Tag Archives: German history

A Baffled Guardian Writer Discovers the Autobahn – and the Best German Roadtrip Songs

In the Guardian, I came across a piece entitled “‘A road trip like no other’: my epic drive on Kraftwerk’s Autobahn” by one Tim Jonze, associate editor of culture. It’s a long and rambling essay about Jonze travelling to Germany … Continue reading

Posted in General, Personal | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Into the Heart of the Ruhrgebiet: Cora’s Adventures at the 2024 Toyplosion in Castrop-Rauxel, Part 3: The Trip Home with Bonus Mineshaft Elevator Tower

Last Sunday, I attended the 2024 Toyplosion vintage toy con in Castrop-Rauxel. For the roadtrip to get there and some views of the city, see part 1 and for the con itself as well as my haul, see part 2. … Continue reading

Posted in Con Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Into the Heart of the Ruhrgebiet: Cora’s Adventures at the 2024 Toyplosion in Castrop-Rauxel, Part 1: The Trip Out and City Views

I had a big translation job to finish (unfortunately, I do have to earn a living), so I still haven’t gotten around to writing up my adventures at the 2024 Worldcon in Glasgow, Scotland, and the 2024 Eurocon in Rotterdam, … Continue reading

Posted in Con Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Cora’s Adventures at the Los Amigos Masters of the Universe Convention in Neuss or the Six Hundred Kilometer Roundtrip, Part 1: The Trip Out

Last Saturday, I attended the 2024 Los Amigos Masters of the Universe fan convention. There are two big Masters of the Universe conventions in Germany, Grayskull Con and Los Amigos, plus at least two general toy cons which attract a … Continue reading

Posted in Con Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

A Bouquet of Mixed Links and Two Estranged Brothers

There will be more new posts here eventually, but I’m still very busy with work, estate stuff and a sick mother in hospital, so there’s not a lot of blogging right now. However, I got some new toys and have … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Links, Toy Photo Stories | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cora’s Adventures at Metropol Con in Berlin, Part 2: The Con

As you probably know, I was at Metropol Con, a new SFF convention in Berlin, last week. For my pre-con wanderings around Berlin, check out this post. And now, let’s get to the con itself. Day 1: Thursday, May 18, … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Con Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cora’s Adventures at Metropol Con in Berlin, Part 1: Pre-Con Wanderings

As you probably know, I was at Metropol Con, a new SFF convention in Berlin, last week. And I had a great time overall and met lots of old and new friends, though there were a few hiccups along the … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Con Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

A Trio of Links: Vintage Crime Fiction, 1960s Protests and New Sword and Sorcery

The next Obi-Wan Kenobi and Star Trek reviews are coming, but first of all, here are some links to new work by me that may be found elsewhere: To begin with, issue 439 of the fanzine The Drink Tank has … Continue reading

Posted in Links | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Steampunk in East Frisia: Steamfest Papenburg 2019

Papenburg is an East Frisian town of about 38000 people near the Dutch border, which is probably best known these days as the home of the Meyer Werft , where many of the giant cruise ships carrying tourists across the … Continue reading

Posted in Con Reports, General | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A no longer quite so new Thurvok story available: The Night Court

Before we get back to photos, con reports and genre commentary, here is a not quite new release announcement. Because I just realised that I never officially announced the latest Thurvok story, which came out just before I left for … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment