My wife, youngest daughter and I went to Austria in the middle of August. Our trip included Salzburg, Melk Abbey and Vienna and was planned using this forum, the Rick Steves' book and the show. We were staying in the Old Town of Vienna and as Rick Steves recommends traveling as a local we were using the little buses that the locals use to traverse the Old Town. The number 1 bus stop was a few steps from our hotel so we took it one Thursday morning on our visit to Vienna. I was carrying my camera case which had my DSLR camera and a telephoto lens in the bag. Usually, I wrap the strap around my arm when we are on buses or trams but this time I did not. When we got to the stop for the Royal Treasury we got off the bus and by the time I realized I left my camera bag on the bus, the bus was gone. A police officer directed me to go to one of the U-Bahn stations to see what could be done. I was given the name of the lost and found department and told to call around 5 p.m. to see if it was turned in. I called at 5 and again the next morning, Friday. No luck. I figured it was gone. We were leaving the following morning Saturday. Disappointed, we went to tour the Royal Apartments that Friday morning. When we returned to the Hotel for a short break about 1 p.m. the front desk called me over and informed me that my camera bag had been found. I raced to the Lost and Found Office before it closed and had a happy reunion. Thus, a big thank you Vienna for a wonderful stay and for getting my camera back to me.
Posted by
Ann Arbor, Mi
3696 posts
What a wonderful story....now you will have your images and great memories
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9369 posts
I had a similar thing happen years ago in Bath, England. I accidentally left my SLR camera on a bench. When I realized it was gone, I went to the police department to report it, and by the time I got there, they had had a call from a restaurant near to the bench. They had someone turn my camera in to them! Certainly teaches you to be a lot more careful!
Posted by
Ann Arbor, Mi
3696 posts
I think it also teaches us that there are probably more honest people out there than pickpockets, so it is really nice to hear these stories, especially for people who have only heard the scare stories!
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
Glad you got your camera back. I lost a camera in Munich on day-one of Oktoberfest a few years back (fortunately not a DSLR, just a smaller all-in-one). I really can't say whether I carelessly left it on the bus or if it was snatched - either way I never recovered it at lost-and-found. Since then I've adopted a one-handle concept for traveling. I reduce everything to only one bag. If I have that one-handle, I've got everything. It works for me, I haven't lost anything since.