It Has Been Decided

Tomorrow I shall buy a wall-map, provided that I can find one, of Reykjavik. Because Reykjavik just rolls off the tongue. I have always wanted to visit Reykjavik. But I am poor, and so I must settle for a map. I shall put it on my wall. Hence, a wall-map. While it is on my wall, I shall look at it.

When I am at the place that sells maps, wherever that might be, I shall decide whether or not to buy a map of St. Petersburg. No, not the one in Florida. The one in Russia. I have always wanted to visit there, as well.

Recently I learned that St. Petersburg and Leningrad are the same place. I didn't know what to say. I was stunned. This got my mind to wondering whether there are other cities out there in the world that have been renamed. It turns out that there are. Did you know that Istanbul and Constantinople are the same? Whoa. The city that at one point in time was considered the greatest city in the world is now...Istanbul. Whoever's in charge over there should change it back. Come to think of it, it explains that song by They Might Be Giants:

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night

I guess I never stopped to actually listen to the lyrics.

Stalingrad is Volgograd. What happened was Kruschev didn't like Stalin too much so he renamed the city to Volgograd. I think that this was a mistake. They should change the name back. Nobody should be able to kill as many people as Stalin did and not have a city named after them. Imagine, if you will:

Shaoshan, China as Des Mao.
Kompong Thom, Cambodia as Pol Pot-Topia.
Braunau, Austria -- Hitlerstad.
Budapest, Hungary -- Attila-vania.
Sighisoara, Romania -- Vladville.
Batshireet, Mongolia -- Genghis Grove.
etcetera

Dammit, I knew I should have been a civil engineer.