Jetsettersblog

The Greater Washington metro area will be hosting “A Taste of Iceland” from Feb. 24 through 27. The multi-day event will feature Icelandic music, cuisine, film and culture throughout Washington, D.C., and Baltimore and Annapolis, Md.

The Mid-Atlantic region’s “Taste of Iceland” is designed to promote the country in advance of Icelandair’s first non-stop service to Iceland out of Washington Dulles International Airport on May 17.

Area residents will have the chance to sample dining from two of Iceland’s celebrity chefs, live musical performances by one of Reykjavik’s up-and-coming bands and the latest film release out of Iceland.

“A Taste of Iceland” is presented in part by Iceland Naturally (www.icelandnaturally.com), a partnership that includes Icelandic USA Inc., Icelandair, 66 North, The Blue Lagoon, Reyka Vodka, Icelandic Glacial Water, Islandsbanki, the City of Reykjavik, Keflavik Airport, Landsvirkjun and Promote Iceland.

Iceland Naturally, a combined council of Icelandic brands, displays Iceland through products that include pure glacial water, clean and renewable energy, sustainable fresh fish and travel experiences.

Sif Gustavsson, marketing director for Visit Iceland, said, “2010 was a banner year for Icelandic tourism, increasing the number of North American visitors by 17 percent, and we look forward to 2011 following suit.”

The week’s events will be hosted by DC Coast, Sushi Rock, Yellowfin, The Windup Space and The Charles Theater.

Highlights for “A Taste of Iceland” include For a Minor Reflection (FaMR), the Icelandic band comprised of four 21-year-olds, in three, free live shows on Feb. 24 and 25, 10 p.m. at Sushi Rock (www.sushirockdc.com) and on Feb. 26 at 10 p.m. at The Windup Space (www.thewindupspace.com); guest chef, Hakon Mar Ovarsson from Feb. 24 through Feb. 27 will put Icelandic cuisine on display at DC Coast Restaurant (www.dccoast.com ); and Chef Victor Orn Andresson, head chef at Blue Lagoon’s Lava Restaurant, just outside of Reykjavik, will be lending his cooking expertise to Yellowfin in Annapolis when he visits from Feb. 24 through 27 (www.yellowfinrestaurant.com).

Patrons of DC Coast, Yellowfin, Sushi Rock, The Windup Space and The Charles Theater will have an opportunity to enter a sweepstakes to win a trip to Reykjavik, Iceland.

The winner of the “Nightlife in Reykjavik” package will receive roundtrip air transportation from Washington, D.C. (IAD), three nights’ hotel accommodation in Reykjavik, Scandinavian buffet breakfasts, roundtrip airport/hotel transfer, “Let’s Talk Iceland” show at Restaurant Reykjavik, three-course dinner with admission to Ice Bar at Restaurant Reykjavik, “Taste the Saga” tour of Egills Brewery and a Blue Lagoon visit.

For more information on the sweepstakes, visit www.icelandnaturally.com/winatrip_nightlife.

Area movie goers will also have the opportunity to view the award-winning film, “Mr. Bjarnfredarson,” starring Jon Gnarr, comedian and mayor of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik.

A special screening of the movie will be held at The Charles Theater in Baltimore (www.thecharles.com ) on Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. The screening will be open to the public and will be free of charge. The television adaptation follows an over-educated know-it-all, who has just been released from jail for murder.

The movie combines humor, compassion and visual style. For more information, visit www.icelandnaturally.com

Prague-based Atypus Travel is suggesting a seven-day tour of the southern lands of Moravia and Bohemia features a close look at Baroque and Rococo castles, medieval towns and centuries-old chateaus with impressive wine cellars.

Complementing the cultural discoveries are walks in the orchid-dotted meadows of the White Carpathian Mountains and in the limestone Pálava Hills, both UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, and Sumava National Park, with its untouched wildlife.

The itinerary may be arranged any time of the year from group size to two persons.

From Vienna, the suggested itinerary visits Mikulov and southern Moravia, Slovácko, Buchlov Castle, Buchlovice Chateau, Velehrad, Slavonice, Telc, Trebon, Czesky Krumlov and Prague. The land cost starts from 1,230 euros per person for a group of three, including hotels, transport, guide services and more.

For more information, email atypus@atypus.cz  or info@atypus.cz  or visit www.atypus.cz  or www.atypustours.com

To celebrate the year of the Royal Wedding, The Athenaeum, Mayfair’s family-owned, five-star hotel located blocks away from Buckingham Palace, is offering guests an opportunity to experience the “Royal Treatment” during their stay.

Those who book a visit of two nights or more will be greeted with complimentary tickets to the “Enchanted Palace Tour,” an exhibit at Kensington Palace that weaves fashion, performance and dreamlike installations to depict the hidden stories of the princesses — including Victoria, Margaret and Diana — who once lived there.

The new Athenaeum Spa features exclusive treatments utilizing REN organic skincare products that are formulated with Bio Actives to boost the skin’s natural processes of protection, repair and renewal. As part of the “Royal Treatment” package, guests will have two 40-minute REN spa treatments for the price of one ($100) — either two REN Facials or two REN Massages.

For the finishing touch to the “Royal Treatment,” guests also will enjoy two Regents Park Honey Afternoon Teas for the price of one ($50). Available daily from 12:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. in the Athenaeum’s Garden Room, the Regents Park Honey Tea features a menu showcasing Regents Park honey made by bees in the Royal Gardens, including honeycomb Marquis, honey cake, honey cheesecake and honey-and-lavender macaroons.

Guests will receive a pot of special Athenaeum honey as a parting gift.

The Athenaeum’s Royal Treatment Package includes two tickets to the Enchanted Palace Tour at Kensington Palace; two spa treatments for the price of one ($100); two Afternoon Royal Honey Teas for the price of one ($50); free Wi-Fi and mini bar snacks.

Prices start at $699 and are valid to May 8.

Special arrangements must be made for April 28 and 29.

Guests must book two nights or more. The offer is subject to availability.

For more information, call 011-4420 7499 3464, email info@athenaeumhotel.com  or visit www.athenaeumhotel.com.

A two-hour walking tour in Frankfurt, follows the footsteps of the city’s native son, Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832).

In his autobiography entitled “Poetry and Truth,” Germany’s most illustrious poet described his Frankfurt years. The Frankfurt of Goethe´s Time, with a two-hour city walk, is conducted by a tour guide in a traditional costume.

Goethe was born in Frankfurt to a wealthy family. He studied law in Leipzig at his father’s wish and opened a small legal practice in 1771.

However, poetry was always more important to him, and the period before he took ministerial office at court in Weimar was one of the most productive of his life.

“The Sorrows of Young Werther,” inspired by his unrequited love for Charlotte Buff, quickly made him famous all over Europe.

At the same time in Frankfurt, he wrote “Götz von Berlichingen,” dramas such as “Clavigo and Stella,” and took the execution of Susanna Margaretha Brandt, who murdered her child, as the basis of the tragedy of “Gretchen in Faust.”

For more information, email citytours@infofrankfurt.de

or visit

www.frankfurt-tourismus.de.

Central Lapland’s Midnight Sun Film Festival (June 15 to 19) showcases cinematic and natural attractions in a five-day and five-night nonstop celebration of the best motion pictures from around the globe. Every year in June, the Midnight Sun Film Festival draws thousands of visitors to the village of Sodankylä in Finnish Lapland.

Founded in 1986 by a group of Finnish filmmakers, the annual event has hosted such celebrities of cinema as Terry Gilliam, Jim Jarmusch, Milos Forman and Francis Ford Coppola.

And it all takes place in a setting that is about 74 miles from the Arctic Circle, an area that is well known for some of the best of Finland’s natural attractions. Free of formality, the organizers maintain a relaxed and unpretentious ambiance.

They call it the spirit of Sodankylä — an informal and welcoming atmosphere in which the most celebrated directors rub shoulders with fledgling ones, amongst an audience comprised of international visitors and locals.

The festival is non-competitive and features are loosely categorized into three types — films by renowned directors, gems of new cinema and silent movies shown to the accompaniment of live music.

Films are screened at three venues for 24 hours a day, but as the sun shines as brightly at 4 a.m. as it does at 4 p.m., it’s easy to lose track of time.

For more information, visit www.visitfinland.com

After the success of the Vélib bike rental system in Paris, the city will introduce a new electronic car rental service.

Set to have 3,000 vehicles available for self-service in 1,000 stations throughout Paris and its surrounding areas, the Autolib is expected to be in full gear by fall. The cars are 100 percent electric, include GPS navigation systems, and are accessible in the heart of Paris 24/7.

The service also allows customers to reserve vehicles in advance, at both the origin and destination points. For more information, visit www.autolib-paris.fr

Turkey is making a case for visiting its wine regions. With more than 800 indigenous grape varieties, Turkey ranks sixth in the world for grape production, with also the sixth-largest grape-growing area, after Italy, China, the U.S., France and Spain, according to Wines of Turkey, the umbrella organization that represents the Turkish wine sector and aims to develop the wine market to increase exports.

At the 2010 London International Wine Fair, Turkey’s seven leading wineries drew the attention of experts and wine enthusiasts alike when almost three-quarters of the 39 Turkish entries in the International Wine Challenge (IWC) received awards. These wineries will be showcased again in London, on Feb. 24, during a “Discover the Roots — Inaugural Wines of Turkey” conference and tasting. Featuring leading wine experts, scientists, wine makers and master classes, the event will focus additional attention on the rapidly evolving wine industry of Turkey and its implications for not just exports to the rest of the world but the potential for Turkey to establish itself as a major wine destination for Americans as well as Europeans.

One of the speakers at the London conference is Dr. Patrick McGovern, a biomolecular archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania, who has specialized in the origins of wine. According to Wines of Turkey and McGovern, Turkey is part of a region where wine-making possibly originated by 7000 B.C. “You might say that we were looking for the viniculture Garden of Eden. The eastern Taurus, Caucasus and northern Zagros mountains have long been considered the world center of the Eurasian grape; this is the area where the species shows its greatest genetic variation and consequently where it might have been first domesticated,” McGovern said.

Already famous for its antiquities, including many of civilization’s most important archaeological sites, the addition of an ancient tradition of wine making enhances Turkey’s appeal as an international tourism destination. Turkey’s leading wineries (courtesy of Wines of Turkey) include Doluca.

Dating from 1926, Doluca now has over 35 wines in four different categories: red, white, rose and sparkling. For more information, visit www.doluca.com.

Kavaklidere was founded in 1929 and has a product range of 49 wines using the best Anatolian noble grapes. It is also growing international grape varieties in different Anatolian microclimates. Its wine production is carried out in Ankara, Cappadocia and Pendore in the Aegean region. For more information, visit www.kavaklidere.com.

Kayra produces wines from both indigenous Anatolian grapes as well as international grapes in two wineries, one in Thrace and the other in Eastern Anatolia, through the “on-site production” philosophy. The wide variety of Kayra wines offer diversity under the brands Kayra Imperial, Kayra Vintage, Buzbag Rezerv, Terra, Leona and Buzbag.

For more information, visit www.kayrawines.com.

Likya produces wines in the vicinity of Lycian ancient cities, between Arykanda and Oenoanda.

These cities used to be called Wiyanawanda in Hittite language.

Its portfolio includes red wines such as Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Kalecik Karasi, Okuzgozu, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, and white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay made from white grapes harvested chateau style at an altitude of 3,609 feet.

For more information, visit www.likyawine.co.uk.

Pamukkale was established in 1962 as a family company. Pamukkale’s vineyards are at an altitude of 2,953 feet in Guney, Denizli, in the Aegean region. Since 1989, 20 percent of its production has exported to Germany and France.

It has also been exported to the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria and other European countries. Its products include Senfoni, Anfora and Anfora Trio.

For more information, visit www.pamukkalesarap.com

Selendi produces a single brand of red wine every year using “chateau-style winemaking,” whereby grapes are carefully handpicked and processed on site. Quality takes precedence over quantity. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz wines are blended in different ratios until the most desirable taste produces the Selendi wine for that year.

For more information, visit www.selendi.com.tr

Sevilen, a family-run establishment, was founded in 1942 with just 10 acres of vineyards in Izmir on the western Aegean coast. It now has 395 acres of vineyards there and also produces grapes in the cool Mediterranean climate of the Anatolian plateau. For more information, visit www.sevilengroup.com

Vinkara produces grapes from vineyards at an altitude of 2,230 feet in Kalecik, northeast of Ankara, a registered wine region with a special climate and terroir nourished by the Kizilirmak River. Its portfolio includes domestic and international grape varieties. For more information, visit www.vinkara.com

For more information about the wines of Turkey, visit www.winesofturkey.org

Belgium’s Southern French-speaking region, Wallonia, has more castles per square mile than anywhere in the world. The French-speaking part of Belgium offers castle stays in such places as Chateau du Lac , Martin’s Manoir or Dolce la Hulpe all just outside Brussels.

The Belgian countryside features Sanglier des Ardennes (Durbuy), Auberge du Sabotier (Saint-Hubert), Chateau de Limelette (Louvain-la-Neuve), Chateau de la Poste (just outside Namur) or Chateau des Thermes (Chaudfontaine).

For more information, visit www.visitbelgium.com

Wyndham Rewards members looking to kick-start their point balance in 2011 now have the chance to earn up to quadruple points or airline miles for qualified stays at more than 6,500 hotels in over 20 countries with the launch of the loyalty program’s 2011 Spring Promotion.

Designed to help members reach free nights faster, travelers who register and begin staying at any participating Wyndham Rewards hotel by April 30, 2011, will receive double points or miles on their second stay, triple points or miles for their third stay and quadruple points or miles for their fourth stay.

Stays must be completed by May 7, 2011.

In addition, members who pay using their Wyndham Rewards Visa card will receive 1,000 bonus points for each of their second, third and fourth stays.

For full promotion details, or to apply, visit www.wyndhamrewards.com

Adding to the point earning potential, new Wyndham Rewards Visa cardholders earn a “first purchase” point bonus worth up to three free nights. Cardholders also earn up to five additional points per dollar spent at any participating Wyndham Rewards hotel and two additional points per dollar spent everywhere else.

For more information, visit www.wyndhamworldwide.com

Universal CityWalk in California has launched “The Awesome Date,” a flexible date night package featuring dinner for two at a participating restaurant, two movie tickets for the 19-screen CityWalk Cinemas, and valet parking for $25 per person.

The package is available Monday through Thursday and can be booked from 2 p.m. to 8 pm. Dinner menus include appetizers, entrees and beverages.

Participating restaurants are Andrew’s Panda Inn, Camacho’s Cantina, Samba Brazilian Steakhouse & Lounge, Wolfgang Puck Bistro, Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood, Buca di Beppo, Jillian’s, Johnny Rockets Restaurant & Sports Lounge, and the Karl Strauss Brewing Company.

To book a package, call 818-508-0711, ext. 305. For general information, visit www.universalstudioshollywood.com