Travel Q & A

Swedish immersion Q This July, my 11-year-old daughter and I will be attending a family reunion in Sweden. We'll be staying with relatives in Stockholm and attending the reunion in Venjan, Sweden. As we're not leaving for a few months (and struggling to learn a little conversational Swedish to boot!), I was wondering if you had any creative ideas of a good way to document this adventure. My daughter plans on making a diary and we'll bringing video and still cameras. But is there something more we could do? Also, are you aware of any immersion-type Swedish language classes offered in Minnesota?

A What an enriching trip you have in store. I have a few ideas that I hope will help.

First things first: Minnesota is a terrific place to learn Swedish. The American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis offers both adult and youth classes. Svenska Skolan (translation: Swedish school) is a language and cultural program for ages 4 through 12; the spring session starts March 19. Language classes for adults begin the week of March 21. For more information, go to www.american swedishinst.org and click on the education link.

For a true immersion experience, nothing beats Concordia Language Villages. It offers a variety of weeklong and weekend camps (and provides instruction in 15 languages, from Spanish to Korean). A Swedish "family fun weekend" is coming up April 28-May 1 at the language village in Bemidji, Minn., where architecture is in true Swedish style. For more information, go to www. concordialanguagevillages.org.

Since your daughter is keeping a diary, and you'll have both video and still photographs, you'll be armed with the tools you need to create a blog. That might make a nice way to document the trip as you go, especially if there are extended family members back home who can't make the trip. Go to www.blogspot.com to get started.

Once you're back home, why not make a book that showcases photos from your trip? Sites like www.kodakgallery.com and www.shutterfly.com have formats that make it easy: You can click and drag photos into an existing layout, or create your own design, page by page. Cover options include leather-bound hardcovers. Once you make the book, you can print as many you wish. They are really very nice. In fact, they'd make a heartfelt, after-the-fact thank-you gift for the Swedish relatives who will be putting you up during your stay.

KERRI WESTENBERG

WEB WATCH

Bing teams with Kayak.comMicrosoft's Bing Travel has formed a partnership with the meta-search site Kayak.com to incorporate Kayak's airfare search services within Bing. Both sites scan airline and third-party websites for flight itineraries and airfares, then link users to those sites to purchase tickets. Kayak's site has been around longer and has long-standing agreements with airlines. Bing.com stands out for its "Price Predictor" feature on airfares.

SEATTLE TIMES

on deck

Norwegian raises pricesThanks to higher demand, at least one cruise line is raising its prices. Norwegian Cruise Line plans to lift its fares by as much as 10 percent starting April 1. At the same time, the company will extend its Free Upgrades for All sale through March 31. The Wave Season promotion provides up to a four-category upgrade on select cruises as well as e-coupons for onboard savings of as much as $400. Info: www.ncl.com.

WASHINGTON POST

AIRLINE UPDATE

Fares ease off from $20 jumpMajor airlines such as Delta, United and American raised domestic fares $20 per round trip in late February. But those increases were later rolled back to $10 when low-fare airlines Southwest, JetBlue, AirTran and Frontier raised their prices only $10.

LOS ANGELES TIMES

SIDEROADS

St. Paddy's fun in WisconsinPlenty of Irish music, food and fun will draw visitors to the 27th annual St. Patrick's Day Festival and Irish Fest this week in New London, Wis., which is renamed New Dublin for the occasion. On Saturday spectators will line downtown streets for the festival's highlight: the St. Patrick's Day Parade at 1 p.m. Also Saturday, Irish Fest will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in a heated tent at the Festival Foods parking lot. (www.newdublin.com).

COLLEEN A. COLES