Flight blood tests
EMIRATES has become the first airline to test passengers for Covid-19 at the check-in gate.
The rapid blood tests were conducted at Dubai airport on all passengers on a flight departing for Tunisia, and there are plans to expand it to more flights in future.
The airline worked with the Dubai Health Authority and results came in ten minutes.
MEMORIES of holidays past have been keeping us warm in lockdown. Here are the standout places from last year’s travels for the Sunday People.
Wintry city Stockholm, Sweden
The Swedish capital is well adapted to cold months. It is a city built on islands whose salt water harbour does not freeze so we loved the frosty boat tours. On a fine sharp day, we particularly enjoyed the promenade at Strandvagen, lined with grand facades and polished decks.
The city has a coffee house culture with fab fragrant cinnamon buns,plus indoor designer shopping malls and miles of ice skating on frozen lakes just inland. Among the cultural stuff, the ABBA museum was fun, but the one we liked best was Fotografiska, the largest photography museum in the world, soon to come to London.
For accommodation, the welcoming Generator was more like a hip hotel than a hostel, with doubles from £54.
See staygenerator.com.
Mild Med Valletta, Malta
Most people head to Malta because of its coastline, but its location in the Mediterranean means it is quick to warm in early spring, and its towns are rich in history.
The Maltese speak a language that sounds like a mix of Italian and Arabic, the ancient stonework of their churches and palaces could easily be Spanish, and their shaded inner courtyards look Moroccan.
We found main city Valletta packed with knights’ palaces, many with a great view over a magnificent harbour to the Three Cities on the other side of the water.
It is only a 20 minute bus ride from Valletta to Mdina, the Silent City, the traffic-free hilltop former capital made of glowing golden limestone. It seemed to be a parallel universe, with horsemen in armour riding the streets, taking part in a medieval fair.
Malta packages with flights start from £42. See tui.co.uk.
Tu love Haarlem, the Netherlands
The tulips bring in the tourists, kick-starting the European travel season. Last spring we chose to travel by cruiser to see the waterways, windmills and spring garden of Keukenhof.
The unexpected surprise was the city of Haarlem – like a mini Amsterdam, with its brick cottages and gable ends on the waterside. It did not have the stag parties of Amsterdam, but it did have a remarkable brewery, inside a former church, the
Jopenkerk. Sunlight streams through stained glass windows on to copper vats. Above the long bar, beers with biblical names are listed, such as Doubting Thomas.
An eight-day tulip cruise costs from £2,427. See avalonwaterways.co.uk.
War story Normandy, France
Last June was the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings, so we went to see what it was all about, in advance of the celebrations.
We were gripped by Arromanches, one of the British sectors and the location of a spectacular temporary port. The village is a busy, welcoming place that has the oldest D-day museum on the coast, while up on the hill behind is the Arromanches 360 cinema, showing archive footage that brings home the senselessness of war.
West of Arromanches is Utah Beach, where the bulk of the Americans landed, with its own museum full of tanks and heavy guns.
Best access is via the ferry port of Ouistreham, with return car fares from £170. See brittany-ferries.co.uk.
Summer spree Gdansk, Poland
The surprise of our summer was the Polish port city of Gdansk, the birthplace of Solidarity, the shipbuilders’ union that challenged communism. OK, so that does not make it a holiday hotspot, but what we found was a happy, handsome and