The capitals of Europe,
with their palaces, boulevards, high-rises and television towers, are at
the same time, witnesses of a tradition-rich history and deep reaching changes,
therefore they symbolize the way of our continent. This pictorial delineates
my contribution. It is a picture of the focal point of power and the reservoirs
of vitality, from the cradle of culture and the centre of splendor. But
these European capitals are not only gigantic collections of houses - where
people not only: govern, administer, study, do research, but also love and
suffer, work and celebrate - they are mainly a community of unmistakable
lure and charm. Whoever is allowed to know them, is able to take indelible
impressions home with them. The Champs-Elysees in Paris at sunset, the stands
of the flower- lady by the Spanish staircase in Rome, the Towers of Prague,
high above the in the morning fog hidden Moldau, the canals of Amsterdam,
the Tejo-Bridge in Lisbon - who couldn't add to this list? One human lifetime
is really not enough to visit all the capitals of Europe.
I hope that,
with my Europe-Trip, old yearnings may be fulfilled and that it will take
the ones who understand the pictures, impressions and the reverie, on a Dream-Trip,
which no travel-bureau can offer: 30 of the most prominent cities of our
continent, among them are large and world renown cities like London, Paris
or Rome, easy reachable Copenhagen and Amsterdam, but also smaller ones such
as Monaco or Valduz and the (then) inaccessible Tirana. Exotic and tranquil,
beautiful and sober, hectic and peaceful, grandiosity and charm are all equally
represented on this trip, through the nuances and tension rich "Scenery of
Quality" in the (former) field of force between East and West.
The uppermost
law during this production was, that each capital's own atmosphere came to
life with the color-photos, often of breathtaking impressions (painstakingly
gathered, far into the night on the internet, as well as through purchased
illustrated books) and with texts, which tell of the experiences of the individual
cities, with the task of informing, combined with impressions, so that the
special flair of each city can be felt.
The Philosopher Oswald Spengler (1880-1936)
describes human beings as "city-building animals" and who understood the
world history to be the history of the city-dwellers, wrote in his book
"The decline of the Western Civilization" : Nations, States, Politic and
Religion, all Arts and all economies, rest on the first time phenomenon of
the human existence: The City". What Spengler said as a whole, pertains to
the capitals in a special way. These from me, laboriously and nightly compiled
facts for the trip through Europe's capitals, took on the character of an
expedition, to the nucleus and sources of the western culture. That many
of the illustrations include my person, is necessary, since nowhere else
is theft such an issue as in the internet, even intellectual property, seems
not to stop anyone. It is sad, but unfortunately a reality. I wish everyone
much fun on my virtual trip. Farther down are the individual cities listed,
in the event that someone does not want to come along on the whole trip.
