I traveled to Austria for more than a decade as a professional. Most of my visits were to Vienna, so when the opportunity presented to be back, I got my camera ready for capturing any change since my last visit. I took with me my Nikon F3 and only two lenses from the 1970s: a Nikkor 50mm 1.4 and the quintessential Nikkor 105mm 2.5. I was ready to walk the streets of this town, hear its music and rediscover its museums.
I like to take a walk along the Danube on my first day to decompress my legs from the trans-Atlantic flight. Interestingly I have never seen the Danube “blue”. I have seen it dangerously high in Prague; low in Budapest, and calm in Vienna. But never blue. This time was no different.
What was different were the walls on the bank of the river – I have never seen so much graffiti covering the ancestral stony walls! My first reaction was that it was a dis-figuration. But after some time I decided to look at it as a new mode of expression, albeit not always appealing.
Was it art? The creativity of those who used seemingly any material they could find was impressive, but I have to admit that somehow the Danube I knew has changed. It is crowded, less romantic. But perhaps less historic – can paint and Strauss Waltz did not live harmoniously for me that day.
Times have also changed in other ways since my last visit. New forms of migration have affected societies in most parts of the world. This statement on the bank of the river that runs across many countries seems to reflect the new reality.
… It was getting cold so I headed back to the city center. On my way I noticed this posting.
December 2, 2016
© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2016
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