Travels In Europe: Germany--The Rhine, Mosel, Romantic Road, Bavaria; Travels In Europe: London, Paris, Amsterdam

Culled from the 13-part PBS-aired television series Travels in Europe With Rick Steves, these programs are about as much fun as you can have without actually going to Europe. Steves, the author of several "backdoor" guides to traveling in Europe is the perfect guide: informative, funny, and filled with an infectious enthusiasm that makes you want to call a travel agency pronto. Steves says: "For me, travel is more than the last source of legal adventure. It paints my globe vividly with human faces. Let's stroll with that thought." Who can refuse such an eloquently put invitation? We happily enter a bustling German town marketplace and look at the faces and the wares for sale with a new appreciation for other places, other cultures. Unlike many travel tapes, Steves' programs do not offer a rote recital of the highlights and facts. He is likely to spend more time in the out of the way places, those "backdoor" spots far from the madding crowd: like a German thimble museum, or the tomb of Doors' lead singer Jim Morrison. And rather than just pointing out a place of historical interest, he explains the significance of the location in historical and cultural terms. Pointing out the architecture of a medieval castle, for example, Steves explains the concept of "boring, starve-em-out siege warfare," in which the attackee needed lots of food and water and "plenty of board games" to withstand the attack. In Germany, viewers take a ride down the Rhine, visit a baroque palace in Wurzburg, go "luge" riding, tip steins in a Munich beer hall, and take a sobering detour to Dachau. In London, Paris, Amstersdam, Steves advises viewers to "take time to tickle the tulips," and bikes in and around Amsterdam, takes a day trip to a chateau in Chantilly outside Paris (where the stables are magnificent since the former owner, a Duke, believed he would be resurrected as a horse), and drops in on public debates at "Speaker's Corner" in London. Throughout the programs, Steves offers invaluable travel tips on subjects ranging from how to use public transportation systems to the fine art of traveling with children. Truly, "how-to" travel video at its best, the Travels in Europe series is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. The three other programs in the series are: Switzerland: The Berner Alps & French Switzerland, Venice & Rome, and Northern Italy: The Riviera, The Hilltowns & Florence. (Available from: Small World Productions, P.O. Box 28369, Seattle, WA 98118-1369; 1-800-866-7425.)