verselines
Member
Berlin, Germany.
Europe: the charm of the Old World
- Thread starter verselines
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Berlin, Germany.
verselines
Member
Hi there. I'm using a micro 4/3 set up - panasonic gf1 with 20mm prime which I use most of the time, and 14-45 zoom mostly for wide angle coverage. It's nice and compact (great for taking ryan air flights and you appreciate the light weight when hauling your backpack from train stations to hostels) but there are compromises in image quality of course.
I would recommend wide angle or even ultra wide coverage for Europe - good for landscapes, architecture and candid street shots to give you more dof.
verselines
Member
Along the bridges of Dresden, Germany
verselines
Member
Climbing the mountains of the 'Saxon Switzerland' area surrounding Dresden, Germany
Saxon Switzerland
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verselines
Member
Without meaning to, we found ourselves in Dresden, Germany on 19th February, the day of the biggest Neo-Nazi march/demonstration in Europe. Banking on Dresden's destruction in WWII as leverage, Neo-Nazis demonstrate and march through the city of Dresden. In response, numerous left-wing groups stage annual anti-Nazi protests to express their displeasure with Nazi sentiments. Here, police have set up barricades across the potentially volatile areas such as the main bridge connecting Dresden's old and new towns.
An anti-Nazi protester decked out in anarchist colours, complete with badges and flag.
Left-wing protesters brave the rain with the help of some alcohol.
Two protesters stage a sit-in on the road leading to Dresden's main bridge - a main choke point for clashes between Neo-Nazi marchers and left-wing protesters.
cks2k2
New Member
I was told by my German colleagues in Dresden that neo-Nazis are out in full-force on Feb 13th, the day that Britain's Royal Air Force bombed Dresden back to the stone age in WW2: about 95% of the old city center was razed to the ground with tens of thousands dead.
Dresden is one of a few cities in Germany that allows neo-Nazis the right to public assembly, but on the condition that for any assembly larger than 3 people the protesters cannot mask/hide their faces. I guess it's to help pick out trouble-makers.
Dresden is one of a few cities in Germany that allows neo-Nazis the right to public assembly, but on the condition that for any assembly larger than 3 people the protesters cannot mask/hide their faces. I guess it's to help pick out trouble-makers.
verselines
Member
I never got to see a single neo-Nazi because there were way too many left-wing/anarchists/hippies etc. who were anti-Nazi (they are the ones who I photographed). They pushed the Nazis all the way to a small suburb, quite a distance from the city centre.
For every Nazi who comes to Dresden to take part in the march there's like 4 or 5 other people who comes to protest against them.
Along the bridges of Dresden, Germany
Love this shot. Makes me wanna fly to Europe now ha
After nearly 24 hours in transit, first impressions of Jonkoping, Sweden - my home for one semester.
good series! love the first shot:thumbsup:
i'm also considering an exchange semester in sweden or switzerland next year!
cks2k2
New Member
Everywhere I go in Dresden I see anti-Nazi stickers/leaflets - great to see such strong feelings against Nazism.
verselines
Member
Thanks
To be honest I wouldn't recommend Sweden. It's really expensive in terms of cost of living, and they use a different currency (SEK) rather than the Euro. Plus if you learn Swedish its pretty useless since only Sweden and some Scandic countries use the language. There's also not much to see in Sweden itself compared to other places in Europe. Not to mention the long and super cold winters (its supposed to be spring already but it just snowed again a couple days ago... -_-)
The plus points are that the people here are really nice (although not warm and friendly in an overt sense), almost everyone young and old speaks excellent english, and of course, the scandinavians are really good looking
I'd go to somewhere like Germany where its relatively cheap for European standards, has a good location right in the middle of Europe which is great for traveling, and learning the language there is useful because its used pretty widely.
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verselines
Member
Berlin, Germany
Berlin, Germany
Thanks
To be honest I wouldn't recommend Sweden. It's really expensive in terms of cost of living, and they use a different currency (SEK) rather than the Euro. Plus if you learn Swedish its pretty useless since only Sweden and some Scandic countries use the language. There's also not much to see in Sweden itself compared to other places in Europe. Not to mention the long and super cold winters (its supposed to be spring already but it just snowed again a couple days ago... -_-)
The plus points are that the people here are really nice (although not warm and friendly in an overt sense), almost everyone young and old speaks excellent english, and of course, the scandinavians are really good looking
I'd go to somewhere like Germany where its relatively cheap for European standards, has a good location right in the middle of Europe which is great for traveling, and learning the language there is useful because its used pretty widely.
thanks for the info.
so far most people i speak to say that sweden is nice. however, like u said, one of my main concerns is also the extremely cold weather and the cost of living. germany would be nice, but due to the fact that i have to take certain modules, my choices of exchange destinations are also rather limited.sweden is also relatively safe right? having been to paris and almost being mugged there, i heard that scandinavia and switerland are amongst the safer cities in europe...
nice shots there!
i would think swedish is much cheaper compared to finland! have u been up north during winter to catch northern lights? i was up at abisko in sweden and also went to norway since it was just an hour's drive across the border! enjoy sweden while u are still there! of course, the other parts of europe has lots to offer as well but i have to say if anyone wants to visit sweden, go north! the winter landscapes can be quite beautiful when there's enough light! yes, it's cold but not all the time.. mid feb to early march are the best times as the sun is up longer and not that cold compared to late dec and early jan.
i would think swedish is much cheaper compared to finland! have u been up north during winter to catch northern lights? i was up at abisko in sweden and also went to norway since it was just an hour's drive across the border! enjoy sweden while u are still there! of course, the other parts of europe has lots to offer as well but i have to say if anyone wants to visit sweden, go north! the winter landscapes can be quite beautiful when there's enough light! yes, it's cold but not all the time.. mid feb to early march are the best times as the sun is up longer and not that cold compared to late dec and early jan.
verselines
Member
thanks for the info.
sweden is also relatively safe right? having been to paris and almost being mugged there, i heard that scandinavia and switerland are amongst the safer cities in europe...
I actually chose Sweden because of academic issues (course matching and course availability etc.) as well. Which Swedish university are you looking at?
Yup it's relatively safe, and the people, while not overtly warm and friendly, are mostly very nice and helpful. They are actually quite similar to Singaporeans in many aspects in terms of mentality, as compared to say, Mediterranean Europeans like the Italians.
verselines
Member
Yup I went to Kiruna some weeks ago. Ironically we saw the greatest display of the aurora in the town of Kiruna itself rather than in the wilderness where we went for our package tour. Wanted to go up to Abisko as well, but our train was cancelled because of a snowstorm.
