Arthur Chrenkoff
54.
2 July, 8:45 AM “Sorry about your head,” said the woman. She was tall, slim – like most of the women around here. Never mind the French;...
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Welcome to "Ruthenia & Galicia" the book. Each post is a short chapter. Keep coming back for more
Arthur Chrenkoff
Jun 25, 20208 min read
53
2 July, 8:45 AM, Czernograd, “The Czernograd Gazette” newsroom When in need, he turned to every journalist’s best friend: Google. Maciar...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Jun 17, 20203 min read
52.
2 July, 8:30 AM When Jake came to it and opened his eyes, he realised three things, all in a quick succession: he wasn’t in Kansas...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Jun 15, 20203 min read
51.
1 July, 5:15 MP, Czernograd, Hotel Casino It all started with a noise outside Jake’s door. And it all finished with a noise outside...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Jun 12, 20207 min read
50.
1 July, 3:45 PM, Czernograd, the Government Quarter He was tall – taller – at about 5 feet 2 or 3 inches, and thick-set, with strong...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Jun 9, 20204 min read
49.
1 July, 1:30 PM, Czernograd, Pansky Station Pansky Station had been built over a century ago in a style derisively known as “railway...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Jun 8, 20203 min read
48.
1 July, 12:15 PM, Czernograd, 44 Rimsky Street Palec listened to them, sunk in his chair, right hand on the chin, seemingly absorbed by...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Jun 5, 20203 min read
47.
1 July, 12:10 PM, “The Czernograd Gazette” newsroom Igor spent the morning doing the work he was actually paid to do, while thinking all...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Jun 2, 20207 min read
46.
1 July, 12:00 noon, Czernograd, 44 Rimsky Street Halszka would have liked to think that it was her who had the first break, but it was...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 31, 20202 min read
45.
1 July, 10:30 AM, Czernograd, Hotel Casino A different day, a different weather outside the window, and a different cop outside his room....
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 28, 20203 min read
44.
1 July, 9:00 AM, “The Czernograd Gazette” newsroom There was another message on his desk, and this time he suspected the meeting would...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 26, 20202 min read
43.
30 June, 5:10 PM, Czernograd, Hotel Casino There is the early local news on the TV halfway through the bulletin, a half empty can of Coke...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 25, 20206 min read
42.
30 June, 2:45 PM, Czernograd, Police Station Number 5 Maciejewicz was there, behind his desk, as if he has not moved more than a few...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 24, 20208 min read
41.
30 June, 2:00 PM, Czernograd, 44 Rimsky Street When Halszka got back to the office from a quick lunch, there was an email sitting at the...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 21, 202011 min read
40.
30 June, 1:00 PM, Czernograd, the Surovy District, Fitz’s Fritz’s was a little dive, a block away from the riverfront, south of the...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 20, 20207 min read
39.
30 June, 12:45 PM, Stare Duszki Jake and Marina retraced their way back to the village, followed this time all the way by low clouds....
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 19, 20201 min read
38.
30 June, 12:30 PM, “The Czernograd Gazette” newsroom His phone went off. The newsroom, an open plan office nightmare like a battery farm...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 18, 20204 min read
37.
30 June, 8:30 AM, Czernograd, the Niski district He woke up and he didn’t know where he was. It wasn’t his hotel room. This one was...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 15, 202011 min read
35.
29 June, midnight, Czernograd, the Prazsky Park district After they left the club –he still did not know if the place had a name and he...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 12, 202015 min read
34.
29 June, 10:00 PM, Czernograd, the Wolski district He glanced at his watch. It was now just past 10 and over an hour into the night. The...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 11, 20207 min read
33.
29 June, 7:30 PM, Czernograd, the Old City After she arrived at his room, she gave him a critical look over. Head to feet and then back...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 10, 20203 min read
32.
29 June, 4:45 PM, Czernograd, the Kranberg district He was in Kranberg within half an hour. The traffic has been particularly heavy at...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 9, 20206 min read
31.
29 June, 3:12 PM , Czernograd, Hotel Casino With the daylight-saving time taken into consideration, it was a seven-hour difference...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 3, 20205 min read
29.
29 June, 10:15 AM, Czernograd, Hotel Casino “About last night...” he started. “Sorry about all the spooky stuff,” Marina said. “Remember,...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 2, 20205 min read
28.
Jamie: “So all that stuff about mirrors, that’s bullshit?” Natasha: “Yep.” Jamie: “And garlic?” Natasha: “That too.” Jamie: (laughing)...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
May 1, 202012 min read
27.
28 June, 8:10 PM, near Spisz The night sky was clear, and thousands of stars came out, strewn across the firmament like fluorescent sand....
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 28, 20206 min read
26.
28 June, 7:07 PM, “The Czernograd Gazette” newsroom His mobile phone was ringing. “Hello,” he picked it up. The incoming number was...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 27, 20204 min read
25.
28 June, 4:45 PM, near Spisz He survived the whirlwind of introductions and now was trying to survive the whirlwind of hospitality. He...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 26, 20204 min read
24.
28 June, 2:15 PM, “The Czernograd Gazette” newsroom When he got back to the office there was a message pinned with sticky tape to his...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 25, 20204 min read
23.
28 June, 1:30 PM, near Spisz The tabor spread out in an empty field, off the beaten track, literally, with all the vehicles forming a...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 24, 20206 min read
22.
28 June, 1:15 PM, “The Czernograd Gazette” newsroom Gawenda called him back just as he was about to sneak out to pick up a kebab for...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 23, 20209 min read
21.
28 June, 11:10 AM, Stare Duszki “This is it, I guess.” They were standing on a gentle grassy slope, not far from the edge of the water....
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 22, 20205 min read
20.
28 June, 11:00 AM, Czernograd, 44 Rimsky Street Halszka Saint-Germain-Bukowski leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes and ran her hand...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 19, 20204 min read
19.
28 June, 9:30 AM, “The Czernograd Gazette” newsroom When they finally arrived via email, the statements, one from the police, the other...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 18, 20204 min read
18.
“The first written mention of Ruthenian Gypsies appears in ‘The Chronicles of the Princes of Czernograd’, a manuscript written down the...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 17, 20202 min read
17.
27 June, 3:00 PM, Czernograd, Hotel Casino On the way back to the hotel from lunch Jake thought he was being followed. He could have...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 15, 20207 min read
16.
27 June, 1:20 PM, “The Czernograd Gazette” newsroom Googling Mathias Maciar, perhaps unsurprisingly, did not return any useful...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 14, 20203 min read
15.
27 June, 1:10 PM, Czernograd, Krakovska Avenue “The ashes...” He looked up from his plate. He has again chosen a safe option: spicy...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 13, 20204 min read
14.
27 June, 12:35 PM, “The Czernograd Gazette” newsroom Igor only started firing up after the fourth coffee of the day, brought up in a tall...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 12, 20203 min read
13.
“If you consider travelling with children, be advised that a much shorter trip to the Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter at...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 10, 20202 min read
12.
26 June, 4:00 PM, “The Czernograd Gazette” newsroom “...The police are continuing their investigations and are expected to issue a...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 9, 20205 min read
11.
26 June, 12:00 PM, Czernograd, Old Market Square Jake did not tell Marina that someone got into his hotel room the previous night and...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 8, 20205 min read
10.
26 June, 10:00 AM, Czernograd, Police Station Number 5 Marina waited for him downstairs in the lobby at 10 o’clock as agreed, reading a...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 6, 20203 min read
8.
26 June, 7:05 AM, Czernograd, the Rawicz district The phone kept ringing and Igor Svoboda, suspended somewhere in the netherworld between...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 5, 20208 min read
7.
25 June, 7:00 PM, Czernograd, the Old Town “I would recommend pracuszki,” she said. “It’s a local speciality, made from sheep liver and...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 4, 20203 min read
6.
25 June, 6:00 PM, Czernograd, Hotel Casino The hotel was a decent old building, renovated sometime recently to take it up to the standard...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 4, 20205 min read
5.
25 June, 2:30 PM, Czernograd International Airport The sky over Czernograd was the colour of a dirty linen tablecloth when Jake finally...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 3, 20205 min read
4.
25 June, 2:10 PM, Czernograd International Airport “What is in the container?” Jake’s suitcase was lying open, like a gutted whale, its...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 1, 20202 min read
3.
25 June, 1:40 PM, over eastern Slovakia The little boy sitting behind him kept kicking the back of his seat. Jake was having problems...
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Arthur Chrenkoff
Apr 1, 20203 min read
2.
25 June, 2:40 PM, Czernograd International Airport Jake Voynich knew this was a bad start to his homecoming when within the space of half...
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