Sixty years ago, a spontaneous uprising against the communist government of Hungary shook the world. This insurgency, lasting between 23 October and 10 November 1956, was the first major challenge to Soviet authority behind the Iron Curtain. The epicentre was Budapest where the violence was greatest and where signs of the revolution are still visible. […]
Hom Strom
Deep in the Engadine valley of Switzerland where Romansch is widely spoken, there is a village called Scuol, where a pagan tradition survives to this day: the burning of a straw man (Hom Strom) dating from ancient fertility festivals and possibly human sacrifices. Click on an image to enlarge.
Sherlock Holmes in Switzerland
It’s common knowledge that Holmes and Moriarty fell to their deaths by the Reichenbach falls; most people also know that the falls are in Switzerland. But few Sherlock fans could place them on a map and fewer still have been there. The Reichenbach Falls are a short, brisk walk from the centre of Meiringen in […]