Paris region - Neuilly Plaisance - dec 07

Vienna - oct / nov 07

Naschmarkt, Kaffeehaus, Passagen.

Paris: Back to life, back to Reality

One month, 10 countries, 16 cities. Mainly by train, sometimes by bus and by ferry. Many discoveries and possibilities to go further in getting to know a country. Adding your own picture, your own perception, to all those articles you usually read about European countries.

Yesterday night I got back to Paris. Back to life. Back to reality. Everything has to be defined.
Look forward to talking to those that have followed my thoughts during the last month.

Traffic Jam in Venice + Welcome to Chinatown

Venice, a floating, sinking city and a little world on its own: Built 1500 years ago, against the Barbarian invasions, on 117 islands. Nowadays, 150 canals and 400 bridges define the busy everyday life in Venice. Public transport in Venice? No cars allowed. Take a boat, the vaporetto, like a bus, passing every 10 minutes.

Monday morning, 9 o' clock, rush hour : Traffic jam on Canal Grande, direction Piazza San Marco. Vaporetti water buses close to taxis, delivery boats close to the famous gondolas. Waiting, honking, accelerating, yelling. Impatient employees, trying to get to work. Impatient tourists, who can't wait to line up for Basilica di San Marco or Palazzo Ducale, the official residence of the doges during the Venetian Empire. Impatient delivery boats, trying to respect their morning schedule, goods for restaurants and cafés are on their way.

Get used to the regular floods, the Acqua alta, "high water", following cert1ain tides. 'High water' is currently taking place between 10 am and 1 pm at Piazza San Marco. Podiums assure dry feet. In case of overcrowded podiums : sandals, bare feet, goretex shoes and rubber boots are recommended. See people walking through the water. See tourists and Paris Hilton (see photo) paying one euro to feed the pigeons and take photos of each other when those flying 'rats' sit on their arms and shit on their heads. And the bands, paid by the surrounding restaurants, continue playing.

Welcome to Chinatown

Francesca's Bed and Breakfast. A Guesthouse in Venice. Found on hostels.com. Certainly some typical Italian place, I said to myself. But Francesca is called Wu Ling. A friendly Chinese guy living in Venice. Barely speaking English or Italian. But Chinese. Which is a good thing for the Asian community mainly staying in this hostel. Most of the panels in the hostel are in Corean or Chinese.

So, what about having a good toast-and-cornflakes-breakfast with 6 Chinese? An interesting experience: Because if you don't understand their language, you still have lots of time to analyse their gestures, their facial expressions, their way of moving and eating. Living anthropology.

But you might even meet non-Asian citizens: South America, Canada and India are highly represented...

C'è una camera libera? Rooms in Roma

C'è una camera libera? Any rooms available? You better learn that sentence very fast when going to Rome. Or even better: Book ahead, especially in September and October, peak seasons for tourists. Weather is not as hot as in July and August, so lining up for several hours for the Vatican Museums or St. Peter's Basilica is less painfull.

I didn't book ahead, because I never did during my travel. Always counted on available rooms. But Rome isn't Sarajevo, so you better get used to highly developped tourism and a lack of cheap rooms. 10 pm on a Thursday. I tried out 7 hostels and hotels near the main station. All full. Desperate. Thought about taking the next train to some Italian village. Or about sleeping in Ancient Roman ruins, risking to get arrested by the tourist police.

Then I got back to the main station, trying to meet again that strange looking Italian guy, promoting hostel beds, when I got out of the train. And so I gave my destiny into his hands. Walking through Roman streets. Small talk. He usually drives around rich tourists through Rome.

Here we are: He actually rents out a part of his private appartment. Some extra money, no need to declare this activity. 10 people in one room, close to the noisy main street and the 24-hours-bakery with all locals meeting for a night snack. In the room, I find myself surrounded by 9 barely legal Austrians and Germans. Drinking, smoking pot, preparing for a Reggae party, somewhere in the Roman outskirts.

Fortunately I was tired enough to resist. Earplugs helped to spend the 2 nights.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do

When in Rome, do as the Romans do: So I chose the very typical Pizzeria il Leoncino, not far from the Spanish steps. A place where locals meet. Fast and efficient, not sophisticated. More a canteen than a restaurant.

Family business. The waitress looks like an Italian Mamma, managing her little home. Some of the waitors, maybe her sons, yell at each other, because one client seems to be a bit difficult.

Nevertheless: Delicious pizza, thin and crusty. And a surprising inside decoration: Pope posters as well as airforce pictures promoting the Eurofighters and high speed jets...

Dolce Vita in Roma

First of all, try to push away all those things you have read in newspapers about Italy. Media controlled by the Berlusconi empire, a high public debt, the lowest competitiveness and the lowest-growing big economy in Europe, never ending financial and legal scandals.

All this is true. But once you travel to Italy all these bad news are covered by the famous Italian dolce vita, this easy way of living. Yes, I know, this is mainly a tourist impression, but it is so true.

Lets take Rome for example. It boasts of stunning architecture, larger than life, bigger than nature. Sculptures, fountains, amazing buildings. 2500 years of history, between ancient Rome, Renaissance, Barock. 900 churches. Walk in some tiny backstreets and you discover spontaneously buildings that would have been highlights in other cities. Here its ususal business. Nothing surprising. Very easy to get a sensory overload.

Another phenomenon. The Vatican (see photos). Smallest country of the world. A country on its own inside of Rome. Officially recognized as a country by Mussolini in 1929. Small population, apparently 500 citizens. Why is the population so small? No surprise. Just nuns and priest live there. No possibility to raise the number of citizens, joked a New Zealand guide...

When senior citizens travel: Nafplio (Greece)

Long grey hair flowing in the wind. She is 75 years old, but in very good shape. Every year she decides to discover a new country. "As long as I can still walk, I will travel." Spain, Italy, Portugal ... and this year Greece. This Eastern German senior citizen took a train from Berlin to Athens. Managed to pay the lowest price. A real budget traveller. Asks at the bus station in the Nafplio, this romantic Greek coastal city, whether she will get a reduced fare, 'cause of her age. She searches for several hours to find a cheap accomodation. A dorm in a hostel. With all those young backpackers around.

She always walks in cities. Public transport? Too expensive. And sometimes too dangerous. "Once, a thief in the metro tried to steal my bag. But I slapped on his hands and shouted out loud for help." Now she hides her valuable objects under many LIDL plastic bags. "It will take lots of time for a thief to find my wallet."

But now she has no time to lose. "I am sorry, I have to leave. Want to climb up on the hilltop to see Palamidi Fortress and the surrounding coast. Sunset is at 7.30 pm."

900 steps to climb. At her age. This might be her little secret...

More things about Greece

- Greek Orthodox Church still seems to have a large influence on the population: Every time the Greek pass by a Church they are making the sign of the cross. Three times, according to tradition. This is particulary surprising when you take public transport. There are many churches in Athens, so depending on the speed of the bus or the tram, some Greek might never stop making the famous gesture.
- Popular Greek music videoclips on music TV channel MAD seem to be made by the same American style influenced director and are apparently all promoted by the Greek tourism industry. All singers present their heart breaking songs halfnaked in white clothing, walking or running through endless forests or beaches, very often filmed in slow motion.
- When you take the 20 hours lasting ferry from Patras (Greece) to Ancona (Italy), your French cellphone might send you a text message: Welcome to Iceland. You can chose the following network ... Is this a new approach of geography in a globalized world?

Athens ...

Several things I have noticed and learnt in Athens

- When arriving by train in Larissa main station in Athens, dont think that shady Omonia district, the place where local criminals, prostitutes and pickpockets meet, is representative for the city. The most touristy stuff and all the fancy restaurants are close to the Greek ruins, never far from Ancient Agora and Acropolis.
- Ancient Agora, civic and social meeting place in Ancient Greece is a must for city history lovers. Mechanical inventions to be remembered: Hydraulic clocks, called klepshydra, were made for timing speeches in Greek law courts. These were perforated vessels with water running through. "The most experienced speakers finished their speech with the last water drop." Another surprising invention: Kleroteria, voting allotment machines.
- Phrases I liked most in the Ancient Agora museum: "Graves and dwells dating from the protogeometric and geometric times have been discovered. The usual method of burial for children was inhumation whereas cremation was the custom for adults. Children graves were given miniature vases as grave gifts and adults bronze or iron pottery."
- Young people from Athens love to meet at night on the hill close to the Acropolis (see photo). While watching the nightly illuminated city, they improvise rap songs for melodies coming from their cell phones.
- According to a young Greek, politeness and friendly behaviour is not the best way to reach what you want in every day Greece. The more nasty and grumpy you are with each other, the better you succeed or get an information.

4 days in Istanbul (Turkey)

Discovering a city beyond traditional touristic sight seeing depends on many things. It depends with what kind of person you discover that city and whether you know some local people there. Having met on the train a Slovene traveller with which I spent most of my time in Istanbul gave me the possibility to share strong moments.

Feeling the city and these urban vibrations. Observing straying cats and dogs always ready to pose for a good photo. Getting a heart attack in speedy Turkish taxis that are always ready to accelerate for gaining two more meters in the endless traffic jam. Taking a ferry to the Asian side of the city or to one of those little islands around, where horse driven 'cars' replace polluting taxis. Watching countless fishermen close to the harbour that hope for the catch of the day...

Other keys to culture. Local people. Knowing a German-Turkish couple that live in Istanbul helped me to get a closer insight into Turkish culture. One aspect was culture transmitted through food. I shared a good Turkish breakfast (eggs, special cheese, cucumber, tomato, olive oil etc.) with them. And tried out different sorts of delicious cakes in a fancy specialised café located in Galatasaray district, part of the modern Istanbul, with a round-the-clock busy and all-you-can-shop pedestrian street.

Another food place to discover is Doy/Doy, a traditional Turkish restaurant close to the famous Blue Mosque (Sultan-Ahmet). Delicious kebab, lentil soup, pita, tea, ayran (drink yoghurt). And a great view over the roofs of the surrounding old town with Topkapi Palace, where 23 different sultans had their home, and Ayasofya (see photo), nowadays a museum that was turned from a Christian church into a mosque ...

So many souvenirs.

A smuggler's life: trains to turkey

In order to get from Sarajevo (Bosnia) passing by Belgrad (Serbia) to Istanbul (Turkey), it just takes 40 hours by train and three changes ;-) The big challenge is not how to catch the next train, but how to spend those 40 hours. I did the good choice of taking the individual sleeping compartment, a fancy place to stay for that journey.

But when I went for a walk through the train, heading to 'cattle class', I didnt believe my eyes. Smugglers were hiding large amounts of cigarettes in different little places of the train. Visible for the eyes of normal every day travellers. Like in a bad movie.

Once we got to the Bulgarian border, we stayed there for several hours. Custom and border control officers inspected the whole train for smuggler goods. First I said to myself: How comes they dont find the cigarettes? The 'secret' places seemed so obvious. Only some time later I understood the whole story. Everybody is involved in this smuggle. Officials, custom officers and - of course - the smugglers. It is all just a question of the negotiated price. The officials prentend to do a good job - and get some good extra money from the smugglers. The custom officers, equipped with all necessary tools, mainly search very carefully compartments where they expect to find nothing. In one 'innocent' compartment they undid the lights, opened 'double' floors, turned the whole place to a mess. Left things this way. And told passengers they can change compartement if they don't appreciate the place any more.

Noticing this obvious state of corruption seemed surprising to me. Is all this smuggling traffic just the last possibility of a some poor Serbs-Bosnians-Bulgarians to make some money? I don't think so. How to remedy to this problem? No immediate solutions in sight.

Life in Bosnıa Herzegovına

The campaıgn for upcomıng electıons ın Bosnıa Herzegovına has reached ıts culmınatıng poınt. Posters everywhere wıth smılıng suıt wearıng polıtıcıans tryıng to be close to the people that dont seem to have any credıbılıty among the populatıon.

It shouldnt be neglected that a large number of aspects of everyday lıfe ıs stıll supervısed by the EU and the ınternatıonal communıty ın order 'to ensure that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a peaceful, viable state on course to European integration' (http://www.ohr.int/) The most vısıble part ıs the EUFOR mılıtary presence ın cıtıes lıke Mostar and Sarajevo ın order to avoıd the ressurectıon of ethnıc tensıons between the dıfferent relıgıons. Catholıcs / Orthodox / Muslıms.

Slatko - 24 years old and lıvıng ın Mostar (see photos)- ısnt ınterested ın polıtıcs. He ıs deeply dısıllusıoned about the abuse of publıc fundıng and ınternatıonal aıd flowıng to hıs country. 'If a German ınvestor gıves one mıllıon euros to the munıpıcalıty for constructıng a school half of the money wıll flow ınto prıvate ınterests. Double bookmakıng appears. One offıcıal one and a prıvate one. And all the companıes do ıt themselves just showıng a tıny part of theır annual ıncome to the state. Corruptıon establıshed at all levels.'

Dısınterested ın polıtıcs but bıg ın busıness. Slatko rents regulary rooms to tourısts vısıtıng hıs cıty famous for the symbolıc old brıdge (see photos) that got destroyed durıng the Yougoslav war ın 95. Thıs decısıve regular ıncome helps hım and hıs famıly of copıng wıth everyday lıfe. They all lıve together ın a lıttle house wearıng the scars of war - close to buıldıngs destroyed by bombs. Recently Slatko got a job as a hotel manager ın the outskırts of Mostar. After havıng graduated from an Amerıcan Management School based ın Dubrovnık ıt took hım one year to fınd a job. Now he works every day sometımes gettıng home at mıdnıght.

Bosnıan offıcıal statıstıcs claım a 40 percent unemployment and an average wage of 278 euros. Realıty of unemployment seems to be closer to 20 percent because the black market and parallel economy wıth tax-avoıdıng payers ıs strong. Common ınterest ın supportıng the state doesnt seem to exıst. The result: everybody develops ıts own actıvıtıes ın absence of offıcıal control.

Travelling ... and cultural exchanges

Travelling on your own can be a good experience to discover yourself as well as it can be hard time. Going alone to restaurants ısnt fun and not always being able to share things is a personal challenge one should be aware before leaving. But travelling brings you as well spontaneously together with people and if you appreciate those moments these intercultural exchanges can be unforgettable. People I maınly dıscussed wıth:

- A Canadian guy that decided to quıt hıs job as a beer brand manager ın order to dıscover Europe for some months.
- A Polısh psychologıst that has worked for a whıle for a New York based Communıst magazıne and publıshıng house. Spent part of thıs experıence proofreadıng books lıke Memorıes of Rosa Luxemburg. He ıs passıonned about Charles Darwıns evolutıonary theory and the theory of sexual selectıon outlıned ın The Descent of Man. Quotıng the polısh psychologıst: Intellıgence ıs a decısıve crıterıa for women chosıng men. Beyond physıcal crıterıa women lıke to chose men that use many complıcated words and that show ıntellıgence ın theır way expressıng themselves.

- A Croatıan senıor cıtızen usually rentıng rooms to tourısts. Showed proudly hıs Australıan cıtızenshıp acquıred ın the 70s whıle workıng there. He worked ın the 90s durıng the Yougoslav War and after as a translator for the Brıtısh army that were present ın Bosnıa and Serbıa as UN troops. Followed closely countless negotıatıons ın order to fınd 'truth' and to defıne war crımes.

Splıt. Hvar. Dubrovnık. Croatıan Coast

Dıffıcult to descrıbe the beauty of the Croatıan coast. Clear deep blue sea water, long beaches, little islands with karst landscapes, Roman ruins dating from the period of the Venetian reign. So it is no surprise to find tourists from all over the world visiting those cities and islands.

And this is exactly the problem: Tourist industry is so highly developped that prices raise very fast and that discovering those places is close to taking the Tokyo metro during the rush-hour. Charter flights with beach tourists and crusing boats spit their crowds every day into the beaches and cities.

For example: the amazing city of Dubrovnik with a UNESCO world heritage classified old town looking like a living museum gets transformed into a place of mass restauration and one tourist guide voice trying to scream louder than the other. So whatever you hear about the Croatian coast, yes, these places are worth to be discovered but be prepared for planified mass tourism.

Private accomodation: the tourist hunters

Whether you arrive by bus, train or ferry to the Croatian coast- Split, Hvar Island, Dubrovnik, those busy hotspots for sun- and beachlovers - the situation is always the same. A bunch of local people, mainly older women, is waiting for you. And your money. The tourist hunters, struggling for the catch of the day. Pushing each other to be the first, you hardly get out of the door, they scream 'rooms, rooms' and wave their multilingual panels. 'Good room, cheap room, not far', and this might be the last english words you hear. You ask for the price, one, two or three different people, and here we go together, ready for the room, which is just 'seven minutes' away. Seven minutes by car, certainly. But there is no car, and you will walk with your big rucksack in the heat and the old woman as well will nearly collapse on her way climbing up the stairs...

Surprising Zagreb (Croatia)

There is something surprising about Zagreb, capital of Croatia. Never having been in Croatia before, I didn't expect to find so much overwhelming wealth. No sign of poverty, nearly no signs of the Yougoslav war, even if the city got attacked several times between 1991 and 1995. Great museums, surrounded by a long park, churches, a big cathedral, fashionable boutiques, galleries, stately buildings in great shape, constructed during the time of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Walking around in the city on a hot Monday evening, I felt like being there on a Saturday night. Whole streets of the upper town, close to the central Jelačić square (see photo), seem to be transformed into party zones, young people in countless bars, drinking, laughing, dancing. Meet-and-greet territory on its best. Mediterraen flair. Second surprise: These are not the tourists, these are local people ... and going out, being in the streets, that's is in their blood, their culture.

Another surprise: Zagreb seems to have the highest density of female beauties of whole Europe. Is there some contest going on? Maybe a lack of men in the country and therefore all the young women are competing for the last 'males'? Nobody knows. Just one thing is sure: Watching this show never gets you exhausted.

Relaxing (Lake Balaton in Hungary)

After having visited a certain number of cities and mainly capitals, I felt like seeing some landscapes. My choice went to Lake Balaton, southwest of Budapest, sometimes called the Hungarian Sea. The lake is 77 km long and, quoting my favourite guide book Lonely Planet, 'the largest freshwater lake in Europe outside Scandinavia.' To promote this region around the lake, all the little cities and villages close to it got a name starting with Balaton. So tourists have the big choice between Balatonfuered, Balatonlelle, Balatonfenyves, Balatonszentgyorgi... Not following the mainstream :-) I chose to stay for two days in Fonyod.

Finding private accomodation is not difficult. Just walk through those little streets and look for those panels offering rooms, panels that are mainly written in German, targetting all those Austrians and Germans spending their holidays here. 'Zimmer frei.' I knocked on a door, an old lady opening and, guess what, she knew right away what I wanted. Not difficult to recognize a German backpacker looking for a bed. The lady showed me the room which was actually an appartment for a whole family, I liked the place and decided to stay.

So what can you do close to this kind of lake? Sunbathing, relaxing, swimming. I did that the first evening - and the second day I rented a bike to discover the surroundings as well as the national parc close to the Little Balaton Lake (Kis Balaton). Did some birdwatching in this national parc (see photo)- and just got back to my place when night started to fall. And like always with bike tours, the way back is the hardest - but you better don't stop ... if not you might fall asleep on the cycling road :-) 75 km in one day - I actually felt them in my bones.

Trains and how to get tickets ...

First rule when taking trains from one country to another: Don't think that the schedule you saw online will automatically be the same in real life. Second rule: Never really count on the efficiency of main station staff \ train ticket officers to get yourself a ticket for a city in another country. Because: if this city is not a capital, they might actually look for hours in their big railway system book. And still, they won't find it. That's why, one should always choose the city which seems to be big enough and close enough to your actual target. And hope they might understand it. Best example: Getting from Bratislava to Budapest is not difficult. But getting a ticket that goes further, like to Southern Hungary, close to Lake Balaton seems actually very, very difficult.

Once you arrive in Budapest main station (see photo), do not think that the ticket officers actually know when the next train to Lake Balaton is leaving. You need to go to the information center, they will tell you and you better write down the train number. You need to bring all these information to the ticket officer, and then they will manage to print your ticket. Hurray!

Bratislava and its crowning celebrations

After Austria, I took the train to Bratislava, just some kilometers from the Austrian border, but, yes, the capital of Slovakia, small for a capital, but if you spend two days there you will not be disappointed. I basically stayed longer than expected because the city celebrated the anniversary of those 19 hungarian kings that had been crowned in the 16th century in Bratislava. I just saw the folklore cultural part. Craftsmen presenting their work and local specialties to eat, presented on the meadow around the city castle (see photo), many music groups trying to transmit Slovakian traditional culture to local people and tourists.

And the sun was present with us, smiling for everybody. That was a good thing after the strong need of raincapes and pullovers in Austria and Switzerland before. Just relaxing and looking on that green city, strolling through the streets ... and observing tourists. One interesting thing about travelling alone is ... if you do not have your own conversations .... listen to people and observe them. Tourists, mainly from Germany, France, Great Britain and the US. They all handle with the same questions in their holidays. For example, taking photos. You prefer with or without feet? No, do not smile like that, we will do it once more. Daily talk. Aren t these souvenirs a bit too expensive? Dont ask, we are on holidays, that s what these days are for. To be continued.

One more word for Austria

What I noticed during my stay in Austria. In the beginning of October, there is elections taking place in Austria. That is why whole Vienna is full of posters with all those candidates telling the population how to tackle all current society problems. cut the high youth unemployment rate. more security for all citiziens. safer pensions. and all the traditional stuff. the extreme right wing candidate from the FPO party does, like always, some propaganda. his slogan is. Heimat statt Schuessel und Bruessel. Which is somehow unpossible to be translated. But it refers to refer yourself more to your homecountry and skip the current Austrian chancelor Schuessel and as well the Austrian membership to the European Union. This was just some political short impression. But I promise. This blog will not be a political one.

First real report.: Vienna and Zurich

Tuesday, 29 august 2006.
My second day in Zurich, after having arrived the evening before by train. Now here I am, strolling around with my friend and her baby, discovering the surroundings of Zurich lake. Everytime you arrive in a new city, you shouldnt try to know all the cultural events taking place. Unless if you want to be frustrated. For example, the big theater and music summer festival in Zurich. If you want to become a festival hopper, you go for it, but you won t do so many countres. Because culture takes time, and sometimes in the evening you just feel walking around in cities and places is exhausting. Is this right, can travels and trips be something exhausting, an activity on its own, which is more than a full time job? Yes it is. But of course, compared to everyday working hours in an office, this is time you conceive yourself. That s the advantage.

Zurich, Zurich, what it is about? It s about Swiss prices you have to pay, you might think they are kidding when you read the prices just to eat some fast food or having a drink somewhere. But feel assured, we all know Swiss salaries are adapted to those premium prices. It is not true that they put Gold in the beer tu push the price higher ...

My favourite place in Zurich, having so little time, was the famous Art Museum Kunsthaus Zurich. Of course, if you want to visit everything, feel ready to pay the approximate equivalent of ... oh, it hurts too much ... BUT it s worth it. It might be one of the European places where art is seen by a global approach. Feeding you with little pieces of everything, and you decide whether to go further in this or that direction. The temporary exhibition Expanded Eye is about the contribution of photography and video ... to the visual arts. Objects and works of art that modified our perception, that play with our eye, blurred the border between the visible and the unvisible, even engendering hallucinating effects.

In another exhibition, a statue of Italian sculptor Alberto Giacometti was an object i liked a lot: the dog, sculpted in 1951. It shows an exhausted small dog and seems to realistic to the viewer...

Tuesday to Wednesday – Zurich to Vienna First night on this travel in a night train. Everybody has its own couchette, sleeper, whatever you call it. But those night train constructors seem to think that people are actually never taller than 1,80. You should nt be big, that always helps, but needing to put your feet behind your ears because there is not enough space in your bad, these are moments you do remember. In the same compartment: a young mother and her baby, yes, babies seem to be the current element of my first days, and a young future theatre director that prepares its career in vienna, in the framework of the famous Max Reinhard workshop. I try to keep his name in mind for getting free theatre tickets for prestigious plays around Europe :-)

Wednesday, 30 august
Here I am, in Vienna, heading to the first youth hostel my favourite guide book Lonely Planet, the bible of backpackers, actually recommanded. Don t ask too much in youth hostels. You just know they are cheap, the put many people in the same room, and you just know it is part of the program ot listen to all those people that arrive or leave 4 hours in the morning, when you still dare to sleep. You just know, that there is always just one or two shower for too less people, and that snoring shouldn t be a problem for you. Unless if you are well prepared: Put your earplugs in and here you are. Hurting ears in the morning might be a problem of my earplugs or of my ears being badly adapted to those standard models ... but it helps so much to feel you have actually slept the next morning.

Met two Czech girls during breakfast in the youth hostel. We talked a lot and decided to discover the city together: the neo-gothic Rathaus (Town Hall), the Greek-revival style Parliament and the famous baroque Karlskirch (St. Charles church). The day before i went to the museum of modern art, Hundertwasser Haus (a social housing project conceived by the architect Hundertwasser, see photo), Prater amusement park with the Riesenrad, this Giant Wheel which played such a key role in the Film the Third Man with Orson Welles.

There is so many sights to be seen in Vienna that you actually feel overwhelmed by the number of must-see things. But, one more lesson I got on my way: You have not so much time, so just pick up some highlights and even don t pick up anything at all, just sit somewhere, feel the atmosphere of the city or that place and say to yourself: in a world of low-cost flights, there is no European city really far away. Do the whole tourist when you come back. This trip is just to get a first impression of what is Europe like. Besides the countries I always have been to before: Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK.

Yes, i know, i have a one week delay. I m just in Hvar, Croatian island close to Split. More about the last days. Very very soon.