TRAVELING in style : CONTENTS

By his own admission, that homespun storyteller, Garrison Keillor, loathed going on holidays--until marrying his Danish sweetheart and discovering “what a true vacation means,” a revelation he describes with warmth in this issue of Traveling in Style. Keillor is my kind of fellow. His idea of roughing it is a “warm shower and a comfortable bed.” Forget mountain climbing. Forget river rafting. He enjoys sitting in a park in Copenhagen and marveling at the blue sky.

Keillor is best known for his book, “Lake Wobegon Days,” and his enormously-popular radio show, “A Prairie Home Companion,” that for years was beamed to millions of Americans, with Keillor describing life in a fictional Minnesota burg and the goings-on at Ralph’s Pretty Good Grocery, Bob’s Bank, Bertha’s Kitty Boutique, the Chatterbox Cafe and Skoglund’s Five & Dime. It is with the same simple style that he entertains us today.

Talk-show host Michael Jackson regales us with his tale of ballooning in France as the guest of magazine magnate Malcomb Forbes. On other pages we’re entertained by Times columnist Al Martinez, author-artist Barnaby Conrad, chef Paul Prudhomme, Sylvia Porter, Charles Ehret, Charles N. Barnard and Patricia Wells. Finally, I invite you to join me on a visit to a Swiss hideaway that caters to sybarites and celebrities.