17 Days in Central Europe

Chapel Bridge - Lucerne, Switzerland - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

IN LATE September and early October, we spent 17 days traveling in parts of Switzerland, Germany and the Czech Republic. The genesis of this trip was our friend - and often travel companion - Bruce's, long-time desire to visit Munich during its famed Octoberfest. Our philosphy about such travel is that when we spend as much money and time to get over "the pond," we want to stay long enough and experience enough to make it worthwhile. As a photographer, I tend to pick my destinations with good subject matter in mind. Travel with family and friends, though, is always a compromise, as each participant has their own view of what they want to do and see on a trip like this one. Planning the trip was fun, as all 4 of us had input and worked from our particular interests. One of the the things we heard from many quarters was that the choice between Vienna and Prague was a no-brainer. Prague prevailed every time. As I expected, for various reasons, Prague turned out to be my personal favorite. That is not to say, though, that the other 3 weren't a lot of fun.

Octoberfest - Munich, Germany - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

WE ULTIMATELY chose 4 destinations, splitting our time nearly evenly between them. Part of this scheme was based on the amount of time we - collectively - were comfortable spending on this trip. When planning, we considered Zurich, Lucerne, Munich (the "anchor," of sorts, as we planned the trip around Octoberfest), Prague, Vienna, and Berlin. We didn't consider (but probably should have) Budapest. Ultimately, we landed on Zurich (from there we could travel to Lucerne), Munich, Prague and Berlin. One other consideration was the availability of flights home out of Berlin.

Lindenhauf Castle - Munich, Germany - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

OVER THE next few weeks, I will write about our experiences in these magnificent cities. Making photographic images on a trip like this involves a lot of compromise. I have discussed my "leisure travel gear," in detail in previous blog posts. I have also discussed the need to be mobile and flexible when in a group situation where most of the participants are not as serious about photography as I am. We are constantly on the move and most of the time, there is little opportunity to really "work" a subject. For me, creative photography generally takes some thought, some time on a location, and not infrequently, the desire to return and re-take images. That is mostly not possible on a trip like this, and images often take on the characteristics of what we sometimes refer to as  "snapshots." There is a tension between wanting to make creative images, and just making "record" photographs of places; especially when it is very possible I will only visit them once in my lifetime. I often make "iconic" image photographs that are not totally unique. I don't apologize for that, as I want to make "my own" photos, even if they have been done before.

Lindenhoff Platz - Zurich, Switzerland - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

ONE THEME you will see through most of the images is - unfortunately - dreary weather. Lots of rain. Over the 30 or so years I have traveled, for dedicated photography and for leisure travel, we have been uncommonly lucky with weather. I cannot remember any trip which was a near-complete rainout. That luck was sorely tested on this trip. We found ourselves slogging around in anything from a drizzle to a steady rain much of the time. While it doesn't completely spoil a trip, it does put a damper on certain parts of it. In particular, rain makes photography a real challenge. I would rather photograph in very hot temps, or in snow than in a steady rain. It permeates everything, and especially when you are dealing with the other challenges I have noted about "leisure travel" with non-photographers. On review, I found a few of the images I made were spoiled with raindrops on my lens - which isn't always readily apparent at the time (I will learn to check the front of the lens more frequently). There may be no opportunity to return to the location in most instances for a re-shoot. It is what it is. Grey and often plain, detail-less skies are also problematic. Perhaps one positive takeaway is that in some instances, the conditions create more saturated colors.

Charles Bridge - Prague, Czechnia - Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

NONETHELESS, I was able to see some pretty great sights and make some memorable images, not only of the cities we visited, but also the surrounding countryside, including some time in the Alps in both Switzerland and Germany. We saw some impressive castles in "fairy tale settings" in both of those places, and some wonderfull classic old buildings and castles in Prague.

Berlin, Germany - Checkpoint Charlie - Copyright Andy Richards - All Rights Reserved

I HOPE you will enjoy these 4 cities and the sidetrips we took as much as I enjoyed them, through my imagery here.