About Us – How the Absurd Empire Was Born

It all started quite a few years ago, with one of those harmless bar conversations:

“What if we didn’t go where everyone goes — but rather where no one does?”

Then came the sentence that always brings trouble (and good stories):

“Why not?”

At first, we were just a group of friends, each driven by something different: one cared about the party, another about museums, someone loved architecture, and someone else simply loved being on the road. Yet somehow, we all found our own stories in the same countries, on the same dusty roads.

It didn’t stay as a plan in an Excel sheet — we actually went. There were missed buses, terrible pubs, border guards stamping the wrong pages, and museums closed at noon “because of the heat.” But every trip made us a bit wiser — or at least gave us better stories to tell.

Then came the next chapter: the kids. They grew out of the age when every trip meant a playground, so we had to bring them along too. Sure, with them things got a bit less risky — fewer vodka discos, more museum animations —but the sense of discovery stayed the same. Now they’re collecting their own little absurd adventures.

Meanwhile, reenactor.hu also started to grow. At first, it was just artifacts, showcases, and museum finds — but gradually the stories slipped in beside the photos. People started writing to me, saying: “Don’t just leave these as photo captions — make them real blog posts!” Because behind those museum displays lies half the Balkans, Central Asia, and the Middle East.

So we decided not to let these memories fade. We’d write them down, organize them, and share them with everyone who enjoys a good journey — especially if it includes a small absurd detour along the way.

That’s how Absurd Empire was born: not a collection of destinations, but of stories, museum displays, borderland diners, and train-station cafés, and of those moments when Google Maps shows a bridge to the left — but in real life, there’s a market.

We don’t just want to tell stories — we want to inspire you to start your own journey. Maybe it’s an off-road detour, a forgotten village on the edge of a border, or just a bar where the waiter still insists his name is Vlad. The rest we’ll add ourselves: a bit of irony, a handful of travel tips,
and the photo gallery  down in the comments.

Shall we go?