Thomas Compact 2012 Curious Edition by Vertical-7 Ltd.

2012 It seems travel addiction can only get worse with time and even the economic crisis provides only a temporary relief. Like most of us, in 2011 I had less time and financial resources for my trips, however the airlines and hotels helped me a lot with difficult to resist special offers, especially around Europe. Well, it would have been a terrible year if I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make one long distance journey and this year the destination was Taiwan. Thanks to TAITRA I visited a gifts and stationery show in Taipei and I had the unique chance to also see the magnificent International Flora Exposition in one of its last days â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a color feast I celebrated by taking over 1000 pictures!

World Traveller / Curious Edition

January 2012

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Flight accident during take-off, Salzburg, Austria

On a cold winter day I was standing on a bridge in Salzburg, looking for a good viewpoint to make a panorama shot of the city along the river, when over a hundred seagulls took off, frightened by a passing truck, and started flying around. In a split second I managed to switch my camera to continuous mode and started shooting at 10 fps. In one of the over 100 shots I captured this incredible moment.

February 2012

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A distinctively different shop window, Manchester, UK

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For the 7 hours I spent in Manchester, I got completely soaked, together with my camera lens, which started having difficulties focusing, but apart from the few nice photos I could make despite the steel grey skies, I saw this curious shop window, which I later found out was not so unique â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a few months later I saw another All Saints shop in Hamburg, Germany. But I am still impressed with its idea!

March 2012

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Street Actors at Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin, Germany

Today Checkpoint Charlie is just a tourist attraction, and not only there, but in all of Berlin you can see street actors, dressed as different characters reminding of the DDR and cold war past, posing for tourists who want to take pictures with them. Well, I am not that kind of tourist, so I was just looking for something curious. And I found it! The US Army should fire those two guys for spoiling its image. ;-)

April 2012

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Statue of Anonymous, City Park, Budapest, Hungary

In the day that I spent in Budapest between my flights, I visited many of its interesting sights. Near the end of the afternoon, while I was in the yard of Vajdahunyad Castle, I saw this interesting statue. It captured my attention with the face well hidden behind the hood, then I saw the name in Latin read ANONYMVS. Later I found out there are several hypotheses about the historic figure pictured in this statue.

May 2012

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Love is all around, Dresden, Germany

In just one day Dresden offered me a cool morning, bright sun at noon, light rain, dark clouds, pouring rain, and nice afternoon sun. While I was walking around the historic center, I carelessly took a few shots of a horse carriage, riding tourists around the old city. Later, when browsing through my pictures back at home, I discovered what a special moment between the two horses I had captured in this photo.

June 2012

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Wooden ornaments, International Flora Exposition, Taipei, Taiwan

The purpose of my visit to Taipei was a gifts & stationery exhibition, but I can say I will remember Taiwan mostly for its beautiful nature. I was really impressed by the beauty I saw in Chan Kai-Shekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residence in Shilin, but just as impressive was the International Flora Exposition (a huge 6-month World Expo for flowers) which was in its last days, when I got there. Flowers and gardens from all over the world!

July 2012

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The East Side Gallery, Berlin, Germany

Berlin has definitely managed to turn every dark memory from its communist past into a tourist attraction. Apart from the street actors, reminding visitors of the cold war era, and all the places, symbolizing the division of Germany and Europe, they have turned even whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s left of the Berlin Wall into a canvas for street artists. One of the paintings pictured with a smile the man who made the change possible.

August 2012

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Written in... roots and branches, Chan Kai-Shek residence, Taipei, Taiwan

I already mentioned how impressed I was with the artistically arranged gardens in Chan Kai-Shek residence in the Shilin district of Taipei, but nothing there could compare in curiosity to this script, written in Chinese from tree roots and branches. It appears we may not speak the language of nature, but it certainly does speak our language. Or at least can write in Chinese. Unfortunately I cannot understand it ;-)

September 2012

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Dead Wall Art, Leipzig, Germany

Some buildings are pieces of art themselves, others choose wisely to serve as a canvas for contemporary art. This Marriott Hotel near the Central train station in Leipzig had nothing to be remembered for in terms of architecture, but had its enormous dead wall painted top to bottom with this not so easy to understand, but noticeable and colorful art. Much better than unwanted graffiti art – definitely! * On September 28 is the author’s birthday

October 2012

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Friendly Pigeons in Market Square, Warsaw, Poland

Market Square in Warsaw is a definite landmark of the city with its beautiful old buildings. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a place where a lot of street artists sell their paintings and a lot of people meet, sit on the benches and rest or just watch the crowds of tourists and locals pass by. And there are hundreds, if not thousands of pigeons who just love to socialize with humans, to land on their shoulders and eat from their hands.

November 2012

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Coral Art in Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan

One of the reasons I decided Taiwan was worth a travel photographer’s visit, was Taipei 101 – the tallest building in the world between 2004 and the opening of Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010. Unfortunately, the view from the tower doesn’t reveal an amazing skyline as the one you see in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Chicago or New York, but the building itself is very impressive and beautifully designed and decorated.

December 2012

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(Not) just an ordinary toilet , Innsbruck, Austria

You can never guess what’s on this photo. A detail from a huge light box on the wall of a... public toilet in an arcade. I have seen many different toilets around the world. In functionality, comfort and cleanliness they go all the way from Heaven to Hell. But I have never seen a toilet as the one I accidentally noticed on Maria Theresienstrasse in Innsbruck. Worth including in the Curious edition of my calendar. * On December 27 is the author’s name day

Photography and Design: Stephan Yankov Cover Photo: Toni Dimova This calendar was digitally printed on an HP Indigo Press by Vertical-7 Ltd., Sofia, Bulgaria www.vertinet.com

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Wo r l d Trave l l e r / Cu r i o u s Ed i t i o n

2012

My travels in 2011 were possible due to the professionalism of the flight crews of the following airlines: