Photo by photovienna

What’s coming up and closing out?

1. Flycheapo tells us that Spanish low-cost carrier Clickair is set to get rid of check-in altogether. Don’t tell the FAA.

2. The Czech Tourist Authority reminds us that a plethora of beer festivals pop up all over the Czech Republic every summer, most stretching from mid-August through October. For those looking for a beer fest break before August, the Rokytnice nad Jizerou beer festival runs July 20 to 22.

3. You’ve got just one more day to take advantage of Iceland Express’ summer Icebreaker fares. Good for travel through August 31, promotional fares are as inexpensive as €151 (or £102 or SEK1420 among other currencies) per roundtrip, including taxes. The fares are good for travel to Reykjavík from Copenhagen, Eindhoven, Frankfurt Hahn, Gothenberg, Oslo, Paris, and Stockholm. We just did our customary fare check and found many available fares just slightly more expensive than the Icebreaker promo fares.

4. EasyJet introduces a new airplane prototype that will emit considerably less carbon dioxide. Right on.

5. Is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (see above) about to have a moment? This past weekend in the FT, Bertrand Benoit writes a little ode to the eastern German state. Benoit waxes on about Schwerin and Heiligendamm, the latter recently in the news as the location of this year’s G8 summit. Despite a fab general cost index, Germany’s east tends to get ignored by international travelers—despite the fact, as Benoit points out, that Meck-Pomm has now surpassed Bavaria as Germany’s top domestic holiday destination.

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…the EuroCheapo blog will take a summer holiday of sorts. We’ll be cutting back blog volume dramatically for the next few months. In the fall, we’ll kick back into high gear with an expanded roster of correspondents. But don’t fret. Even while we’re “on holiday,” we’ll continue to serve up in-house commentary, tips, and analysis.

Stay cheap!

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Some stuff on our minds as this week draws to close.

1. Ryanair’s new routes in and out of Stockholm’s Skavsta. Ryanair is launching another 13 routes to and from Skavsta. Starting in October, routes between Skavsta and Alicante, Basel, Berlin, Bratislava, Eindhoven, Karlsruhe Baden, Liverpool, Malta, Pisa, Porto, Trapani, and Valencia will kick off. A Skavsta-Salzburg route will commence in December.

2. Melati Cottages, Ubud, Bali. Yes, we know that Bali is far away from Europe, but we returned last Thursday from an amazing week in Bali. Much of what made the week so amazing was our experience at Melati, a friendly guesthouse between Ubud and Penestanan. Located in an idyllic green setting, Melati boasts incredibly friendly and helpful staff, a remarkable in-house masseuse, and lovely breakfasts (we won’t forget that black rice anytime soon.) Double room rates booked online begin at US$29, including taxes. Highly recommended!

3. Check out this handy Ljubljana events calendar, provided by the Slovenian capital’s official site.

4. Tomorrow, easyJet kicks off a twice-weekly Glasgow-Ibiza service, which will run through September 8.

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Photo by dapop

France’s annual Fete de la Musique takes place on June 21. It’s one of our favourite festivals, a night-long feast of free live music and dance. This year, if you don’t feel like getting down with the crowds you can follow the whole thing from your computer at www.21juin2007.net, a special 24-hour internet radio broadcast from all over the world, complete with videos. For the first time, New York joins the roster of places (in more than 110 countries!) taking part.

Practical details: A special “Forfait Fete de la Musique” public transportation ticket will be on sale for €2.50, allowing unlimited use of the Ile de France network from Thursday, June 21 at 5 p.m. until Friday, June 22 at 7 a.m.

The program is available on the Fete’s site and it’s massive. In the Ile de France region alone there are 452 scheduled events.

Here are a few suggestions for Paris:

1. M° Republique: Acid house DJ Ken Ishii will be at the helm for a huge open-air dancefest featuring Scratch Massive and Jonathan Katsav in front of the bar Aux Templiers, at 18 rue Caffarelli, 75003. From 6 p.m. until midnight.

2. For those with children, a good bet is the Cite de la Musique in the 19th arrondissement, which will be running concerts and musical workshops for children from 5:30 p.m. through 10 p.m. 221 Ave Jean Jaures, M° Porte de Pantin.

3. M° Menilmontant will host a gypsy festival inspired by the movies of Emir Kusturica.

4. In the 16th, M° Iena, in front of the Musee Guimet, dancers will perform a selection of beloved Bollywood song and dance routines from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m.

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A few years ago, Mozaika’s burgers were named the best in Prague. Burgers outside of the U.S. are a sensitive subject: think of the role they play in the Whit Stillman film Barcelona, where the burger is symbol of what American can do right. The Mozaika burger may not be the best burger around, but it’s not an embarrassing attempt either.

The pros: It’s American sized, if a little sloppy—especially with the creamy mayonnaise topping, which tends to funnel down the edges of the lettuce—and comes with mushrooms, a rather Czech addition to a ground beef patty.

The cons: it’s never going to emerge from the kitchen anywhere near medium rare. Sorry.

In short, Mozaika is still worth a visit for those hungering for a slab of beef in Prague—think of it as burger outsourcing.

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Two hotels in the northern English town of Blackpool were recently awarded two tourism Oscars at the Enjoy England Excellence Awards ceremony.

The two Blackpool winners: the Number One Guesthouse (Bed and Breakfast category) and the more upmarket Stanley House (Best Small Hotel of the Year.)

Blackpool is certainly worth a visit. Twelve miles of seafront, the famous “Pleasure beach” amusement park, waxworks second only to Madame Tussauds in London, a waterworld and its own zoo, model village, and sealife centre. Plus, the town is well-known for its lively gay and lesbian scene.

In September, Blackpool ushers in its Blackpool Illuminations, with its many tableaux of moving pictures all made up of tiny lights. The city’s trams, the only ones still in operation in England, are also festooned with lights.

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Photo by Salsano

Do something in Budapest that will be unforgettable and likely much cheaper than it would be at home—an organized afternoon at the horse races, through Budapest Tours.

For HUF8000 (€32; $43) your own personal guide will welcome you with drinks, introduce you to the history of horse-racing in Hungary and the rules of betting, and show you all the behind the scenes preparations for the race. You will be given some racing tips and two coupons for betting on the filly of your choice. Then you can cheer on your fancy in the race itself.

All in all a winning day, even if your horse isn’t first past the post.

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Karlsplatz in Vienna’s Fourth District, bordering the Inner District, is especially festive today through 8 p.m. What is being celebrated is Karlstag, which is basically a Karlsplatz openhouse. The visitors can storm the Secession and other museums in the vicinity and stay for longer hours. Best of all the entrance and tour guide are for free.

Karlstag also features a flea market, outside pubs and bars, workshops, and a program just for children at the Wien Museum called “Kinder Wirtshaft,” where the kids can roleplay as waiters serving customers. This correlates with the museum’s current exhibition, “Im Wirtshaus: Eine Geschichte der Wiener Geselligkeit,” a history of the Viennese pubs and their way of life.

Ending the fest will be an open-air free concert by the Vienna University of Technology Orchestra and Kollegium Kalksburg in front of the Karlskirche at 8 p.m.

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Photo by Stefan Tiess

Le Pop In is a must-see bar for anyone who wants to get to know the Paris music scene. Every weekend it teems with musicians and groupies. Fight your way across the packed front room and you can wander up and down flights of stairs to find small performing spaces tucked away at the end of narrow corridors, all crammed full of loungers and listeners.

There’s no cover charge, and you’re guaranteed to have a few good concerts of all varieties of music every night. Even if cutting-edge folk rock synthesis isn’t your thing, it’s worth going just to check out the Tokyo-esque fashion taste that prevails among the über-trendy regulars.

The Pop In is located at 105 rue Amelot in the 11th arrondissement. The closest metro station is Saint Sébastien Froissart on line 8.

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Photo by Sacha QS

There are so many summer festivals in France that it’s hard to know where to begin. The abundance of festivals means that no matter where you are traveling in France, there is sure to be a festival happening somewhere nearby.

Here’s a brief rundown of the heavyweights. Most are big ticket events which tend to be booked out in advance, but don’t be afraid to go along for the “off” events, which fill the streets of beautiful historic towns with live performances showcasing up and coming talents.

Theatre: The Festival D’Avignon (6 July-27 July) celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Avignon has a huge “off” festival playing in parallel with hundreds of free performances of dance, mime, puppetry, circus, and street theatre. So you don’t need to understand French to enjoy Avignon’s “off” festival! A budget hotel with an excellent central location for festival-goers is the Mercure Cite des Papes, at 1, rue Jean Vilar.

Opera: Festival International d’Art Lyrique d’Aix-en-Provence (June 29 through July 22) is famous for lavish productions staged in magnificent outdoor settings, notably in the courtyard of the former archbishop’s palace. This year’s highlight is Leos Janacek’s “From the House of the Dead,” staged by Patrice Chereau and directed by Pierre Boulez.

Rock: Les Eurokeenes in the eastern town of Belfort (June 29 through July 1) is an institution. This year’s lineup includes Air, Phoenix, Antony and the Johnsons, Queens of the Stone Age, TV on the Radio, and Klaxons.

Photography: The Rencontres D’Arles (July 3 through September 16; see Arles above) is the photography rendez-vous of the season, with an eclectic selection, including the work of Spanish photographer Alberto Garcia-Alix.

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