Part of a surveillance report on my activities at the Hotel Paříž from November 5-9, 1989. The file notes that ‘BAKER didn’t spend much time in the hotel during the daytime. We didn’t detect that he attempted to establish contacts with other hotel guests or the hotel staff.’ At the bottom of the photo, you can see the start of the transcription to my note to Gabrielle. 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.