Home ·· News Room ·· Prints ·· Licensing ·· Gallery ·· About Us ·· Contact Us ·· Articles ·· Services East Europe stock photography trip report, May 16, 2007 to June 1, 2007 Updated August 22, 2007 Page 1 of 5 Next page
	Click here to download the whole Eastern Europe report in Acrobat PDF   Eastern Europe: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland May 16 to June 1, 2007 © 2007 Aaron Linsdau Exchange rate $1.28US / 1.00 Euro Wednesday, May 16, 2007 Caught the plane in San Diego to Atlanta at 8am without trouble. A 2 hour layover and then an 8 hour flight through the night to Frankfurt, Germany. Thursday, May 17, 2007 Frankfurt, Germany 1 Euro = $1.28 US Arrived at Frankfurt a little earlier than expected, so I attempted to call my Couchsurfing.com Frankfurt host, Oliver Lein, but had amazing difficulty figuring out how to use the phone there. After a visit to the tourist information desk, they provided instructions on where to add a zero in front of the cell phone number to make the call. Got in contact with Oliver and we soon met up. He drove me in his car to Frankfurt, only a short 10 minute ride from the airport. We stopped at the train station and I purchased an overnight ticket to Vienna on May 18 for 108 Euro. Oliver said something in German to the ticket agent that ended up being very helpful to me because the price I paid was lower than the original listed price. Oliver then drove us over to his neighborhood and we shared breakfast with his girlfriend Maria, her brother, wife and child. We had a continental breakfast with a mix of bread, cheese, spread and café au lait. They had to help me with ordering because I couldn't understand any of the German on the menu. True to European form, we finished breakfast around 11am. It was just a few block drive to Oliver's generously sized flat, a 2 bedroom affair, with one room playing as the bedroom while the other was the den. Oddly, the den was the larger room and hang out place. The kitchen was small but very functional and Oliver moved between each with expert aplomb. After getting settled, by setting down my backpack, and cleaned up, Oliver went over a complete explanation of how to get around town, what passes to purchase and some of the places to go. He wrote down some interesting locations and his phone number should I run into any trouble. He then accompanied me to U-bahn 7 Habsburgeralle station, which is just down the block and around the corner from his flat. He explained which station to get off at and saw me off. Here we go! I took the U-bahn to Romerberg, the main market square, to look around. It took me a while to get my bearings in Frankfurt. It seems my travel soul is still lingering in Atlanta and I don't quite feel up to speed yet. Jet lag just makes you feel funny that way. The Zeil, or main walking and shopping district, is ripe with people watching opportunities. I followed Rick Steves' Germany and Austria 2007 walking tour of Frankfurt with fair success. The History museum (Historisches Museum) was good on the ground floor for 1 Euro. The facades of Frankfurt, both today's construction and those built after the devastating bombing of March 23, 1944, were fascinating in juxtaposition. There really wasn't any left of the city after the bombing other than rubble and the St. Bartholomew cathedral. A quick walk down Saalgasse (Hall Street) is an interesting exploration of post-modern architecture, complete with a robot-shaped mailbox in front of one flat building to top it off. Chasing Charlemagne ended up being a theme on this trip. I started by visiting the ruins in front of St. Bartholomew's Cathedral. The ancient stone structure was fun to explore, though there wasn't any building left, but only a constructed stone wall pit with curious stone shapes and patterns. I grabbed a photo of a Roma (gypsy) girl while playing an accordion. I pointed to my camera and then to her once I got her attention. She nodded and kept on playing. I took my shots and tossed a few coins into her instrument case. For some reason earlier, there was a man heatedly speaking to her in French. I couldn't understand it due to the speed and ferocity of the communication. One didn't need to know French to understand what was being said. The cathedral itself was interesting due to the red sandstone construction rather than the traditional white limestone found in so many other cathedrals, giving it more of an old, dramatic feeling yet making it feel more like it was made for the common person. Yet, it still dominates the Frankfurt skyline along the river. Being hungry, I wandered over to the Romerberg again and enjoyed a Bratwurst dog of some sort and stood among all the other loitering people. It was a fun experience, even if I didn't put down a stein of beer for fear of having to hunt down a water closet after finishing the drink. I searched for the Goethe House in vain. Finding the German equivalent of Shakespeare just wasn't that compelling. However, I couldn't resist hunting down the famous red light district of Frankfurt. Now that is entertainment. Apparently Frankfurt has been a European prostitution capital for some time. There are many 5-story buildings called Eros towers all throughout the district. They are laid out like a sleazy hotel. Men march up and down the stairs and investigate each floor with an open door and a prostitute standing in the doorway, inspecting each for whatever quality they might be looking for. Each is looking for the right deal with a lingering, licensed and scantily clad prostitute. Prices range from 25 to 50 Euros, depending on the quality of the building and not the look of the woman. Places with videos playing in the entrance tended to be of higher quality. Most women, though, appeared to have been living this life for a while and barely broke a '5' on the rating scale. Most men wandering the towers fared at least that badly on the rating scale, looking as though they hadn't had a date in quite a few. I caught the U-bahn back to Strassalle, not wanting to be late for Oliver's supper. He cooked up some massive white asparagus with his Greek girlfriend Maria. It was a pleasant, uncomplicated meal. We chatted well into the night before bedding down. Friday, May 18, 2007 After sleeping in until late (9am), Oliver shared a continental breakfast and I was off to explore more of Frankfurt. The first goal was the Main, pronounced 'mine', Tower to see the city. The line wasn't long and an elevator whisked me and a car full of bodies to the top of the massive tower for a look. It's quite an impressive view. However, getting down the tower proved to be more troublesome than ascending it. After 15 minutes of waiting for an elevator, I and others piled in and waited, only to have a gruff German bark over the intercom that we should get off the elevator. I only knew this because I followed the others like the sheep I was, as I had no idea what was really going on. It took a good half hour before finally leaving the tower, past a now ponderously long line of patrons waiting their turn to be trapped in the Frankfurt Main Tower. The day was really getting on and there was still much to see. At the United Colors of Benetton store, there is a restaurant, lounge and tower where one can see the center of the city from, without the expense and inconvenience of pesky elevator holdups. I rushed over to the Museumsurfer area to take in the film and history museum, only to be met with a modest offering of art and history. The stomach commanded and I went over to Sachenhausen for a classic German sausage plate with sauerkraut and beer. Yum! The day was late and I began trekking over to Oliver's only to get decently lost and severely punished in schedule by the slow evening train and bus connections that added over an hour to a normally fast transit across the city. This was due to the less frequent rides, with up to 15 minutes in between each transit. Not anticipating this problem made me incredibly late to Oliver's flat, much to his chagrin and my embarrassment. Fortunately I had packed that morning and was ready to rock. We practically ran down to the train. Had we missed one U-bahn train connection, I would have missed my overnight train ride to Vienna, as I arrived to the main train station with only 10 minutes to find my train and get on. That was darned close. Too close. My couchette was for 6 people but only one other German guy shared it with me. The night ride was mostly sleepless, being bothered by cutting it so close with someone else. I don't mind it when I blow it and make thing stressful but not when I have to involve someone else. Also, the bed is only 1.9 meters long and, with the curved walls, I'm just 3 inches too tall for it. I slept diagonal, with my feet and head resting against the walls of the compartment. Saturday, May 19, 2007 Vienna, Austria 1 Euro = $1.28 US The train arrived into Vienna, Austria, right on time to Westbanhauf station. My next Couchsurfing.com contact, Iris Wennintger, was there to meet me in short order and she guided me to her nice flat. It is a single room affair, with the bed and living room mixed together and the kitchen and shower stall mixed together in the entry way. There is a small toilet closet just inside the entryway. Originally these flats had neither shower nor toilet inside them but these amenities were shared between flats on a floor. Iris's flat is nicer than others because it actually has its own toilet while others still share. The shower stall, all 3.8 square feet of it, being inside the kitchen is an interesting architectural adaptation. All of this can be had for a heavily subsidized 130 Euro per month. I don't think it's possible to live that cheaply except in a tent in the States. Iris and I chatted for quite a while, she teaching me a little about life here, much to my appreciation. She explained how everything worked and then gave me a key and left for work and then to spend the night with her boyfriend. I did the dishes as a trade appreciation gesture, then geared up and was off. Again, I was lost for a few hours, trying the manly technique of not asking directions, catching the wrong metro and such. When I finally broke down and asked someone directions, I easily found the famous opera house at 1pm. The #2 tram runs anticlockwise around the city center, exposing you to all the main sites of the city within half an hour. The Rick Steves' map is good but getting your initial bearing fix is the tough part off a hand-drawn map in a book. It's much easier to ask someone and get that wandering lost part over with much quicker. The city hall looked more like a cathedral, with dark towers and large windows. A large city fare was going on front of the building with a food and emergency preparedness circus taking over the front promenade. I enjoyed feeding on a tasty and light chocolate cake and cola for 5 Euro. I then finished the tram ride and proceeded with Rick Steves' walking tour of Vienna, starting around 3pm - a little late but effective anyway. The walking tour was a nice way to see the inner city's major sites and well worth the time invested. Starting at 9am would have gotten me to see inside more buildings, but that wasn't going to happen today. Instead, I opted for a night jaunt, checking out and photographing sites at dusk, with the city lights on. That is the way to really photograph cities. I caught part of the video projected opera outside the opera house while walking around. It was impressive and fun for the whole 5 minutes I enjoyed it. The sun falls very late here in spring, well past 8pm with dusk not being over until well past 9pm, making it easy to get around and grab photographs. But, it makes for a very tired traveler. Finally breaking down to the call of hunger, I ate at a café on Kohl Market and Graben, eating an Italian pasta dish washed down with beer. Tasty. Viennese eat very late, at 8pm. That is, compared to home. A quick run over to the Kunst and Natural History museums for some night photography finished off my first day in Vienna. Thank goodness I photographed and video'd the street signs near Iris's flat because navigating them in the dark ended up being a real challenge. Once I got back, I showered and washed my clothes in the same shower in a kitchen. Sleeping in my compact sleeping bag liner with my polyester jacket as a pillow, I fell asleep to the distant sounds of Vienna. Sunday, May 20, 2007 After staying up so late, I made sure to sleep in until 8am to insure the body and brain had enough rest to avoid catching my usual international cold. I've been taking Airborne as a supplement and Cold Eaze the instant I feel anything. Just in case. Since the local shops are closed on Sunday, it was necessary to trek into the city center to have breakfast. I bought some yogurt and stored it in the tiny refrigerator at Iris's behest, so I wasn't famished while heading out the door. Today was the visit to the Schonbrunn palace and gardens, alledgedly the only match to Versailles on the continent. We shall see. I took the #58 tram from Iris's flat over to Schonbrunn and it dropped me off directly in front of the entrance. This was far better than the suggested U-4 route in Rick Steves' guidebook. Following that direction drops you half a kilometer away. If you call in and purchase your tickets, they can be picked up at the little store just inside the gates. As I didn't bother, I got in the surprisingly short 5 minute line at the palace entrance, on the left hand side facing the massive building. Watch which lines have a green light illuminated and you might be able to move quicker. My ticket entrance time was for 4 minutes after my purchase time so I was able to immediately enter. Rick Steves warns that if you wait until the last minute, your entrance time might actually be the next day! I walked right in and picked up an audio guided tour. Highly suggested. You can amble along leisurely, though the occasional guided tour might run you over. Photography inside the Schonbrunn is banned and most people observe the signs. However, some were blatant with their flash and photography. I chose to step on to the dark gray side and take some hip-level images as I saw something interesting, forever keeping an eye out for the palace harpies with their unfriendly gaze. The hall where Kennedy met with Khrushchev in 1964 was an impressive ballroom, fairly comparable to Versailles in size and grandeur. The one dark room in my photographs is where Mozart performed his first concert for the Empress at the tender age of 6. Although the inside of the Palace was reconstructed in the Rococo-baroque style with occasional Japanese and Chinese inlaid black lacquer walls, the place just doesn't match Versailles. But, it is still well worth seeing. I tramped up the hill behind the palace in the heat and humidity of the day and was rewarded with an excellent view of the city, though an ugly stage and scaffolding marred the lower part of the scene. The day was getting on and I had more to see. I made a short stop at Iris's flat to drop of the polarizer and clean up, and then was off for the Hoffburg Apartments and the Royal Treasury, both the "Secular and Religious Treasure room", with the Weltliche und Geistliche Schatzkammer. Steves' description of the rooms was handy because the place is large, the biggest collection on the continent. And that really does say something. Seeing the jewels from Charlemagne's (Karl Der Gross) reign was the highlight for me. I've always held a mild fascination with his bringing Europe out of the Dark Ages in 784 and into the Middle Ages. To listen to every audio description in the Treasury would have easily consumed half a day. This is a half day I just didn't have. It was neat to see the Lipizzaner Stallions, even if it was through a terribly dirty window glass. They stared at me momentarily as I looked back at them in their stalls. Since I'm not knowledgeable or terribly interested in their history, I skipped the museum. A quick walk brought me back to Khol Market, right on Grabben, both walking-only zones, to St. Stephan's Cathedral. By the Plague statue, I photographed a pretty early 20's Roma (Gypsy, maybe?) girl expertly playing the violin after tossing a few coins into her black with red velvet violin case. She did me the favor of looking up while I took the photographs. In retrospect, I should have showed her the images on my digital back, but at the time I was hurried to get to St. Stephan's Cathedral before Mass began. St. Stephan's Cathedral was duly impressive and I enjoyed my shooting from the rear of the nave. Had I come earlier before Mass, I could have taken a short tour around the monumental stone building for a small 3 Euro fee. It seems that to do this city right, the better part of a week is necessary. But then again, how many paintings can one look at? Near the cathedral is a café suggested by Steves, Gigerl Stadtheuriger, a buffet-style place with excellent meats and traditional foods. It's nice because you can see what you're ordering, a nice change from the usual guessing I live by. The very classic white meat was excellent and moist. All the while, a violinist and accordionist serenaded the patrons with a lively melody of music. If you ever come to Vienna, you MUST try the Apfelstrudel with cream colored sauce along with a fruity white Austrian wine. It was one of the first foods I can declare that is to die for. A massive meal, desert and two hearty glasses of wine were had for 20 Euros, with over 2 hours of entertainment and people watching. I was off to capture more night images. During these long, European late-Spring days, you can stay out well past 9pm to capture images. Parliament, City Hall (Rathaus) and the Burg Theatre, Austria's national theater, were great night subjects. I wanted to shoot Belvedere Palace at night, but I didn't want to arrive too late at Iris's flat and be rude. So, I called it a night and rode the U-bahn and trams over to her place. I was cleaning up when Iris came home and then we chatted until 1am. She shared her experiences of being a woman working in Zambia for a year on a mission for the Baha'i faith. It was amusing to learn that she had to learn to stop making eye contact or saying hello to any of the school guards there because the men there take it as an invitation that you are physically interested in them. She said, too, that any time you went to visit a male worker, villager or otherwise, it was very wise to go with at least a group of four women, otherwise it begins the bad rumor mill of indiscretion. Yet, in the same vein, she learned to always curtsey like the girls there when meeting someone, as you never knew if you were dealing with a head of state, village chief or other important character. After a year of doing this, she returned to Austria curtseying and not making eye contact with any males. She said it took month to return to the Austrian mannerisms. It's interesting to come to Europe to learn about Zambian living and experiences. Monday, May 21, 2007 These late nights are killer, making me wake up at a terribly late 9am. Then again, the sun has been up since 5am. Iris was off to the dentist and then to see her boyfriend, so I bid her adieu in the Eurostyle with the double cheek kiss for acquaintances. Cleaned up, prepped to leave, then caught the tram and metro down to the opera house at noon. Breakfast was a mere yogurt cup, but it held me up for a few. Next page
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