few euros from the actual flight fees, but it’s still worth checking out.

When flying out of Brussels, destinations include Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Valencia and Sevilla. Travel can be completed through March 31, 2008…. not a bad idea for a sunny weekend to escape from the cold Brussels winter!

Brussels Airlines refunds

On the odd occasion, you might need to cancel a flight. All airlines will charge you a cancellation fee (EUR 35 for Brussels Airlines last time I checked – a couple of days ago), and in many cases the fare is not refundable.

What airlines do not tell you is that taxes are always refundable, so in most cases, it might be worth paying the EUR 35 cancellation fee, so you can at least get some money back.

However, keep in mind that the refund might take up to 2 months to be processed, and if you forget about it in that time, chances are the airline will conveniently forget too…

Which means you might want to set a reminder on your calendar to ask them about your refund, and as many people increasingly do, tell them that your brother is a lawyer with plenty of time in his hands…

Beware UGC Toison d’Or food

If you happen to go the UGC movie theater at Porte de Namur and decide to get some food or drinks at their concessions stands, be advised that the products they sell there might not be in good condition.

As stated in a casual conversation by one of their employees: “The storage room is very hot, so we often have problems with products going bad…”

And of course, they still sell the products… so if you get a sparkling drink or refreshment that has no bubbles in it, now you know why… (avoid in particular San Pellegrino – some friends and I have encountered problems with that product in several different places around Brussels – it might well be that that particular brand is more sensitive to heat…)

December Sunday shopping in Brussels

The department store Inno has announced its Sunday shop openings for this month: December 16 and December 23 from 10h00 to 19h00 (its three stores in Brussels: Rue Neuve, Louise, Woluwe)…

… this of course means that many other shops (and malls like the Woluwe Shopping Center, City 2 and others) in Brussels will be open as well those two days, so… Happy shopping!

Thalys sale to Paris and Germany

Thalys has a special sale: EUR 25 each way to Paris in 2nd class (EUR 50 in 1st) and EUR 19 one way to Aachen or Cologne (EUR 29 in 1st).

The sale started yesterday (Nov 30) and runs through December 20, and is good for travel between December 15 and March 16, 2008. If you’re planning to travel on weekends, book early as seats are limited. Also remember that you can only book Thalys tickets up to 3 months in advance, so if you want to travel on the last day of the offer, you will have to wait until mid December to be able to buy your ticket.

Offer is only bookable online.