This Video is 91% Positive. My Day in Leipzig, Germany.

Video Description

The incident at the end of my day in Leipzig (written a couple of hours later in the safety of my hotel room): I was really enjoying the walk from the market back to town, it was such a lovely evening. Then, out of nowhere, a guy approaches me with a full mask on. I remember thinking ‘this is a bit weird’. Suddenly, there were four of them around me. Angrily shouting at me, they all had masks and hats on, only revealing their eyes. It was at this point I realised there was a serious problem. People don’t have masks like this unless they are into some proper dodgy shit. I didn’t understand a word they were shouting, but when they started pointing at my camera, I had the sinking feeling this was a robbery. Fight or flight. Four to one, my only thought was to run. After about a block I looked back and they were still chasing me, but I was outrunning them and they were quite distant. I kept going though, trying to get as much distance between us as possible, looking out for anyone who could help me along the way. Nobody bothered. After about four blocks, I looked back and they were gone. My main feeling was amazement that this 50 year old guy could outrun a bunch of 20 somethings on their ‘own streets’. I relaxed and started walking. But something made me glance over my shoulder again and I couldn’t believe it, they were there again and closing fast. In a panic I started running again, I saw a shop with an open door and burst inside, almost directly behind the counter, shouting ‘CALL THE POLICE’. The shop owner didn’t even have time to react before two of them burst straight into the shop behind me. The shop owner, a youngish girl, stood between me and the first masked man. He was shouting aggressively but at last I had someone who could translate what he was saying. I was right behind the counter of the shop and remember looking down at a wee dog staring back at me like he’d seen it all before. The shop owner spoke English very well, but what she said wasn’t what I wanted to hear. She told me to take this outside, she didn’t want any of this in her shop. I can understand that to be honest, but at the time it was the last thing I wanted to hear. The only thread of relief was that she told me they thought I had been filming them (which I of course hadn't), but maybe this wasn’t a robbery? I stepped outside feeling a bit angry now, but still cautious as they were still agitated and not letting it go. I turned to my pigeon German 'FÜNFZIG JAHRE, FÜNFZIG JAHRE'. How dare they confront and chase an innocent fifty year old guy up the street? 'REIS VLOGGER'. I didn’t know if this was making any sense, but the response was ‘I don’t think so’. They weren’t buying it. One of them started pointing at my camera again, but I was not letting go ‘I can show you clips, but you are NOT touching this camera’. I showed the last couple of clips and my business card. As one of them checked my channel, the others were still barking at me from different angles, no idea what they were saying, but they didn’t sound convinced. Just when I was facing the prospect of being forced to delete my footage, the guy checking my channel looked up at me from his phone and said ‘okay, okay’. And as quick as that it was over and they were casually walking away. The shop owner reappeared and asked if I was okay, probably with an understanding now that I was the innocent one. I said I was fine, but could feel the adrenaline draining from my body. I felt empty and still do. I have a video to film tomorrow and another one yet to be finished. I don't think it's going to happen. My camera has given me a job I love and I am so grateful for it. But sometimes it gets me into trouble. It might just be some jobsworth at a ferry terminal, but this time it has landed me in a seriously dangerous situation. Us travel vloggers get a lot of negative attention for just doing our job. I don’t stick cameras in people’s faces without asking if it’s okay to film them, I always try to be respectful and friendly. But every now and again I get some really bad reactions as if I’m breaking the law by holding a camera. Like I’m the criminal, not the four masked men that have just chased me up the street. I don’t think it’s fair. Maybe some vloggers out there push boundaries and spoil it for the rest of us. I guess I just have to live with that and push on, but I don't think I can face recording tomorrow. [END] Thanks for reading my story. And I’m sorry if you are reading this as a German - I know this can happen anywhere in the world, it just happened to me in Germany. I still love your country, but Connewitz, Leipzig, somewhere on Wolfgang-Heinze-Straße, I will never walk your streets again and if you read this as a fellow vlogger, I strongly advise against you filming in this part of town. The streets are apparently run by bandits. But the show must go on. And that means there WILL be a video next week. See you then and thanks for watching/reading.