Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

TRAVEL

‘This bus is driven by a German’: Outrage over anti-foreigner sign in Dresden

A bus driver in Dresden sparked outrage after placing a sign on the door of his vehicle that said: “This bus is driven by a German driver."

Published: 17 December 2019 12:19 CET
'This bus is driven by a German': Outrage over anti-foreigner sign in Dresden
The sign on the Dresden bus. Photo: DPA

A commuter took a picture of the A4 piece of paper attached to a window on the number 90 bus on Monday, and sent it to transport operator Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (DVB) on Twitter.

Passenger Peter Dörffel, 23, who flagged up the sign which appeared to be anti-foreigner, said he wasn't surprised by the incident.

Dresden, a city in the eastern German state of Saxony, has long been viewed as a region in Germany with huge problems when it comes to xenophobic attitudes.

The Saxon capital is a bastion of the far-right and is the birthplace of the anti-Islam Pegida movement.

In November, the city declared it was facing a ‘Nazi emergency', amid rising violence and far-right sentiment.

READ ALSO: Anti-foreigner attitudes on the rise in Germany, study finds

“It frightened me, most of all because it doesn't really surprise me anymore,” Dörffel told the news site Tag24.

“This kind of thing seems to be slowly becoming normal.”

DVB said the driver would no longer be allowed to operate the company's services.

“Such behaviour is absolutely unacceptable,” a DVB spokesman said. “We immediately contacted the appropriate subcontractor. Now the incident must be investigated.”

A spokesman from the subcontractor Satra Eberhardt GmbH said the situation was “shocking”.

The company is eager to attract drivers form outside of Germany to fill vacancies. 

“We are open to the world,” he said.

Users reacted angrily to the picture of the sign on Twitter, and #busfahrer (bus driver) was trending in Germany on Tuesday.

 “What the hell is that,” asked one user. “Mondays in Dresden: Bus driver discredits his colleagues,” wrote another.

Dresden's public transport authorities also reacted to the tweet online. “Hello, the news has already reached us. We're also wondering what's wrong with our colleague.”

In the tweet, DVB said the behaviour “would have consequences”.

It's not the only anti-foreigner story to grab headlines recently. Last week a landlord was fined after advertising a flat only 'to Germans'.

TRAVEL

Explore Austria: Mauer, a charming wine-hiking spot on Vienna’s outskirts

Catch the very tail-end of the wine season and autumn foliage in one of the lesser-explored corners of the Austrian capital: Mauer.

Published: 12 November 2021 17:03 CET
Updated: 24 September 2023 08:20 CEST
Explore Austria: Mauer, a charming wine-hiking spot on Vienna’s outskirts
Beautiful views and cosy taverns await you on the edge of Vienna. Photo: Catherine Edwards

Wine-hiking is an autumn must-do in Austria. There’s the official Wine Hiking Day (Weinwandertag) that usually draws in big crowds, but it’s also possible to follow the routes through beautiful scenery and wine taverns on your own.

Mauer in the southwest of Vienna is one of the routes that is mostly frequented by locals.


The footpath takes you through scenic vineyards. Photo: Catherine Edwards

You can reach this part of the 23rd district using Vienna’s public transport, and you have a few options. From the Hietzing station on the U4 line, you can take the tramline 60 or bus 56A. The former will take you either to Mauer’s central square or you can get off earlier at Franz-Asenbauer-Gasse to start the hike. If it’s too early in the day for wine just yet, you could start your day at the small and charming Designo cafe (Geßlgasse 6).

Otherwise, the residential area itself doesn’t have much to see, but keep an eye out as you wander between the taverns later — there are some beautiful buildings.

To start the hike, head west along Franz-Asenbauer Gasse, which will take you up into the vineyards, growing some red wine and Vienna’s specialty Gemischter Satz or ‘field blend’, which as the name suggests is a mixture of different types of grapes.

Photo: Catherine Edwards

The paved road takes a left turn, but the hiking route follows a smaller path further upwards. Here you’ll have magnificent views over the whole of Vienna.

If you stick to the official hiking route (see a map from Weinwandern here) you can keep the whole route under 5 kilometres. But more adventurous types don’t need to feel limited.

You can also follow the Stadtwanderweg 6 route (see a map here) either in full, which will add on a hefty 13 kilometres, or just in part, and venture further into the Mauerwald. If you do this, one spot to aim for is the Schießstätte, a former hunting lodge offering hearty Austrian meals.

EXPLORE AUSTRIA

In any case, you should definitely take a small detour to see the Wotrubakirche, an example of brutalist architecture from the mid-1970s built on a site that was used as a barracks during the Second World War.

Not far from the church is the Pappelteich, a small pond that is not only an important habitat for local flora and fauna, but a popular picnic spot for hikers. Its only water supply is from the rain, and due to climate change the pond has almost dried out in recent years, prompting the city to take action to boost its water supply by adding a permanent pipe.


The church is made up of over 150 concrete blocks. Photo: Catherine Edwards

What you really come to Mauer for, though, are the Heuriger or Viennese wine taverns. 

The most well-known is Edlmoser (Maurer Lange Gasse 123) which has previously been named as the best in Vienna. Note that it’s not open all year so check the website, but in 2021 it should be open between November 5th and 21st, and is also serving the goose that is a popular feature on Viennese menus this time of year.

Tip for translating Heuriger opening times: look for the word ausg’steckt, which is used by those taverns which aren’t open year round. They will also often show that they’re open by attaching a bunch of green twigs to the sign or front door.


Buschenschank Grausenburger. Photo: Catherine Edwards

Also worth visiting are cosy Buschenschank Grausenburger (Maurer Lange Gasse 101a), Heuriger Wiltschko (Wittgensteinstrasse 143 — located near the start of the hiking route, this is a good place to begin your tour) and Heuriger Fuchs-Steinklammer (Jesuitensteig 28).

SHOW COMMENTS