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Recent Posts
- The Bodhi Tree
- One Hundred Years Ago, the Battlefields turned Red – November 1921: Poppies
- New Government Eases Path to German Citizenship
- There is a Bus Stop for Everyone
- Learning Minimalism from the Kids
- One Hundred Years Ago, an Ex-Emperor wanted to have another go at it – October 1921: Karl of Austria-Hungary
- A Damaged Roll of Film
- Cats of Lost Places
- Smuggling Cigars into Poland
- The Situation on the German-Polish Border
Category Archives: Poland
Smuggling Cigars into Poland
Zur deutschen Fassung. At the German-Polish border, there is plenty of police right now. What are they looking for, I wonder and ask. Cigarette smugglers, says the female officer, while her two male colleagues are ostentatiously of the opinion that … Continue reading
The Situation on the German-Polish Border
Zur deutschen Fassung. As you know, I consider timeliness to be overrated, which is why my report from Guben will be written sometime in the next few weeks or months. But I do not want to withhold the current dramatic … Continue reading
Guben 2021
Zur deutschen Fassung. Dark, fog-shrouded streets. Police cars driving by every minute. Autumn leaves shimmering in the glow of the street lights. Only a few cars are sneaking through the streets, turning off their engines and lights as soon as … Continue reading
“Sovietistan” and “The Border” by Erika Fatland
Hier gibt es diese Rezension auf Deutsch. Do you also have so many travel guides at home for countries you never made it to? I still got a Lonely Planet guidebook for Central Asia, which I bought in 2007. Apparently, … Continue reading
Posted in Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Books, China, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Ukraine
Tagged Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, MacLehose, Mongolia, Pegasus, Soviet Union, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
11 Comments
Two Night Trains to the East
Zur deutschen Fassung dieses Artikels. I am calling them night trains on purpose, not sleeper trains, because when I booked the tickets, I couldn’t discern if there would be a bed, maybe even a shower, or with how many people … Continue reading
Armenian Patriotism
Zur deutschen Fassung dieses Artikels. This summer, during the Football World Cup, I was in Kraków, where I met an Armenian friend studying in Poland. When she said she needed to go home to watch the World Cup, I naturally … Continue reading
Next trip: Krakow
Apparently, studying at a distance-education university does not only mean that I can study from anywhere, but also that they are taking me on trips. As part of my studies in history, I’ll be going on a field trip to Poland, starting … Continue reading
Random Thoughts (16)
Finland has some weird sports competitions. Each time I return to Europe, rents have doubled. Tweets cannot change laws, regulations or rules. Each time Donald Trump tries to do so, he should be laughed at. Why can’t Microsoft Windows move … Continue reading
Posted in Bolivia, Czech Republic, Finland, Language, Military, North Korea, Philosophy, Poland, Politics, Religion, Sports, Technology, USA, World War II
Tagged Donald Trump, prison, railroad
5 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
Instagram 1.0
How our grandmothers got their cool Facebook profile photos. (Warsaw, Poland in 1946.)
The Happy Hermit 