In het Hol van den Leeuw: Reisschetsen uit Sovjet-Rusland

A young artillery lieutenant sets out from post‑war Berlin on a crowded night train, clutching only a small suitcase and a fur coat. The first leg of his journey takes him through the bustling stations of East Prussia, where he mingles with a curious mix of bankers, landowners and government officials, each offering a glimpse of the uneasy peace that follows the war. As the train rolls toward the Baltic coast, his own boldness—borrowing tickets, striking up conversations, and bargaining for maps—reveals both the chaos and the camaraderie of travel in a continent still reshaping itself.

When he finally reaches the frontier towns of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, his official duties as an officer intersect with the everyday lives of locals still reeling from upheaval. He observes the shifting borders, the tentative political negotiations, and the raw atmosphere of cities like Riga and Kaunas, all while documenting the sights, sounds and people he meets. The narrative captures the tension between military order and the unpredictable human drama unfolding across the newly drawn map of Eastern Europe.

These vivid sketches blend personal adventure with keen historical insight, offering listeners a front‑row seat to a moment when Europe’s old order was giving way to a tumultuous new reality. The tone is both observational and intimate, making the distant landscape of 1919 Soviet Russia feel immediate and strangely familiar.