Category Archives: History
Easily Confused (51) Economic Systems
Communist centrally planned economy: Capitalist free market economy: The main difference seems to be that nowadays, young people do the queuing themselves instead of sending their mothers. That’s progress. (Auf Deutsch.)
The Soviet Military Cemetery
When I am looking for a quiet place to read, there aren’t as many options available as it may seem: In the park, noisy children are playing. In the forest, man-eating bears are roaming. At the library, some of the girls are … Continue reading
Who invented Parkour?
There are these two Frenchmen, Raymond and his son David Belle, who go around and claim that they invented Parkour running. In reality, the sport had already been invented by Arnim Dahl in Germany in the 1930s. Here is some … Continue reading
“A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich” by Lucas Delattre
“A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich” would be one of the best spy novels I have ever read, if only it was a novel. But even better, it’s a true story. It’s a cliché that the best stories are … Continue reading
Romania is the Cradle of our Civilization
One of the amusing aspects of moving from a large country (Germany) to a smaller or less populated country (Romania) is how fixated the latter countries are on their image abroad. One of the questions I get asked the most in Romania is: “What … Continue reading
Next trip: Moldova and Transnistria
My birthday will be on 6 July. Strictly mathematically speaking, I will turn 40 then. Searching for a way to postpone this event or to prevent it altogether, an ingenious solution came to my mind, thanks to my legal education, … Continue reading
Mexican Nazis
Zur deutschen Fassung dieses Artikels. During my upcoming travels in Latin America, I won’t need to worry about money. Whenever I will run out of funds, I can work at a college or university and teach German and European history. The demand … Continue reading
Obsessed with Shoes?
If you know someone who is obsessed with shoes and you want to cure her, you can try showing her this photo. It puts things into perspective. Links: Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, Israel, where this photo was taken. … Continue reading
Smoking against Mosquitoes
Whenever I walk through a mosquito- or fly-infested forest or swamp, I light up a cigar. A strong one preferably. It keeps these rowdy little animals at bay. Now I am happy to have discovered that this is no excuse … Continue reading
Two guys walk 60 km to eat a soup.
A friend from Târgu Mureș asked me last Sunday if I felt like “going on a little hike to the hills outside of town”. Of course I felt like it. He wanted to hike to Miercurea Nirajului. I didn’t know exactly where that … Continue reading
The Happy Hermit 