From: Amara Graps (Amara.Graps@mpi-hd.mpg.de)
Date: Tue Jun 20 2000 - 10:44:59 MDT
From: "Michael S. Lorrey" <retroman@turbont.net>, Tue, 20 Jun 2000
>Actually, it was me who said the first bit (pre [...]), not John.
>Locations? Britain (London, Liverpool), Amsterdam, Rome, Venice,
>Naples, Paris. The apathy toward rape incident occured in London. In
>Rome my father's rental car was broken into and his camera bag was
>stolen, mom was pickpocketed in Venice....
I'm very sorry about your friend's and family's experiences. It sounds
terrible.
I've travelled to all of the above that you listed with the exception
of Rome and Naples, plus to other large European and central/eastern
European cities such as: Strasbourg, Padua, Prague, Brno, Warsaw,
Vienna, Salzburg, Bratislava, Riga, Budapest, Tallinn, Helsinki, and
Munich and most large German cities. The conditions were usually by
myself, sometimes with my bike, sometimes with a friend or with
colleague(s) or a family member. I usually spent large amounts of
time using public transportation (buses, trains, subways) and spent a
fair time in train stations, bus terminals, also. And I like exploring
out-of-the-way places like alleys, old buildings, too.
I'm guessing the reason I experienced no trouble had something to do
with where and how I travel and maybe how I look (not as a tourist?),
although my camera would pinpoint me as a tourist, but there may be
other reasons. (Perhaps it's the garlic :-) )
I'm well aware of the tricks that the thieves use on buses with their
"distract and pickpocket" scheme, however, (I've seen it), and so I
know what to do and how to carry my baggage. And I try to never put
myself in too dangerous of a situation or in a dangerous location, and
if I do find myself in something that my instinct tells me may be bad,
I leave as quickly as possible.
Despite your friends and family's experiences, I don't think that the
crime conditions are rough in Europe. There are fascinating places to
see, and I would hate to know that folks restrained their travels
because of what they thought the crime situation was like.
BTW, I hitchhike all over Heidelberg and between my tiny home village
and Heidelberg too, and I feel very safe.
Amara
--
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Amara Graps | Max-Planck-Institut fuer Kernphysik
Interplanetary Dust Group | Saupfercheckweg 1
+49-6221-516-543 | 69117 Heidelberg, GERMANY
Amara.Graps@mpi-hd.mpg.de * http://galileo.mpi-hd.mpg.de/~graps
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"Never fight an inanimate object." - P. J. O'Rourke
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