This particular document made me laugh. It identifies an StB source named ‘Eva’ working at Prague’s Hotel Forum, where I stayed for two nights in March 1989. The document says Eva speaks German, is social and works as a ‘professional’ — most likely a prostitute. She was probably there to keep an eye on me, but I don’t remember ever talking to her. Source: Surveillance Directorate of the SNB – Operative Files, arch. no. SL-2520 MV (cover name “Inter”)
I’m an independent journalist, travel writer and author who’s lived in Central Europe for nearly three decades. I love the history, literature, culture and mystery of this often-overlooked corner of Europe, and I make my living writing articles and guidebooks about the region. Much of what I write eventually finds its way into commercial print or digital outlets, but a lot of it does not.
And that’s my aim with this website: to find a space for stories and experiences that fall outside the publishing mainstream.
In 2021, I published “Čas Proměn” (“Time of Changes”), my first book of historical nonfiction. The book, written in Czech, is a collection of stories about Central and Eastern Europe in the 1980s and early ‘90s, including memories of the thrilling anti-communist revolutions of 1989. The idea for the book and many of the tales I tell there were directly inspired by this blog. Czech readers, find a link to purchase the book here. I hope you enjoy.