SUPERTRAMPS Face to face with one of Vienna`s invisible

25.4.2016
SUPERTRAMPS | WhenWhereWh.at ­ Vienna
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
Guide to Contemporary Culture and Lifestyle in Vienna
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WHAT TYPES
SEE
TASTE
LISTEN
MEET
DO
LEARN
DO IN VIENNA:
SUPERTRAMPS
Face to face with one of Vienna’s
invisible inhabitants
APRIL 23, 2016
BY: CEZARA NICOLA
TIPS
INFO
VinziPort
 Am Rennweg 89
1030 Vienna
 +43 660 77 343 22
SUPERTRAMPS 

100 m Map data ©2016 Google
GUIDED TOURS
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REVIEW
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Robert SUPERTRAMP Tour Guide Photo by Ewa Stern
Trying on guided tours is a lot like a game of Russian roulette: the
anticipation is thrilling and once it ends, you are either elated
about having taken part in it or virtually brain dead from being
bombarded with repetitive and redundant information. This
month, the team of WhenWhereWh.at participated in a tour
guided by Robert, one of the homeless individuals training in the
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social program known as SUPERTRAMPS in. This tour is unique
because it reveals a virtually invisible side of the city, or in any
case, one that hardly anyone wants to see: homelessness.
A spot where Robert lived for 6 months. Photo by Ewa Stern
Our tour guide, Robert, a trained violin maker, has been living on
the streets for a while, has changed shelters a number of times
and literally lived on the side of the road for half a year. At the
time he met a journalist who lived across the street from where he
slept and is familiar with the situation of the homeless in Vienna
through a report he produced not long ago. The man brought
hope into Robert’s life by inviting him home to take showers and
eat with his family. It helped our guide to see the light at the end
of the tunnel and actively look for ways in which he could get
back into the society. This road however is not an easy ride.
Originally from Hungary Robert is not entitled to any form of
social security nor health services. Not having a stable residence
also hinders his job search. Even though he is fluent in 3
languages, the only employment he can hope for is mindless
physical work paid under the table and often less than initially
agreed upon. If he protests he is warned to take it or leave as his
employers know he has no way to pursue justice.
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Meeting place in Vienna's 3rd Dustrict where Robert spends most of his time. Photo by Ewa Stern
Robert’s tour is not only about the buildings and places,
experienced differently by the homeless and the more privileged
on the streets of Vienna, but about the streets themselves. The
stories that he shares with his audience are not the type that
make one comfortable; they are about the places we choose not
to see on our way to work, shopping or a date. Robert tells of
places like a man-size den by the side of the street covered by
the overgrown branches of nearby trees, a patch of land in the
middle of the city inhabited by strangers united in their
predicament and a shelter for the homeless where the homeless
are not really safe. There is also a supermarket where Robert
approaches people and begs for food so he does not have to
resort to stealing.
Robert's SUPERTRAMP tour. Photo by Ewa Stern
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It is through tours like these that individuals such as Robert
manage to escape the vicious cycle that cripples them and makes
sure that they remain on the outskirts of civilization, generating at
best sympathetic looks and a clear conscience for having given a
random man or woman your change from the supermarket. Our
guide is curious – he wants to know how we would feel having to
beg for money and how we might approach others. How close is
close enough for a person who asks you for cash, food, or plain
help? Robert posses strong opinions about the state of society –
why should homeless people have to pay for using public
transport when all their possessions probably do not even add up
to the price of a train ticket? For him, class differences are very
real and made even more so by shoppers’ generosity towards the
homeless. Ironically, wealthier individuals who prefer the Merkur
supermarkets usually ignore him, as opposed to those who shop
at the Penny, a cheap food chain store, and have more than once
offered to buy him food. Most of all, our guide is eager to share
with us his thoughts and life experience: how he ended up on the
streets in the first place, what he would have done differently,
why here and not somewhere else and how he plans to get out of
his predicament.
Beyond the flâneur factor, such tours incorporate a voyeuristic
experience – that of witnessing the most intimate situations in
some people’s lives simply because their private sphere does not
incorporate the traditional four walls and a roof above their
heads. Instead, it is part of the public space. Back in the 60s, this
was the definition of freedom. Now, it is a cry for help.
Robert's SUPERTRAMP tour. Photo by Ewa Stern
The organisation that makes Robert’s tour possible is
SUPERTRAMPS, representing, in the words of coordinator Valerie
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Kattenfeld, a “social business” that aims to help reintroduce and
reinstate homeless people in society. In light of this, the whole
experience is understandably very personal for the participants as
well as the guides and their trainers. One cannot help but feel for
Robert when he recounts his life on the street from July to
November. He speaks about not being able to close his eyes at
night for fear that somebody would bash his head in while he was
sleeping. “If you’re homeless”, he explains “you’re not a human
being”. Ignoring such individuals is the plain confirmation of this
fact. So is charging them for shelter while wondering why
practices such as begging for money and theft are perpetuated in
society. It would appear that there are even more levels of not
being deemed a human being, as Robert’s experience of being
kicked out of a shelter that implements such fees for overnight
accommodation shows.
One of the possible places Homeless people can spend the night in. Robert claims that Samariter in 1030 is the best
of them. Photo by Ewa Stern
Nevertheless, the success of Robert’s tour and SUPERTRAMPS’
enterprise points out that a dialogue between people despite
their flaws and predicaments is possible and very prone to
making a huge change in societal convictions and practices. If
you are looking for an urban journey that introduces you to high
life and the perks of living in a Western metropolis, this might not
be the tour for you. If, however, you are after a chance to get
involved in something beyond the scope of factual
entertainment, you should definitely consider giving
SUPERTRAMPS a chance.
--------------------------------------------------------------Robert's tours are on Sunday at 4PM more info ->
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To join register per email: tickets@supertramps.at
(mailto:tickets@supertramps.at) or call: +43 660 77 343 22
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