Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/10/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]LUGers, The only places that I have felt safe from street crime have been in Japan, whether it be in a remote mountain village or big city Kobe, Northern UK, and La Jolla , of course Jerry Douglas Sharp wrote: > Low-level crime it may be for the police, but when it's happened to > you it's anything but low-level - Frauke (my missus) still refuses to > shop at H&M in Hannover since her purse was stolen there during the > summer sales a few years ago. > > Organised begging and pickpockets, skimming at ATMs (it's so > widespread in Germany that we even inspect the keypads and card-slots > of ATMs whenever were getting some cash, even in banks) - you can't > get away from it anywhere in any busy city, Hannover is full of them too. > Most pickpockets seem to work in groups in the main department stores > where you are less likely to notice being pushed about. > The other popular trick is to stain your jacket with a spilled drink > or food to distract your attention, or you're accosted by small > children who show you a piece of paper (don't know what's on it, I > never fell for that trick) so you don't notice the adults filching > your pockets. > > Bag-snatching here is mainly drug addiction related theft, not > organised crime. > > So, don't trust anybody who gets too close - keep a mean and murderous > look in your eyes (pretend everyone else is a Nikon or Canon user ;-) > ) and always keep your ID, passport, bank and credit cards in a secure > inside pocket far away from your wallet. > Cheers > Douglas > > Daniel Ridings wrote: >> On 10/22/07, Steve Unsworth <lug@steveunsworth.co.uk> wrote: >> >> >>> One of the possible venues is Barcelona, but some people seem concerned >>> about low level street crime - pick pockets etc. Did you feel unsafe or >>> venerable why you were in Barcelona? >>> >> >> Steve, >> >> My 18-year-old daughter was in Barcelona a few months ago for a whole >> week. It was her first trip out on her own. She had heard this too >> (pick pockets, etc). >> >> So she didn't take her Pentax DSLR, but a compact Canon instead. >> >> She was really upset with herself. The reports of pick pockets wasn't >> anything she had to concern herself with once she was there. >> >> My wife ran in to some Rumanians standing around ATM:s and tried to >> make off with her 50 Euro bill, but she grabbed her, confronted the >> old lady and got her money back. >> >> I doubt that the pick pocket situation is worse than any other major >> city. The days when you could walk around Europe (at least walk around >> in the big cities) without worrying about this kind of thing is over. >> Barcelona is no worse than anywhere else. >> >> _