history

The Berlin Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park is the biggest of the three war memorials the USSR left in Berlin after the end of the Second World War. It was built to the design of the Soviet architect Yakov Belopolsky as a memorial for 5,000 of the 80,000 Soviet soldiers who died in the Battle of Berlin between April and May 1945. It opened four years after World War II on May 8, 1949, and it used to serve as the central war memorial in East Berlin.

Berlin Soviet Memorial: Treptower Park

Berlin
5 min read
08/05/202021/12/2023

Lenin statues, with some historical importance, were the source of some impossible satires during the GDR times. East German propaganda had something to say about this Lenin statue that came from Eisleben, Martin Luther's hometown in Saxony. We know for sure that this statue was made in 1925 by the Soviet sculptor Matwej Maniser and that it was the first statue of the Soviet hero standing in German soil.

All the locations that we found Lenin in Berlin

Berlin
7 min read
22/04/202021/01/2024

The Cologne Cathedral has a long pilgrimage tradition in the Christianity, dating back to the Middle Ages. All of this because this is where you can find one of the most precious relics of Catholicism: the Shrine of the Three Holy Kings, which was brought to Cologne in 1164.

A Visit to the Magnificent Cologne Cathedral

Köln
9 min read
10/03/202006/03/2020

Clive James’s Postcard from Berlin was part of a TV travel documentary series that was broadcast in Great Britain in 1995. In this show, you can see Australian broadcaster and comedian Clive James exploring the German capital a few years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of the country.

Postcard from Berlin with Clive James

Berlin
3 min read
09/02/202002/03/2020

After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany, the former Staatsratsgebäude was used as the seat of the Federal Chancellery under Gerhard Schröder. Between 2003 and 2005, the historical building went trough renovation extensively so that the European School of Management Berlin could take over it, they opened their doors in January 2006.

The Staatsratsgebäude: A Historical and Architectural Gem in Berlin

Berlin
5 min read
02/02/202014/06/2024

Auschwitz-Birkenau is the best-known place of martyrdom and destruction in the world. This Nazi German death camp in Oświęcim has become a symbol of the Holocaust, of horror and of genocide. The name of the camp stands as a cultural code that defines the breakdown of our civilization and culture.

Auschwitz-Birkenau: Symbols of Suffering, Stories of Survival

Poland
12 min read
27/01/202012/03/2024

Located in a former Royal Winter Palace, the works of M. C. Escher in The Hague is something that you cannot miss whenever you visit the seat of government of the Netherlands. You need to visit the Het Paleis for the fantastic artwork presented, but you should stay longer to enjoy the beauty of the building itself.

M. C. Escher in The Hague

Netherlands, The Hague
5 min read
23/12/201931/12/2019

If you are a fan of craft beer like we are, you know your way around the beers brewed by the guys from BrewDog. So, we don’t need to talk much about why we decided to bring some friends with us when we went to the BrewDog DogTap in Berlin-Mariendorf to eat some burgers and have some beers.

A visit to the BrewDog DogTap in Berlin-Mariendorf

Bars, Berlin
5 min read
08/12/201914/08/2021

The Devil’s Column got its name from a legendary battle between the Devil and Saint Ambrose, who defended himself by pushing the Devil against the column behind him. This way, the Devil’s horn got stuck in the marble and made two holes in the column. And, today, you can still see the mark of the devil in there.

The Devil’s Column in Milano

Milano
4 min read
06/12/201921/12/2023

If you listened to the album Heroes, from 1977, you know that there is a song in there called Neukoln. There David Bowie plays saxophone and explores an ambient piece of music to show how he saw West-Berlin.

In Neukoln, Bowie explored West-Berlin with music

Berlin
4 min read
13/10/201905/02/2024

Budapest is a fantastic city, so rich in history that it might be complicated for some people to wrap their heads around and focus on exploring the city. This is why, after a couple of visits, we decided to come up with a brief list of our favorite places to visit and things to do in Budapest.

Our Favorite Places to Visit and Things to Do in Budapest

Budapest
7 min read
30/09/201915/02/2024

Today, in 2019, there are still plans to restore parts of it and even open a new pier in the original location. But all these plans were seen to be unrealistic by the West Pier Trust. But you can still go to the beach and sit between the last columns of the pier and watch the burnt down ruins of the West Pier in the distance. They don’t look that far, but, at the same time, they feel like they are a million miles away.

The Ruined West Pier in Brighton

Brighton
6 min read
15/09/201921/12/2023

Located in the hill south of Budapest, Memento Park seems to be the place that communist statues go to die. There, Lenin stands next to Karl Marx and Engels, together with crucial Hungarian communist leaders. All of this behind brick walls that make up a surreal and unique open-air museum that feels more authentic than most sights in the city.

Memento Park: A Surreal Time Capsule of Budapest’s Communist Past

Budapest
6 min read
14/08/201916/07/2024

Hiding in plain sight, in the middle of El Raval, there is a small wooden door that was once attached to the Provincial Home for Maternity and Foundlings of Barcelona. Nowadays, that small round door looks more like a decoration than anything else, but that is the infamous Barcelona's baby drop-off. And, when we were in Barcelona, we had to visit the location and take pictures of it.

Barcelona’s Baby Drop-off in El Raval

Barcelona
3 min read
17/07/201907/05/2024

It weighs more than three tons, and it was buried and almost forgotten deep in a forest around Berlin. But nowadays, you can visit the head of Lenin at the Zitadelle Spandau in an exhibition focused on German history.

The Unearthed Head of Lenin at Zitadelle Spandau

Berlin
5 min read
10/07/201903/07/2023

When I visited the Texas Embassy Memorial Plaque in London, I had a plan to visit some places around the city. A Sunday was walking around before I could do the check in on my hotel. The plaque was the first visit since I felt like there 'wouldn't be much to see besides the plaque, and I was right. Even though the location is historical for reasons that 'I'll be talking about later, there is not much to see. Keep that in mind if you want to visit it.

Texas Embassy Memorial Plaque in London

London
4 min read
24/05/201923/05/2019

Back in 1988, one year before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Tilda Swinton took her bike and cycled round the Berlin Wall, together with the filmmaker Cynthia Beatt. What they created came to be known as Cycling the Frame and it’s a beautiful and surreal document that shows a city scarred by a wall that cut it in half.

Cycling the Frame: When Tilda Swinton cycled by the Berlin Wall

Berlin, Cycling
3 min read
19/03/201902/06/2025

Hidden in plain sight, next to the Europa Center in Budapester Strasse, there is a clock that looks like it comes from out of space. Called Mengenlehreuhr, this clock is famous for being the first timepiece that measures time with lights, colors, and set theory. And I bet you will take some time to learn how to read the time in it.

Mengenlehreuhr on Budapester Strasse: Can you tell the time?

Berlin
4 min read
12/03/201918/06/2025

Panorama Mesdag is the oldest 19th-century panorama painting in the world that it’s on its original site. The art is cylindrical, and it’s more than 14 meters high and 120 meters in circumference. It’s so big that it’s hard to describe the experience of visiting the monument in words. This is a place you have to attend to see by yourself.

Panorama Mesdag: a trip back in time to a fishing village in the 19th century

Netherlands, The Hague
5 min read
18/02/201929/01/2025

The House where the Wannsee Conference happened during the Second World War belonged to Reinhard Heydrich, who got the house as an entertainment center for those who belonged to the SS and their families. And Reinhard Heydrich was an essential man inside the Nazi Party. Above him, only Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler. He used the house as a meeting place for 15 other officials that got together to decide something that was described in a bureaucratic way. But, without any euphemistic terminology, those people had lunch while they talked about how the Holocaust would happen.

A Visit to the House of the Wannsee Conference in Berlin

Berlin
6 min read
04/01/201920/01/2025

Close to the center of Lviv, there is a makeshift museum of sorts. This unlikely tourist spot can be found on a typical urban courtyard, but this is far from ordinary. The Yard of Lost Toys in Lviv is an unbelievable exhibition and could be described as the toys the world left behind.

The Yard of Lost Toys in Lviv

Lviv, Ukraine
5 min read
18/12/201821/12/2023

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