Croatia

GETTING THERE From LAX, Lufthansa offers connecting service (change of plane) to Zagreb. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $462. Two buses leave daily from Zagreb to Krk and Rab islands. Regular bus service connects the islands, although the schedule is less frequent in the winter. Reservations are rarely needed. TELEPHONE To call the numbers below from the U.S., dial 011 (international dialing code), 385 (the country code for Croatia), then the local number.

Travcoa's 12-night "Croatia and Slovenia With Montenegro" explores the eastern Adriatic. Participants attend a private choral concert at the Postojna caves, see the mosaics and stained glass of the 12th century Basilica of St. Euphrasius and delve into the aquatic wonders of Plitvice Lakes National Park. Itinerary: Zagreb, Croatia; Ljubljana, Bled and Postojna, Slovenia; Pula, Rovinj, Porec, Opatija, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Trogir, Split, Ston and Dubrovnik, Croatia; Kotor and Budva, Montenegro; and back to Dubrovnik.

In three weeks, the only things that will matter for Lindsey Vonn will be gold, silver or bronze. Saturday, however, was a day for milestones. Vonn made it five wins in five downhills this season. Her 30th World Cup victory, at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, tied her with Croatia's Janica Kostelic for eighth place on the career list and put her nearly halfway to Austrian leader Annemarie Moser-Proell's 62 wins. "It's crazy! When she was dominating the World Cup, I thought she was unbeatable," Vonn said, referring to Kostelic.

MYANMAR Keepers of tradition Antonia Neubauer, president of the tour company Myths & Mountains, said, " 'The Tribal People of Myanmar' trip is one of my personal favorites." It includes traveling to the country's don't-miss urban and architectural locales, full of imposing pagodas, and to villages to meet tradition-keeping locals. This 19-day experience includes visiting open-air markets, boat-riding on Inle Lake, watching a myth-conveying puppet show and exploring a Buddha-filled cave.

As the pubs and sports bars of central London heaved with patrons Wednesday night, the England-raised lads on the national soccer team heaved with a soaring excellence up north at Wembley Stadium. England's players made yard mulch of Croatia, 5-1, with two goals each from Frank Lampard and Steve Gerrard, to qualify for South Africa's World Cup finals next year, and what also promises to be one of the rowdier English summers come 2010. On Wednesday, England's team resembled some frightful, beautiful storm as it finished stamping out the residue of some bad vibes from 22 months ago. On that November night in 2007, Croatia beat England, 3-2, to ensure that the European championship of 2008 would proceed without the nation of the game's birthplace.

Unseeded Kim Clijsters won her 12th straight match at the U.S. Open today, 6-2, 6-4 over 18th-seeded Li Na of China, while Marin Cilic upset Andy Murray 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. Clijsters hadn't played here since she won her only major tournament title in 2005. Since then, the 26-year-old from Belgium suffered through a number of serious injuries before taking a two-year break from tennis. She married former Villanova basketball player Brian Lynch and then gave birth to daughter Jada.

The United States was ousted from the Davis Cup and left to wonder how it might have gone had Andy Roddick been available to play. James Blake was unable to keep the Americans alive in the quarterfinals Sunday at Porec, Croatia, losing to Marin Cilic of Croatia, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, in the opening match of reverse singles. Cilic's victory on indoor clay put Croatia ahead, 3-1, in the best-of-five format, sending the country to its first semifinal since winning the Davis Cup in 2005.

It takes a determined climb to get all the way up to Pavich's Brick Oven Pizzeria, a tiny restaurant parked at the peak of a steep San Pedro hill. It's a haul, but the pizzeria is a beacon of local flavor, a neighborhood spot surrounded by a tract of hilltop homes. And for owner Zdenko Pavic, that's the perfect place to serve his mammoth pizzas and Croatian classics that capture the harbor town's immigrant history.

President Stipe Mesic and hundreds of other Croatians attended a funeral in the town of Velika Gorica for a journalist killed by a hidden explosive device. Ivo Pukanic, 47, owner and editor in chief of Nacional, Croatia's No. 2 political weekly, died Thursday when the device planted near his car exploded in downtown Zagreb, the capital. An aide was also killed. Police spokeswoman Aleksandra Ljuba said authorities had questioned several people but she declined to identify them or say whether they were suspects.

BEIJING -- Now for the big U.S.-Germany basketball game. Would you believe the medium-size basketball game? How about playing it because it's on the schedule and neither team has any choice? Finishing pool play tonight, the U.S. (4-0) plays the Germans (1-3), who will be on their way back to their homes in Germany, Texas (Dirk Nowitzki) and California (Chris Kaman), unless they shock the world. Not that it's unthinkable, but U.S. Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who doesn't look past anybody and says it's an honor to play everybody, gave his team Sunday off. The only other day off it got here was before the Angola game.