Ryanair Bargains

Ryanair (www.ryanair.com,) one of the original budget airlines in Europe, is offering some very good fares from its hub at Stansted Airport near London to various destinations in Europe. The trick is you need to book by Monday, March 3 to secure fares as low as 20 pounds to places such as Basel, Oslo, Strasbourg, Warsaw and Bremen. You also need to travel between April 1 and May 29 on flights from Monday through Thursday and reserve 14 days in advance.

Many other destinations are included in this promotion, but at somewhat higher prices. I saw on www.twitter.com that theey will also be offering fares as low as $14 between Europe and the U.S., but was unable to find anything about this on their Website.

Ryanair has the reputation of nickel and diming passengers with fees for virtually everything, but with prices like these it may be worth the hassle.

On another topic, I was thinking for a time that my recent post comparing developments in Ukraine to the start of World War I was perhaps alarmist. However, last night on CNN I saw David Remnick, New Yorker editor and author of a highly regarded book on Russia, say that he considers the current situation very dangerous. At the moment it appears that the Western powers are not planning any intervention in the country, and that Russia may have a free hand in Crimea, one of its traditional strongholds in Ukraine where its Black Sea fleet is stationed.

For an interesting perspective on the current situation from a young woman who teaches English in Kharkiv, a large city in northeastern Ukraine, check out www.8monthsinukraine.blogspot.com. The image below is of one of the installations of the Black Sea fleet in Sebastopol, Crimea in calmer days.