Tag Archives: Soviet Union
One Hundred Years Ago, the female Robinson Crusoe only survived thanks to a cat – August 1923: Ada Blackjack
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
The real Soviet War Memorial in Berlin
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
Journey to the Center of Europe – Kruhlyi, Ukraine
Zur deutschen Fassung. For the project “Journey to the Center of Europe”, I am going to visit all the places that have ever laid claim to being the geographical center of Europe or the European Union. And write about them. … Continue reading
One Hundred Years Ago, Germany and Russia laid the Foundation for World War II – April 1922: Rapallo
Zur deutschen Fassung. Did you ever notice that the term “discovery” is only used when a white guy first steps onto some territory, where non-white folks have been living for a long time? And that fake explorer fame is even … Continue reading
One Hundred Years Ago, Countries were established that have been all but forgotten – August 1921: Baranya-Baja and Tannu-Tuva
Zur deutschen Fassung. Attentive readers of this series know that the maps of Europe and the Middle East were shaped in the years following World War I. For some states, however, you needed a magnifying glass to even find them … Continue reading
One Hundred Years Ago, a German Baron from the Baltics established a Kingdom in Mongolia – March 1921: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg
Zur deutschen Fassung. With the spectacular opening episode of this historical series, I wanted to point out that World War I ended neither with the armistice nor with the peace treaty. Shooting, fighting, conquering, occupying and liberating continued everywhere. The … 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
Remembrance with Kebab: Babi Yar
I don’t know what exactly I expected when I went to the site of the largest mass shooting in the Holocaust, but this I didn’t expect. Continue reading
Hiiumaa, the real Adventure Island
Zur deutschen Fassung dieses Berichts. 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 … Continue reading
The Iron Curtain and Freedom of Travel
When I was in Transnistria, I had to go to the immigration office to obtain a tourism permit that would allow me to stay in the country beyond the 48-hour visa that I had picked up at the train station. … Continue reading
The Happy Hermit 