Q and A
Cooperstown Without a Car
Q.  I will be visiting New York City and would like to take a side trip to Cooperstown, N.Y., to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Can I get there by public transit? -- Bill Van Deelen, Fresno, Calif.
A.  Without a car, you may find it nearly as difficult to get to the Hall of Fame as Phil Rizzuto did. But the Scooter made it, and you can, too.
For now, Adirondack Trailways runs buses to Cooperstown from New York City only once a day Friday and Sunday. A 7 A.M. departure from the midtown Port Authority Bus Terminal, Eighth Avenue and 42d Street, arrives in Cooperstown at 12:30; the return leaves Cooperstown at 4:30 P.M., reaching New York at 10 P.M. Summertime service, June 24 to Sept. 8, has three trips daily from New York and two from Cooperstown. The round-trip fare is $76.70.
Another option is to travel to Utica on Amtrak, which makes at least two stops a day there from New York ($108 peak round trip), and take the daily Trailways bus to Cooperstown. For Adirondacks Trailways information, call (800) 225-6815; for Amtrak, (800) 872-7245.
But a much simpler -- and economical -- plan would be to reserve a place on the Catskill shuttle, a 14-passenger van run by Lans Transportation Service, (800) 607-2753. From May 15, Lans runs at least one shuttle a day except Tuesday and Saturday from New York to Cooperstown, leaving between 10 A.M. and 1:30 P.M. Bill Lounsbery, the owner, said you would have to stay overnight, though, because the return is early in the morning. The round-trip fare is $65.
The Hall of Fame is open daily 9 A.M. to 9 P.M. through September, then till at least 5 P.M. the rest of the year. Admission is $9.50; $8 for ages 65 and up, and $4 ages 7 to 12. Information: (888) 425-5633 or on the Web, www.baseballhalloffame.org.
Concorde Global Tours
Q.  Are around-the-world trips on the Concorde still available? If so, how demanding is it for someone who uses a wheelchair? -- Annette Horstman, Freehold, N.J.
A.  Both British Airways and Air France Concordes are chartered for around-the-world tours a couple of times a year, generally. This year, though, only Air France Concordes are making such trips. British Airways spokesmen said they knew only of a January 1999 around-the-world golf trip out of Hamburg.
But Intrav, a St. Louis company, is organizing two around-the-world excursions on Air France Concordes this fall, and plans three more next year. The ones this year are sold out, said Richard Hefler, senior vice president of Intrav, but there are waiting lists.
The itinerary for this year's excursions -- leaving Sept. 15 and Oct. 8 from New York, Dallas-Fort Worth or Las Vegas -- takes travelers to eight countries in 24 days. After two days in Hawaii, the tour makes three-day stops in Queenstown, New Zealand; Sydney, Australia; Beijing; Hong Kong; New Delhi (and the Taj Mahal); Nairobi, Kenya (and a game preserve), and Paris. The cost: $55,800 a person, double occupancy. Air travel will be in daylight hours. All meals are included, as are special parties, all sightseeing and gratuities.
Two of the Concorde global tours leave on the same dates in 1999: Sept. 15 and Oct. 8. The Sept. 15 itinerary is identical to this year's, but the Oct. 8 trip will have a few different stops, heading first to South America, then across the Pacific.
Intrav's third 1999 global charter is an 18-day trip leaving Dec. 24 -- to Hawaii (for Christmas), Australia, Hong Kong (for New Year's Eve), India, Kenya and Egypt. The cost: $75,000, double occupancy.
Asked about the rigorousness of such a trip, Lohn Lampl, a spokesman for British Airways, likened it to a cruise. Dennis Overman, vice president and general manager of Intrav, has led several of these trips and said that people confined to a wheelchair might find their enjoyment of some sights minimized. He said that there might be special arrangements needed for someone who is confined to a wheelchair, and that Intrav would make those arrangements.
Keep in mind that the Concorde is fairly narrow, and that Intrav has another global tour by air: 24 days starting in Indianapolis or Las Vegas on a refitted L-1011 wide-body jet. This trip makes many of the same stops as this year's Concorde trip, but with no more than 88 people on a plane designed for up to 362 seats, and which has been refitted with two lounges. So this plane may be more comfortable. This trip costs $37,800, double occupancy; an optional golf package is an additional $2,000.
For information on either trip, call Intrav at (800) 825-2900.
Finding Polish Roots
Q.  I am traveling to Warsaw and Lodz to investigate my family history. I need a guide who speaks Polish, and perhaps knows some Hebrew. Do you have any information on finding one? -- Sophie Zimmerman, Great Neck, N.Y.
A.  The Polish National Tourist Office, at 275 Madison Avenue, New York 10016, can provide a list of Polish-tour operators and the general services they offer. Call (212) 338-9412; Web: www.polandtour.org.
At Air Tours Poland in New York, one of the companies listed, Beata Zieja, the sales manager, said her agency can arrange custom excursions with a driver who speaks English. The company's Warsaw office deals often with travelers from Israel, she added. She can be reached at (800) 223-0593, extension 243.
At another New York agency, Orbis Polish Tours, Richard Cichocki, the manager, said his company also can help you find a guide and plan excursions. Call (800) 867-7247 and ask for the FIT department.
Orbis also works with a genealogist, Miriam Weiner, whose company, Routes to Roots, specializes in genealogical research and travel in Poland, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus. Based at 136 Sandpiper Key, Secaucus, N.J. 07094, she can be reached at (201) 866-4075 and has a Web site, www.routestoroots.com.
Miss Weiner also recently published 'Jewish Roots in Poland,' a guide to sites and archives. It includes descriptions of cities and towns (including several pages on Lodz, an industrial center once known as 'the Polish Manchester'), chapters on genealogical research, and archives in Poland. On page 123, it lists The Jewish Information and Tourist Bureau (Our Roots), 'a travel agency specializing in Jewish sites'; call or fax (48-22) 620-0556.
The book costs $50, plus $8 shipping (and $3 tax in New Jersey), and can be ordered from (800) 742-5403.
RAY CORMIER