Category Archives: Poland
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
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
Where is the center of Europe?
Zur deutschen Fassung dieses Artikels. Reading the book Black Earth, 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 … Continue reading
Instagram 1.0
How our grandmothers got their cool Facebook profile photos. (Warsaw, Poland in 1946.)
Random Thoughts (9)
In Bolivia, I spoke with a lawyer about feminicidios, the killing of women by their partners, which carries a higher sentence than a “regular” homicide. Out of curiosity, I looked up the figure for Germany – and was shocked: 331 … Continue reading
How far can you get by train?
Zur deutschen Fassung dieses Artikels. One of my readers wrote that he had been wondering how far he could get if he took his local commuter train and continued traveling with no other means of transport than the railway. As a train enthusiast, … Continue reading
The Happy Hermit 