Author: Paul

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Contest #653 – Burg Frankenstein, Odenwald, Darmstadt, Germany

Burg Frankenstein, or Frankenstein’s Castle, is thought to have been the inspiration for Mary Shelly for the location of her most famous work. Frankenstein, or Stone of the Franks, is a fairly common name for castles in this area.

Currently, the location serves as a nice tourist trap, with a restaurant, wedding chapel, and tours conducted daily.

InnerCastle.jpgCC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Those who located this spot were:

  • krenek
  • Walter_V_R
  • Martin de Bock
  • Paul Voestermans
  • Garfield
  • hhgygy
  • Eloy Cano
  • Phil Ower
  • Graham Hedley
  • Kiribatian Jacob
  • Lighthouse
  • mavidavu
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Contest #652 – Borodino Battlefield, Borodino, Russia

Battle of Borodino 1812

You know that old saying “Won the battle but lost the war”?

In 1812, Napoleon had it bad for Russia. He wanted to conquer Russia, and Borodino was his last stop before Moscow. The little colonel put over 150,000 battle-hardened soldiers on the field against a similar number of defenders.

When the day was done, the French had held the field, but at a heavy cost. They lost well over 30,000 soldiers, including a healthy chunk of their leadership.

Borodino is considered a pyrrhic victory for Napoleon. The French took Moscow but were so weakened that Tsar Alexander was under insufficient pressure to sue for peace. Unable to fully capitalize on the win, the Grande Armée eventually had to withdraw, in winter, back to France.

The Battle of Borodino plays a pretty significant part in Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Pierre enters the battle as an enthusiastic spectator of warfare and leaves disillusioned and drenched in the blood of his fellow countrymen.

Those who found this site before the hint included:

  • krenek
  • Walter_V_R
  • hhgygy
  • Garfield
  • Eloy Cano
  • Martin de Bock
  • Lighthouse
  • Paul Voestermans
  • Kiribatian Jacob
  • Phil Ower

And after the hint:

  • Graham Hedley
  • Darko Vusak
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Contest #651: Cooper’s Cave, Glens Falls, New York

Featured in James Fenimore Cooper’s “Last of the Mohicans”, this location is where Natty Bumppo (aka Hawk-eye) and his Mohican brothers take the sisters and their English soldier guards to hide from Magua.


This photo of Cooper’s Cave is courtesy of Tripadvisor

The cave itself is visible from a viewing stand under the bridge.

Those who found it besides Magua and his band included:

  • krenek
  • Paul Voestermans
  • hhgygy
  • Walter_V_R
  • Phil Ower
  • Lighthouse
  • Eloy Cano
  • Graham Hedley
  • Martin de Bock
  • Garfield

And after the hint:

  • Ashwini Agrawal
  • Chris Nason