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Recent Posts
- In the King’s Footsteps (Day 3) Lake Ammer
- Hiiumaa, the real Adventure Island
- In the King’s Footsteps (Day 2) Andechs Abbey
- In the King’s Footsteps (Day 1) Lake Starnberg
- The Iron Curtain and Freedom of Travel
- Why I never get hired
- Hitchhiking against the Skeptics
- Bombs, Explosions and my Time in Beirut
- The most stupid plan of all times
- But what about the Comet?
Category Archives: Estonia
Hiiumaa, the real Adventure Island
I have been on lots of islands, some of them far away like Australia or Easter Island. After paying a lot and polluting heaps of air to get there, I was wondering if it’s really worth it. And as a … Continue reading
Posted in Cold War, Estonia, Military, Photography, Travel
Tagged Hiiumaa, sea, Soviet Union
13 Comments
Random Thoughts (17)
Now I know why it’s called CATalonia: it doesn’t know if it wants to walk through the door or not. Shouldn’t nobody sign no contract that they ain’t read before. (I am now giving legal advice in country lyrics, at … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Law, Lithuania, Media, Politics, Spain, Statistics, Time, Travel, USA
Tagged Catalonia, Donald Trump, legal advice, Luxembourg, passport, poetry, Venice
12 Comments
Where is the center of Europe?
Reading the book Schwarze Erde, I became aware of a village in Ukraine that was calculated and named as the geographical center of Europe in 1887: Dilove. “Really?“ I wondered, not because I would begrudge Dilove the distinction, but because I had … Continue reading
Posted in Belarus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Europe, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Maps, Photography, Poland, Travel, Ukraine
Tagged Europos Parkas, geography, Slovakia
13 Comments
How rich is Estonia?
You can tell that a country is abundantly rich and has a prospering economy when there are signs next to the toilet that tell you “Don’t throw money down the toilet”. (Seen and photographed at Tallinn Airport in Estonia.)
Why Eastern Europe cannot accept more Refugees
Dear Western Europe, it seems you are in sulk about our unwillingness to accept more any refugees. It hurts us to hurt your feelings, so please allow us to explain things from an Eastern European perspective. We are certain you that … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Estonia, Europe, Human Rights, Hungary, Islam, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Politics, Statistics
Tagged refugees, Slovakia
20 Comments
The Revolutions of 1989
1989, those were the times! With each broadcast of the evening news, the world changed so quickly that most people already lost track back then. Now, 25 years later, only a vague recollection of falling walls, fired shots and popping champagne … Continue reading
Peak Oil
(Photographed on the island of Hiiumaa in Estonia.)
The Towers of Tallinn
As many churches and castles with beautiful towers you may build, one guy is going to dwarf them all by building a huge chimney.
There are more important things than territorial integrity
Democracy and self-determination are great. But nobody should believe that a referendum hastily pulled out of a hat, with limited choices and without a proper prior public debate about the question posed at the polls is a good example of direct … Continue reading
Posted in Afghanistan, Cold War, Elections, Estonia, Europe, Germany, History, Human Rights, Latvia, Law, Lithuania, Maps, Military, Politics, Polls, Russia, Ukraine
Tagged Crimea, international law
18 Comments
“I ran Iraq for 24 years, and all I got was a port named after me?”
When I saw this in Tallinn, I wondered why on earth any city would name its harbour after Saddam Hussein. Especially so far away from Iraq. Until I realized that “sadam” is Estonian for “harbour”. (Zur deutschen Fassung dieses Fundstücks.)
