Banality often contains concentration wisdom of folks. They say, it is not shameful to be poor. Poorest can obtain social security benefits. What is poverty in Austria, how it looks, tastes and smells? Apart from concept, I wanted to know this as personal experience. Being granted with work after five years of survival training in Graz, I felt myself enormously rich  being registered as poor in Vienna. Low income is inevitable lot for many emigrants. In case of Austrians, poverty is often life philosophy. Those whose income is lower than 893 euros are considered to be poor and can buy goods on lower prices in social supermarket. There I paid visit yesterday, hungry for new experiences.
It was crowd in front of gloomy building forty minutes before opening. This crowd spoke different languages and had shopping bags on the wheels. I felt curious about miraculous presents life had in store for me and found modest size of my bag regretful. Austrian woman nearby started talking to me, and I paid attention to her exquisite make-up and numerous silver rings. She told one must pay or wait, and she preferred the second. Eventually the first two visitors were let in the store, and after half an hour we together with silver lady reached the entrance, where joined new queue to registration office. I counted sufficient quantity of social workers around, who briskly moved forth and back in front of us, but line was moving on with speed of snail. Pale woman in front of me in long Muslim dress and scarf told she was close to faint after two hours of waiting. The dark young mother behind, had three small children, who shrieked playing run and catch, what added to whole turmoil. Meanwhile I was observing faces of buyers leaving store, and there was no air of satisfaction at them. They dragged their bags with listless expression.
After my patience was significantly strained and sweat flowed on my backside under cloths, I was let in registration room. (more…)

Homeless woman had found in junk container something to eat. I made the snapshot in very center of Vienna. Perhaps she is crazy, like many of homeless persons. At least she was talking to herself. This email I received today:
I read Die Wiener Nachrichten today and it upset me that you are not finding satisfaction in Vienna.
I can understand why you are contemplating moving to another city or country – I think of it often myself…
Apart from American and British Embassies being difficult and depressing places, the reality of life in America for someone with no regular job or appearance that looks vaguely Asian is not good. I have spent some time in the USA over the last few years and now I have no desire to go there because of their inherent racism and their fanatical control of their borders.
Britain might be a little better as far as getting into the country from the EU is concerned, but it depends on your political status. London is very expensive to live in. While it is a very cosmopolitan city with many opportunities, I have found that it is physically and mentally draining to live there – but then I am now 58 and not as lively as I was…

Of all the European cities I have visited – and that has been a lot! – I have always found Berlin to be the most exciting, busy, sensual and forgiving city in Europe. Its people are far friendlier than Parisians and it is now reclaiming some of the grandeur it lost during the Cold War. Ian, Scotland

Every day I discover something new for myself in Photoshop, for example, duo and triple color function, which I used processing this collage. This is portrait of Robert Sommer, chef editor of Austrian street newspaper 2Augustin” and one of newspaper distributers, diablled person standing at the corner at Mariahilfer Strasse. It seems, people tend to be kind more to the invalids and disabled. I always see one beggar in main street, who has obvious signs of had been ill with lepra, how it is described in novels, may be it was many years ago. And he always manages to touch heart of people passing by.

Wanderlust, after two years of mood zigzags and transfers from one universe to the other I start again writing in my diary. Why people write diaries at all? Who reads them on Internet? When you write your blog you must write it first of all for yourself, because as author you would never be understood or rewarded by special attention. Bust writing helps to realize many things.
Where I go? Why life can be so hard? What is satisfying relationship? And if we create our world ourselves, why we cannot make it be better?
Why I photograph, to start with, and what is good photography? How one can photograph people and get satisfaction from this activity? How to advance in this business, how to earn your living with photography? How to earn it in big city where you are stranger and don’t know anybody? How to earn your living with photography in big city where you are stranger and when you have no regular work and income? And when you are female?
And many other questions that till now stay without answers. Don’t exclaim: it is impossible! Come with me and look.

Feeling lonely I would go to railway station and stay there thinking about different things. What is love? What is success and failure? They exist as patterns common for all, or everybody has his own definition? What is there for sure is movement. Moving along the road, sometimes carriage can even stop or go backwards when line is busy, but always resumes to go forward. Every step is as important as next one, and all of them have equal value. I mean there is not better than here and now. And road never ends.