There’s More to Tell About This William

Switzerland is celebrating its 700th anniversary this year and, not surprisingly, national hero William Tell features prominently in the myriad festivities planned.

There are, for instance, the premiere of the William Tell Opera by Gioacchino Rossini on June 10 at the Grand Theatre in Geneva, and open-air performances of a William Tell play (in German) by Friedrich Schiller in Interlaken on Thursdays and Saturdays between June 27 and Sept. 12.

Tell and his son--the one from whose head the famed apple was shot on the demand of a local Austrian tyrant--are true symbols of Swiss freedom, but, truth be told, the apple story far predates Switzerland’s battle for independence from Austria.

The earliest form of the legend goes back to ancient Norse sagas, in fact, and similar stories are widespread throughout Northern European folklore, but it took the Swiss to tell the tale as it is remembered today.

Travel Quiz: What do Philadelphia, Ankara, Samarkand, Beijing, Denver and Madrid have in common? (Answer below.)

Aerial Bouquets: The annual Philadelphia Flower Show, scheduled this year from March 10-17, will be novel in at least one respect.

In years past, the nation’s oldest horticultural exhibit has featured primarily landscape gardening with planted flowers. This year, tens of thousands of freshly cut blooms from around the world will be on display.

Organizers intend to fly the flowers in from such diverse locales as the Netherlands and Kenya, Japan and Italy. They will replace the blooms at least twice during the weeklong exhibit, the largest indoor event of its kind covering six acres at the Philadelphia Civic Center.

Why We Don’t Live There: Syracuse, N.Y., receives an average 109 inches of snow per year, more than any other U.S. city.

Why We Don’t Live Here, Either: Stampede Pass in Washington gets the most snow of any place in the United States, 430.8 inches a year.

Rhodes Scholarship: A team of archeologists, architects, civil engineers and masons is hard at work trying to restore the ancient city of Rhodes in Greece’s Dodecanese Islands.

The city has been designated a “protected monument” by the Greek government. Already, work has been completed on the city’s medieval wall fortifications and historic buildings such as the Palace of the Grand Master, while renovation continues on others such as the Knight’s Hospice of St. Katherine and the Mosque of Redjep Pasha.

Quick Fact: Amtrak has 1,812 railway cars, enough to form a train 29 miles long.

Just the Ticket: Between now and the end of September 1992, travelers who carry either MasterCard or Eurocard will be admitted free to 30 museums in Austria, including the Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Natural History, the Albertina Gallery and the Austrian Gallery in the Palais Belverdere. Normally, admission to such museums can cost as much as $6.

Her Majesty’s Customs: Great Britain has brought its customs clearance procedures into the 20th Century by allowing those who have to pay duty on items taken into the country to do so now by credit card.

Expressly Japanese: Visitors to Tokyo and points south can make use of a new express train that will cut the time needed to get from Narita International Airport to Tokyo Station downtown. Service on the Narita Special Express begins March 13, and the one-way journey will take 55 minutes. From Tokyo, the service continues on to either the Shinjuku or Ikebuku sections of the capital or to Yokohama.

Currently, the Airport Limousine Bus service between downtown and the airport takes between 80 and 110 minutes.

Quick Fact: More than twice as many people visit Guam each year than visit Fiji.

Do Leave Home Without It: Many people who plan to travel abroad compile lists of what they want to take with them. Consumer Reports Travel Letter has come up with a list of what not to take along. Here’s what it recommends you leave behind:

--Real jewelry.

--A fancy, expensive, electronic currency converter.

--More than you can comfortably haul for three city blocks or up two flights of stairs.

--Oversupply of basic necessities that you can buy almost anywhere. The rest of the world has heard of soap, aspirin and toilet paper.

--Clothing that isn’t comfortable.

--Any electronic or photographic gadget that you haven’t tested before you leave.

--Clothing suitable only for the “special” occasion.

--Teen-ager’s personal stereo, if it leaks a loud, penetrating noise from the earphones when turned up high.

--Teen-ager (if he/she refuses to part with personal stereo).

--Anything that would desolate your life if lost or stolen.

Quiz Answer: Each of the six cities lies close to the Fortieth Parallel.