The life and deeds of Countess Elizabeth Báthory, the Blood Countess to you and me, read like a real-life Game Of Thrones. Her ancestral line included a dragon slayer which is why her coat of arms includes three dragon’s teeth. She was an absolute, unaccountable ruler in Central Europe at a time where the leader […]
First World War in Vienna
This is the weekend when, 100 years ago, the major powers in Europe started declaring war on each other. The First World War affected every country differently. In Britain, we hear a lot about Flanders, the Somme, poets such as Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen or Rupert Brooke and, of course, the restrictive alcohol licensing laws […]
Greek railways : a lament
For someone who loves train travel like myself, nothing is sadder than the cancelling of services and the ruination of railway stations. OSE, the National Greek Railways were the first victim of the Greek crisis and almost all but the most profitable of railway services were closed and went to dust. All international lines were […]