Category Archives: History

Visiting the Stasi Archive

Posted on 2023-11-19 by Andreas Moser

Zur deutschen Fassung. 2.3 million index cards, and that’s only for the district of Karl-Marx-Stadt. This is one of the many pieces of information I took away from my visit to the Stasi Archive in Chemnitz, as Karl-Marx-Stadt is called … Continue reading →

Posted in Germany, History, Photography | Tagged , | 14 Comments

One Hundred Years Ago, the female Robinson Crusoe only survived thanks to a cat – August 1923: Ada Blackjack

Posted on 2023-09-17 by Andreas Moser

Four men. One woman. One island. –
The history of Arctic exploration, Russian expansion, and a dramatic story which explains why you should never travel without a cat. Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, History, Russia, USA | Tagged , , , | 24 Comments

The real Soviet War Memorial in Berlin

Posted on 2023-05-09 by Andreas Moser

Zur deutschen Fassung. Many visitors are surprised when, in the center of the German capital, right next to Brandenburg Gate and Parliament, between plenty of other monuments, and only a short walk from the train station, they see two Soviet … Continue reading →

Posted in Germany, History, Photography, Ukraine, World War II | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

One Hundred Years Ago, Lawrence of Arabia killed the Railroad – March 1923: Transjordan

Posted on 2023-03-25 by Andreas Moser

Zur deutschen Fassung. Not quite a hundred, but still more than thirty years ago, I was in Australia as an exchange student. I don’t think I have ever told stories from that time, because back then, we still took pictures … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Iran, Islam, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Technology, Travel, UK, World War I | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

One Hundred Years Ago – the episodes you missed in 2022

Posted on 2023-03-08 by Andreas Moser

Writing two blogs, one in German and one in English, is a lot of work. Not quite twice the work as writing one blog, because I can use the same photos twice. But it’s more work than some might think. … Continue reading →

Posted in Germany, History, Language | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

The Battlefield of Waterloo, Looking for the Bones, and a Surprising Supper

Posted on 2023-01-20 by Andreas Moser

Zur deutschen Fassung. “Little Napoleon wants to be picked up on platform 2, please. And hurry, or he’ll lay waste to the whole town!” Only when I hear this announcement and look out of the train window, I realize what … Continue reading →

Posted in Belgium, Food, History, Military, Photography, Travel | Tagged , , | 24 Comments

The largest Roman city you never heard of: Gorsium

Posted on 2022-11-12 by Andreas Moser

Fumbling through the Puszta fog, somewhere between Balaton and Buda, between Pannonia and Pest, I discovered the largest Roman city you probably never heard of: Gorsium. Continue reading →

Posted in History, Hungary, Photography, Travel | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

One Hundred Years Ago, King Ferdinand got Promoted – October 1922: Greater Romania

Posted on 2022-11-04 by Andreas Moser

While Romania is famous for shooting its dictators, it treated its kings quite fairly.
One hundred years ago, the king was asked if he wanted to retain the job although his kingdom had greatly expanded. He said yes. Continue reading →

Posted in History, Hungary, Moldova, Photography, Romania, Travel | Tagged , | 7 Comments

The Secret Space Program of Yugoslavia

Posted on 2022-09-23 by Andreas Moser

Zur deutschen Fassung. After my brother and I unexpectedly and rather accidentally discovered a secret Yugoslav submarine port in Montenegro (please read that story first, otherwise this one won’t make any sense), we were still completely excited and out of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bosnia–Herzegovina, Cinema, Croatia, History, Military, Montenegro, Technology, USA | Tagged , | 8 Comments

King and Peasants discuss the British Monarchy

Posted on 2022-09-08 by Andreas Moser

The following clip from Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) is still one of the best contributions in the debate about (not only British) monarchy: I found the following transcript of the dialogue: [ARTHUR and PATSY riding. They stop and … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics, UK | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments