Dhaka to Dakar: Book 2 - Europe

Travelling across Asia solo was one of the major challenges and achievements in my life. Braving Pakistani buses in Baluchsitan desert and going east to west across India tested my patience and endurance. After Europe Africa lay many more challenges out in front of me. Comparatively, Europe may have seemed much simpler. In many ways it was.
This meant I could see and get to more. On the other hand I found myself staying in many dorm rooms as I attempted to keep my budget under control. Each continent has its own difficulties and its own splendours. Beautiful countryside and castles in Romania, beaches in Montenegro, the history of Poland, and not to mention Slovenia with its stunning capital and postcard-perfect lake Bled with a castle looking on.
As I crossed east to west Europe transport would become cleaner, more comfortable, faster and dearer. The tourist numbers would rise. I started in Bulgaria, a country not known for much but the gateway from Asia to Europe with a fantastic capital and a monastery from a fairytale.
Romania’s capital was foreboding and big, the remnants of a tyrant’s never-completed dreams. Outside Bucharest I would find the mountains were stunning and the castles plentiful. Then to Serbia, still recovering from the conflict over Kosovo, but in Belgrade they have a pulsating capital on the Danube.
Bosnia-Herzegovina was like slipping through a crack in time to another dimension where the streets still showed the ravages of war and an uneasy peace could be felt in the air. This was the most eye-opening atmospherically challenging country I visited in Europe.
To beautiful Slovenia, an undiscovered gem on the Mediterranean Sea, Germany and the Czech Republic where I visited a haunting crypt filled with human bones. Slovakia proved to be the surprise of Europe, a beautiful rugged country with far fewer tourists than its neighbours.
North to Poland, to Auchwitz, to Krakow. Haunting and touching reminders of the past and a wonderful city, a travellers favourite. Warsaw and Wroclaw were although worth visiting. Berlin came to show me why it is a must-visit city in Europe. So much to see, to do, reminders of the Second World War, not to mention the Cold War.
Finally Budapest, Hungary, a magnificent city on the Danube, the river that followed me all around Europe. This was the longest I’d ever spent in Europe, and from Dhaka to Budapest I would never leave the ground. By this point I could say I understand the world a little better, and myself a little better too.
Please enjoy this book as I enjoyed writing it. You won’t read about France, England or Italy, most of the countries visited are not the premiere European destinations, but every single one I went to was worthwhile and rewarding. Europe is more than the Eiffel Tower and the Colosseum. It is an amazing wide and diverse continent.
Features many photos taken by the author, a great place to start to get your travel inspiration. Countries travelled in this book include:
Bulgaria
Romania
Serbia and Montenegro
Bosnia Herzegovina
Slovenia
Germany
Czech Republic
Slovakia
Poland
Austria
Hungary