15. Oktober bis 28. November 2010

Eröffnung am 14. Oktober um 19 Uhr in der Berlinischen Galerie

Die 4. Edition des Europäischen Monats der Fotografie Berlin präsentiert sich als ein Festival im Umbruch. Der Fotomonat dauert diesmal sechs Wochen, weil er – dem Rhythmus des Berliner Kulturherbstes angepasst – bereits Mitte Oktober beginnt. Größte Änderung ist jedoch das Experiment einer verbindlichen thematischen Vorgabe an die teilnehmenden Institutionen. Das Ziel war es, die Ausstellungen und Veranstaltungen auf ein Thema hin zu fokussieren und damit der besseren Wahrnehmbarkeit und stärkeren Profilierung des Festivals zu dienen.

„Moderne Zeiten, neue Bilder“ lautet die Umschreibung für das Thema, das die Fotografie als Instrument der Modernisierung in den Blick nimmt. Museen und Kulturinstitutionen, Galerien und Ausstellungshäuser waren aufgefordert, ihre Beiträge unter verschiedenen Gesichtspunkten dieser Modernisierungsfunktion des Mediums zu widmen. Denn längst ist allgemein anerkannt, dass mit Fotografien keineswegs „die Wirklichkeit wiedergegeben“ wird. Was die Kamera erfasst und wie das Ergebnis wiedergegeben wird, ist vielmehr Interpretation der Wirklichkeit und damit Schaffung neuer, zusätzlicher Wirklichkeit. Mehrere zum Thema passende Felder wurden den Teilnehmern von uns exemplarisch genannt, und alle Bereiche tauchen mit historischen, vor allem aber zeitgenössischen Beispielen im Festival auf.

Wer möchte, kann sich die Website nach diesen Themenfeldern ordnen oder sich die herausgehobenen „Highlights“ anzeigen lassen. Erstmals wird es in Gestalt der Berlinischen Galerie auch ein Festivalzentrum mit einem großen Veranstaltungsangebot geben.

Überraschende und verstörende, kontroverse und atemberaubende Bilder warten auf neugierige Besucherinnen und Besucher. Der 4. Europäische Monat der Fotografie Berlin 2010 wird mehr als nur ein Fest fürs Auge.

Quelle: http://www.mdf-berlin.de/

Photo by jongos

Everyone wants to party on the road but with a million hostels in the world, where should you go?

I’ve searched high and low, drank with the best of them, and endured sleepless nights by the toilet to find the best party hostels out there.

Here are twenty that will keep you drinking, dancing, flirting, and hugging the porcelain goddess until the sun comes up:

Surf N’ Sun

Location: Gold Coast, Australia.

With a swimming pool and open courtyard, the Surf N’ Sun packs the young, the wild, and the alcoholic.

Bar Crawls take place every night and the hostel offers punch and free club entry. Boxes of goon start flowing late afternoon when people come back from the beach.

The Clown and Bard

Location: Prague, Czech Republic

With a 36 person dorm room, this place is always hopping. There’s a bar downstairs with a two for three happy hour beginning at 7pm and a live band filling the air.

Music gets blasting and four deck games of Kings have been known to break out as people forget there’s a city outside the hostel. If you’re in the 36 bed dorm, bring earplugs as this place does not follow any of the hostel sex rules.

The Flying Pig

Photo by fatalfuj

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

With its bar and pillow lounge, the Flying Pig is the spot for those looking to channel their inner Bob Marley. There’s a constant cloud of smoke seeping out into streets at all hours of the day and night. Don’t worry if you run out- there are two coffeeshops across the street!

Base

Location: Melbourne, Australia

Base features a downstairs club that pumps out music every night. You won’t get any sleep as the music filters up the floors and entices you to come down and party until dawn.

The young and the restless fill the dance floor after drinking pitchers of beer and cheap, colorful shots. There’s usually theme and karaoke nights that let you embarrass your self all night long.

Loki

Photo by obvio171

Location: Cusco, Peru

Located in a 450 year old building, Loki is known throughout South America for its parties. With regular events, an open lounge, and theme nights, I wouldn’t expect any sleep here either. The bar is regularly packed so tight, you’ll be practically grinding against your neighbor.

#11 Happy Guesthouse

Location: Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Why: Located by the lake in Phnom Penh, #11 Happy Guesthouse features a huge patio, two big screen TVs, a pool table, and one dollar beers. Always packed, this hostel is filled with the party seekers who spend their days sightseeing and night drinking beer before heading to the infamous Heart of Darkness.

St. Christopher’s Inn

Location: London, England

A bar, karaoke, cheap drinks, and a license to go until 4am all means that this hostel is bursting with partygoers and one the busiest in London. After you drink it down, you can take it off at the rooftop hot tub. People here know where the action is and if you play your cards right, it just might be your room.

Kabul

Photo by foraggio

Location: Barcelona, Spain

Located in the center of Las Ramblas, Kabul has a very open second floor where all parties happen. Happy hour officially begins at 7, which is usually a few hours after everyone wakes up.

With a reputation for partying, this place keeps drawing those who start partying at 2 a.m. and sleep until 2 p.m. This place gives new meaning to the term “late night.” I was called a quitter for sleeping at 5 a.m.

The Rising Cock

Location: Lagos, Portugal

The Rising Cock is infamous for its parties and it’s well deserved. Two things happen at the Rising Cock: drinking and drinking.

Start your day with the hostel’s booze cruise on which the majority of people get naked, and then keep the partying going with drinking games at the hostel. If you can’t handle 24 hour partying, this hostel is not for you.

The Pink Palace

Location: Corfu, Greece

The Pink Palace is one of the world’s most famous party hostels in the world and with good reason: toga parties, cheap shots of ouzo, happy hours, and theme nights. After a day at the beach (which is just minutes away) or their booze cruise, you’ll be spending the night dancing at their club, Palladium, until the sun comes up.

The hostel has over 300 beds- there’s a good chance, you might not end up in yours!

The Treehouse

Photo by prufrock27

Location: Ko Chang, Thailand

Every night is a bucket night at the Treehouse, and it’s the perfect blend of a relaxed hippy vibe and partying with a very active dance floor and a lot drinking. This place has all the ambiance you need and you don’t have to stay there to party there. People trickle in from all over to have fun, making this a hotspot on Lonely Beach.

The Yellow

Location: Rome, Italy

With a bar downstairs and semi-nightly pub crawls, it’s pretty easy to meet people at the Yellow. It’s not a huge hostel either making the close quarters also convenient for meeting fellow travelers.

Ostello Archi Rossi

Location: Florence, Italy

This place has been popular for a long time as evident by the walls covered by the names of past guests. A big courtyard and common dining area keep people mingling and drinking vino rossi.

There are some clubs down the street and, when they close, you can move back to the courtyard to keep the party going. The rooms are a little away from the action so you can actually get some sleep if you want.

Wombats

Photo by gpwarlow

Location: Berlin, Germany

Known for its partying, Wombats rarely sees anyone over 25. With an ultra-chic bar, everyone breaks out their best attire and pickup skills here. Cheap drinks keep travelers mingling all night long. If you can’t meet anyone here, you can’t meet anyone anywhere.

The Jazz on South Beach

Location: Miami, Florida USA

Located right near the beach, The Jazz on South Beach has an excellent bar that hosts the bold and beautiful of South Beach. This is the place to stay if you’re looking to be seen in South Beach.

Carnival Court

Location: Capetown, South Africa

There’s no chance of a good night’s sleep at Carnival Court. Located near a lot of bars (there’s also a bar in the hostel), this place is a hangover waiting to happen.

It’s wild here and everyone is looking to break a new drinking record. The staff will point you in the direction of the parties but you just might have trouble walking there as the fun here starts well before the sun goes down.

Millhouse Hostel

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

The music is on 24-hours a day at the Millhouse and the atmosphere is extremely social! Each night has a different activity such as dance party, karaoke night, and tango lessons.

Definitely a hostel for those that want non-stop fun and excitement right at home! Most commonly heard line: “Were those moans from the porno shop next store or did you get lucky last night?”

Auckland Central Backpackers

Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Located right down town, this hostel draws upon the fact its part of the Base chain. That means all the craziness of Melbourne spills over with people getting down and dirty all night long. It will give you another reason to keep staying longer in Auckland. !

India House

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

A funky converted house that was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, the India House features eccentric local characters and travelers who just can’t leave. Maybe it’s Bourbon St. Maybe it’s the jazz. Maybe it’s the beer vending machine in the kitchen. Whatever it is, people here know how to have a good time.

Tina’s Backpackers

Location: Caye Caulker, Belize

Located right on the beach, Tina’s Backpackers keeps people in close quarters. Everyone here is into island living – sun by day, drink by night.

Though the crowd tends to be a bit older (30ish), you wouldn’t know it by the way people party here. It is way off the beaten path but it’s worth it.

source: http://matadornights.com/20-craziest-party-hostels-around-the-world/

Photo by Gina

World travel is cheap and easy. In fact, with a little practice and effort, you can travel the world for free.

The idea that travel is expensive and difficult is bullshit peddled by tour companies, hotel chains and corporate media.

The tourism industry wants you to buy cruise packages and stay at all-inclusive resorts.

They want you to choose a travel experience the same way you would choose a new jacket at the mall. They want your Credit Card number.

The tourism industry doesn’t want me to reveal the simple secrets of free travel, but I’m going to share them with you anyway.

It can be scary to venture into the world with nothing more than optimism and good-will, but personal freedom begins with a leap of faith.

1. Embrace the Simple Joy of Travel

Travel frees you from the grind of daily routine. You will explore new places, meet new people, try new foods and learn things about the world – and yourself – that you never imagined were possible.

The joy of new experience is the most wonderful thing about travel – and new experiences are free. Walk the streets of a city. Stop and chat with a local. People watch in a public park. Climb to the top of a hill and watch the sun set over the ocean.

The simple joy of being in a new place is just a matter of…wait for it…going someplace new. No tour package required.

2. Keep Your Needs To A Minimum

The modern American economy is built on the false premise that people need to buy new goods and services all the time. Again, I call bullshit.

People need fresh air, healthy food, clean water, exercise, creative stimulation, companionship, self-esteem and a safe place to sleep.

All of these things are simple to obtain. Most of them are free.

For fresh air, go outside. For exercise, take a walk. For creative stimulation, go somewhere new. For companionship, make a friend. For self esteem, turn off your TV, breathe deep and open your spirit to the basic goodness of the world.

Things like food and shelter are much cheaper once you get outside the United States. See # 5 below for ways to obtain food and shelter for free.

3. Go Slow

Cambodian Coast . photo by Ryan Libre

If you live in New York and want to take a 2 week vacation to Africa, it will be very difficult (though not impossible, see number eight) to travel for free.

Indeed, as long as you believe that time is money, you will spend money all the time.

Time is not money. Time is free. You have all the time in the world.

Instead of buying a plane ticket, catch a ride out West, or remodel an old sailboat, or just hop on your bike and ride away from town. The slower you travel, the less money you will spend.

4. Leave Your Possessions and Obsessions Behind

When you travel, you don’t need to pay rent. You don’t need a car. You don’t need an oven, a washer-dryer, electricity, Cable TV, a gym membership, a sofa and loveseat or a closet full of clothes.

You don’t need a suit and tie to wear to your job because you don’t need a job. You don’t need to worry about paying the bills, because there are no bills to pay.

You are free.

5. Trust People and you will Receive Free Food and Lodging

Many people are willing to open their homes to travelers. Chip in with a few chores, and they will give you a free meal, too.

CouchSurfing and WWOOF are two phenomenal online networks that help travelers connect with local hosts. CouchSurfing members are willing to give travelers a place to sleep for a night or two. WWOOF connects travelers with organic farmers who want to trade room and board for an extra hand.

Many members of both CouchSurfing and WWOOF are seeking an alternative to high-impact consumer culture.

6. Learn a Useful Craft or Skill

If you have a skill, such as cooking, animal husbandry, massage, musical ability or basic carpentry, you can barter for free food and accommodation as you travel.

Universally appreciated skills like cooking are best, though niche skills that are in high demand, like website design, are also useful. Native English speakers can often travel the world for free by teaching language classes in each destination they visit.

The slower you travel, the easier it will be to work out a mutually beneficial arrangement with a local community or host.

7. Get Out of the City

Although it’s possible to travel for free in a big city, it’s damn difficult. Cities are built on money, and necessities like fresh air, clean water and a safe place to sleep are difficult to come by in cities.

Go to the country, where people are more relaxed, food is plentiful and there’s ample room for one traveler to lay out her sleeping bag under the stars.

8. Find A Job You Love That Entails Travel

If you need an income in order to pay off loans or support a child, find a job that calls for extensive travel. There are millions of jobs available in the global economy that demand travel.

Of course, some jobs are easier to love than others, and much work that involves travel also involves the destruction of local ecosystems and traditional ways of life. Avoid unethical work if at all possible – it is bad for your health and worse for your soul.

For job ideas, check out the Travel and Adventure jobs section here at the Traveler’s Notebook.

9. Embrace Serendipity

Traveling the world for free requires a blend of advance planning and the willingness to seize opportunities and go with the flow.

Does your new CouchSurfing friend want company for a drive across the country? Grab your pack and ride along! Does an organic farm in Thailand need a farm sitter for the rainy season? Get in touch with Christian Shearer!

As Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.”

Go Dancing.

What are your tips for cheap or free round the world travel? Share in the comments!

source:http://thetravelersnotebook.com/how-to/how-to-travel-for-free/