|
Stuttgart author opens
Europe to new travelers
By Charlie Coon,
Stars and Stripes
European edition, Monday, July 3, 2006
|
Charlie Coon / S&S
Vicki Landes of Stuttgart recently published a travel book
entitled, “Europe for the Senses: A Photographic Journal.”
Courtesy of Vicki Landres
Neuschwanstein castle in the
clouds in the Bavarian
Alps, one
of the sites Vicki Landes photographed for her book.
By Vicki Landes
Published by BookSurge
$27.71 on Amazon.com
|
STUTTGART,
Germany — Bored
with barracks? Craving something besides another Double Whopper at the
food court? You might want to take a page out of Vicki Landes’ book.
Or maybe even the whole book.
“I wanted to make sure our time here was
worth something,” said Landes, 31, author of “Europe
for the Senses: A Photographic Journal.”
“In the U.S.
we live in a bubble. Many people don’t realize there’s a whole world
out there.”
So instead of holing up at Patch
Barracks, which can be a bubble-like in its own right, Landes has
embarked on a mission to become a consummate traveler.
Her book is an inch-thick collection of
postcard-quality photos from sites that are both famous and off the
beaten path, accompanied by creative writing that tries to transport
the reader into the scenes.
Like a lot of young couples, Landes and
her husband, Sgt. Robert Landes of the 560th Military Police Company,
don’t have a lot of time. But when one lives in Europe,
she says, not a lot of time is needed.
Baden-Baden,
the Bodensee, the Ulm cathedral are day
trips from southern Germany,
she noted. Folks without a car get there by train. Weekends in Berlin
and Prague are doable.
For many young troops, their first
exposures to travel possibilities in Europe are
found at their local USO, outdoor recreation or morale, welfare and
recreation office.
“I’d (recommend) them to get your feet
wet,” Landes said. “I don’t necessarily like to get up at 3 a.m. and sit on a bus.
“But you and a buddy can jump on a bus,
and the USO usually gives you a quick tour when you get there. Then you
are free to roam the city.”
Landes said her grandparents suggested
she compile a book after their inbox became overflowing with photos and
letters about her travels.
“Over here you can go to a 1,000-year-old
monastery and wrap your arms around the cold stone,” she said.
Robert Landes, on the other hand,
couldn’t care less about old cathedrals. But he’s happy that Europe
is a gold mine for his pastime: studying military history.
“Whenever we go on a trip, whenever
possible I try to incorporate something I like to do,” he said.
His top picks for military buffs: The
American Cemetery at Normandy,
military museum in Diekirch,
Luxembourg, and Bastogne battleground.
While in Berlin, Landes
broke free from his wife and 7-year-old son, Brady, for a quick trip to
the nearby Sachsenhausen concentration camp.
Vicki Landes, who works at the U.S.
European Command’s directorate for logistics and security assistance,
has come a long way from Kansas City, Mo.
She’d never been outside the U.S.
when her husband got his orders for Stuttgart.
Vicki Landes had hoped Robert would be
sent to nearby Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
Instead, in early 2000, the young bride and her new baby flew to Germany.
“I was ticked,” Landes said. “I came over
here kicking and screaming.
“But after three years I said to my
husband, ‘Let’s extend.’”
|
