One of Western Europe's most beautiful cities somehow ended up in Russia. Saint Petersburg is like a mixture between Venice and Paris: the city is riddled with canals flanked by countless European style palaces. On the surface at least there's almost nothing Russian about the city. In contrast to get all the hassle queuing and paper work involved in getting a visa actually crossing the border was a breeze. Apparamtely once Spain takes over the presidency of the eu there's going to be a major push to get Russia to relax visa requirements. Personally I think this would be a disaster. The city is already overrun with tourists! I stayed in a pretty average hostel the absolute highlight of which was an elderly Korean couple staying there. The woman didn't speak much English but the guy ... read more

The land that perestroika forgot. While some of its neighbours are now fully fledged EU members Belarus (classified by the US as an outpost of Tyranny) is firmly clinging to its past. The last remaining European communist dictatorship, current president Lukashenko has been in power since 1994. The economy is one of the most restricted in the world with controls on prices and wages. To top things off the state security committee has kept the Russian name KGB. Throw in the hurdles to get a visa why on Earth would you not want to visit?... I had planned to get a transit visa before I left Ireland which would have given me 2 days in the country. It’s pretty expensive and there’s not a huge amount to see so I figured it’d be enough. Unfortunately I ... read more

I used to last day of my inter-rail pass to get from Prague to Krakow. Trains are cheap in Eastern Europe anyway but it ended up being a pretty good deal. 5 days travel for €159 got me from Istanbul-Bucharest-Budapest-Poprad-Prague-Krakow! I paid about €14 extra this time to get a bed. I’ve had enough of sleeping on the floor of trains for the moment anyway. I actually ended up with a really comfortable 3 berth couchette to myself. Typically the one time I’m sleeping somewhere comfortable the train arrives on time and at 6 in the morning! The way the train pass works if you take an overnight train is you only mark the date you arrive. So in the unlikely event you can stomach any more train travel you can take any other trains the ... read more

I hadn't heard many good things about Slovakia. Literally every person I know who went inter-railing said the same thing: avoid Bratislava at all costs. Then the Hungarians I met in Budapest argued it isn't even a country just a rebellious Hungarian province. On the other hand I'd heard the scenery in some areas was amazing so I figured I'd give the country a chance. Things did not get off to a good start. Trains are generally late in Eastern Europe but my train from Budapest was particularly bad and I had a connection to catch. I missed two trains to Poprad and ended up arriving at a train station somewhere in Eastern Slovakia. The word bleak does not even begin to cover it. I'll admit no train station at night is a pleasant place (except ... read more

Welcome to Bucharest famous for its dark past and bleak present: brutalist architecture, glue sniffing junkies, 200,000 stray dogs and pick pockets everywhere. The main tourist attraction is the train to Istanbul/Budapest. It made sense to stop here for a night. I was not expecting much. The city’s not without its problems but the reality is nowhere near as bad as preconceptions. Although the point about the dogs is unfortunately true I really didn’t encounter any problems (which is impressive because I literally cannot walk down the street without being mugged). I had one full day to explore which is about enough. This is my first time in Eastern Europe so although the communist grey monstrosities everywhere may be aesthetically horrendous it’s interesting to see them. Following an earthquake in the 1970s and a visit to ... read more