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 […]
Dead Russians: St Petersburg’s Czar Tombs
Although you don’t often think of Russia as part of Europe, a walk in St Petersburg convinces you that, unlike Moscow, this is a city that looks more like Paris than Tehran. I mean look to your left! Then you go to the various cemeteries and you’re surprised at how many dead Russians you recognize. […]
Dead Russians: St Petersburg Composers & Writers
In another post, I claim that Russia before the Bolsheviks was much more European than we give it credit for. Its continued isolation in the 21st century, much of it self-inflicted, impoverishes us all. Nothing spells out Russia’s culture more starkly than the long litany of its famous dead. In St Petersburg you find buried […]