Sunday, July 30, 2006; P03

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AS A DIE-HARD fan of several local bands in Birmingham, I really enjoyed your article about the emerging music scene ["Tuning In to Birmingham," July 23]. In addition to the home-grown bands, we have talented bands from everywhere coming here to play. I was particularly excited when indie-rockers Matt Pond PA made an appearance at WorkPlay earlier this year. Thanks for shedding a positive light on our city. I'm glad you had a taste of what we enjoy on a regular basis.

Chez Knox Shaeffer, Homewood, Ala.

YOUR PIECE on the Birmingham music scene is solid. I'm originally from Alabama and find positive articles about the state few and far between -- but in a bizarre turn of events, "American Idol" has actually influenced people to take a fresh look at Alabama. I hope this is the beginning of a positive trend.

Aaron V. Latham, Washington

MY SIGNIFICANT OTHER is a professional musician in Birmingham, so I've been exposed to the amazing talent in that city for a while now. It is definitely one of the best-kept secrets, as far as original and raw talent goes. He has been saying since Ruben Studdard won "American Idol" that at some point the world is going to recognize the depth of talent in Birmingham and it is going to explode.

Lynn Rivers, Arlington

YOU RECOMMENDED picking up "any of the free alternative papers, such as City Scene . . ." In fact, City Scene is the weekly entertainment guide published Fridays in the Birmingham News. (City Scene is also distributed for free in some places around town.)

It's not often that the News, which is state's biggest newspaper, is called alternative! We'll take it as a compliment.

Scott Walker, Assistant Managing Editor, Birmingham News, Birmingham

AS AN ADMIRER of the European approach to serving the transportation needs of its people and the economy, I'd like to note some connections between your Coming and Going item on European rail passes and other pieces in the July 16 Travel section. One of your CoGo contributors complained that her Railpass did not cover travel on the high-speed trains in France and the Benelux countries. (The Paris-Amsterdam run is actually operated by, and goes by the name of, Thalys.)

As far as I know, Germany is the only country that does not charge passholders a supplement for its high-speed trains. Since all HST routes are heavily used, it is generally necessary to make a reservation, even in Germany where it is not mandatory. If you are not able to get on these trains, the standard international trains covered by the Railpass are almost as fast and may even be more comfortable. As noted in CoGo's response and in many travel books, a traveler needs to make informed decisions in order to make the best use of a Railpass. Having said that, I hasten to add that a Railpass can pay for itself by making it very easy to use Europe's wonderful rail system.

In the Travel Q&A, there is a question about how to travel with a lot of bags. In Europe (and Asia) there is almost always a way to get packages from one place to another quickly and at a reasonable price. Since most people do not own a large car, if they own one at all, there is always a market for such a service.

Finally, in Message Center, there were three letters about unreasonable deadlines and unnecessarily long waiting times for check-in service. Don't bother to complain. It will get worse. Since the United States has chosen to put virtually all its domestic travel eggs in the airline basket and to allow long-distance passenger rail to die a lingering death, airlines have a lock on long-distance travel and have no incentive to improve, except for short bursts of non-systemic competition within the industry. The longer we wait to develop a modern passenger rail system, the more our airline system will come to resemble Aeroflot.

John Sietsema, Columbia

IN HIS REVIEW of "Unknown Sands" [Road Reads, July 16], Jerry V. Haines quotes the book as alleging that Alexander (the not-so-Great) was an "empire builder" while Genghis Khan was an "empire destroyer." In fact, informed readers who've studied Jack Weatherford's bestseller "Genghis Khan" or who've heard Weatherford's U.N. lecture this summer understand that the misunderstood Genghis was a genius, and that Khan built the most stable empire (twice the size of Alexander's) in world history.

P.S. Why hasn't the Travel section noted this year's 800th anniversary of the founding of Khan's Mongolia?

Robert Thompson, McLean

I HAVE FOUND the same thing as Mr. Ramlall when planning trips [Message Center, July 9] -- it does take a bit more work, but I do save enough to make it worthwhile to book my own air and hotel room. After a bad experience with Liberty Travel, which dumped us at the Richmond airport for a night due to bad weather, I feel that I'd just as well take my own chances.

Linda Limberger, Silver Spring

WITH AN UPCOMING trip to England, I have read with interest the info on car rental in Europe [Rental Car 101, June 18]. Our Visa Signature card provides coverage for theft and damage to a rental car, but there is no coverage for liability or personal injury. These are serious omissions. I hope other readers don't expect full coverage from their credit card.

Mettah Kollmann, Easton, Md.

Write us: Washington Post Travel section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. Fax: 202-912-3609. E-mail: travel@washpost.com. Provide your full name, town of residence and daytime telephone number. Letters are subject to editing for length and clarity.

WITH AN UPCOMING trip to England, I have read with interest the info on car rental in Europe [Rental Car 101, June 18]. Our Visa Signature card provides coverage for theft and damage to a rental car, but there is no coverage for liability or personal injury. These are serious omissions. I hope other readers don't expect full coverage from their credit card.

Mettah Kollmann, Easton, Md.

Write us: Washington Post Travel section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. Fax: 202-912-3609. E-mail: travel@washpost.com. Provide your full name, town of residence and daytime telephone number. Letters are subject to editing for length and clarity.

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