A tribute to Budapest Zoo includes this description of the Elephants’ House and the geographically incongruous background designed for it.  But I’m all for the faux-Tamerlane look, aren’t you?

The elephants themselves merely chomp away, oblivious to their odd double-relocation – first to Hungary itself, and then to a faux-Tamerlane backdrop also very remote from their true home.

For a great sampling of Winder’s triologisms, and a quote-packed tribute to his earlier book on Germany, see our bestellar review.

Source: Simon Winder, Danubia: A personal history of Habsburg Europe (London: Picador, 2013), p. 396