edit: I have added a photo [album](https://imgur.com/gallery/Q4phwoJ) as requested. ​ **About me**: I was the OP of the this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/solotravel/comments/c27zlw/turkey_bulgaria_romania_moldova_ukraine_poland/). I basically went from Istanbul to St Petersburg through all of the countries in between. I want to write this post for anybody else who is considering something similar or going to some of the countries I visited. On average, I spent less than a week in each of the countries. There were some places I stayed up to 10 days (e.g. Romania) and others where I only did one night (Estonia). So obviously I am not an expert by any means, and barely scraped the surface for any of these places. For context, I am a 22 year old, male Australian university student who spent six weeks travelling from Istanbul to St Petersburg by myself. I had read quite a few books about travelling Eastern Europe and the history of many of its countries so I was super interested in visiting. Before this, I had been to Europe twice, but only went as far east as Poland. After writing this, I realised that it sounds a lot more like a series of journal entries than a report. I really enjoyed writing this, and if anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask me. I will be more than happy to answer. ​ **Budget:** I didn't really have a budget while I was travelling. Of course I would try and find affordable places to stay while I was travelling and even couchsurfed a few times. Overall I spent about $2000 AUD (not including my flight to Istanbul) over six weeks. You could definitely do it cheaper. That amount also includes my flight in and out of Belarus. Food is quite cheap in that neck of the woods. If I wasn't couchsurfing, I was staying in hostels where I was spending about $15 AUD on average per night. ​ **Transport:** Getting between places is quite easy and affordable. I mainly took busses (Flix and Lux Express) and marshrutkas (crappy shuttle bus that is a relic of the Soviet times). I think I only took two or three trains while I was there. I booked about 70% of my transport at a ticket desk on the day before I was scheduled to leave. If you want to go by marshrutka, you probably won't be able to find tickets online, but it is super easy to buy tickets at the central bus stations. The cost of transport ranged from $1.5 AUD (marshrutka in Bulgaria) up to $20 AUD. ​ **Tips:** **Learn the Cyrillic alphabet!** It's super easy to learn and pick up in about a day or two. About 1/2 of the countries I visited used the Cyrillic alphabet. People were surprised when I told them I could read it, but its really not that difficult. I actually found it a lot easier to understand words written in Cyrillic than I did understanding words written in Turkish (even though Turkish uses the Latin alphabet). Also, if you are in Bulgaria, do NOT call it the "Russian alphabet". In fact, the Russians technically use the "Bulgarian alphabet". ​ **Be flexible.** While I was travelling, I only booked a handful of accommodations in advanced. Most of the time I would book a day before, or sometimes just book on the day. Use both Booking.com and Hostels World and compare prices. I can't personally confirm this, but someone told me that the prices for hostels drop around 12-2pm. You don't want to trap yourself into an itinerary. I had to book my Ukrainian hostels in advanced as a visa requirement and I ended up staying in Odessa an extra night and lost a night in Kiev. I think sometimes if there is a hostel you really want to go to, it would be worth booking in advanced. For example, I heard a lot of good things about Hostel Mostel in Bulgaria, so I made sure to book it about a week in advanced. ​ **Talk to people.** Try and get out of your shell and talk to people you wouldn't normally talk to. I know it's super cliche to say this when talking about solo travel, but honestly, I met some amazing people just by saying hello at random places. I am by no means a 'social butterfly' type of person, but I feel like my personality changes quite a bit when I solo travel, i.e. talking to strangers a lot more comfortably. When I was in Lviv airport, waiting to go to Minsk, a guy in the line right behind me was clearly not a Ukrainian or Belarussian, and I just said hi to him, and we ended up hanging out the whole time I was in Belarus. We still keep contact, and we'll call each other every now and then to see what each of us are up to. ​ **Keep a diary.** While I was travelling I kept a diary where I wrote the names of people I met, and a short description of them/what we spoke about. The people range from those I spoke to in my hostel room for 5-10 minutes tho those that I travelled with for a whole week. I think there are over 100 people I wrote about in my diary. I don't bother keeping a journal of all the things I did, because I take photos on my phone, and I can remember what I did by looking at my photos. ​ **Couchsurf.** Before the trip, I planned on using couchsurfing to stay with local people. However, as this was my first time, I didn't have any references which made it a lot harder to find someone who was willing to host me. I gave up on it early, but I managed to find some hosts about halfway through my trip. I stayed with four different hosts on my trip. For me, I am quite interested in the people of a country and their culture, and although staying at hostels is fun, it doesn't make it easy to meet local people. When you are couchsurfing, you are staying with a local, and they will give you insights into what their day-to-day life is like, as well as the current situation in the country. The hosts I had were really enthusiastic to host me and to talk to me about their countries. We hung out quite a lot and had a lot of fun together. As a plus side, it is a good way to keep your costs low, although it is a good idea to bring your host a small present (I brought my host in St Petersburg a box of chocolates). ​ **Visas**. Don't over-research/plan your trip. Get an idea of places you want to visit. But, even if you consider yourself a minimal planning traveller, make sure you check out the visa requirements of the countries you are visiting. I met an Australian couple in Bulgaria who were going to Turkey the next day. I asked them whether they had their visas, and they told me didn't know that they needed a visa. Luckily for them, the Turkish visa is super easy to obtain. You just pay a fee online and provide them with basic information, and you're pretty much done. Also, if you have more than one passport, make sure you check the visa requirements of both passports and see which one is better. I brought both my Japanese and my Australian passport with me and used my Australian passport everywhere until I got to Russia, where I used my Japanese passport (this also went down smoothly and there were no problems with doing this). I did this because it cost way less if I applied with my Japanese passport than if I had used my Australian one. Also, I could have avoided a whole lot of hassles and costs if I knew that Japanese passport holders don't need a visa for Ukraine. I didn't do my research and applied with my Australian passport, and it cost me about $80 USD and I had to book all of my hostels way in advanced. ​ **The trip:** ​ **Istanbul** **- Turkey** (four nights) - I arrived at Istanbul from Sydney after a 24 hour flight including layovers. I got there first thing in the morning (around 5:00 am) and took a shuttle bus from the airport. There are definitely cheaper ways of doing it (cost me about $30 AUD), but I guess I still hadn't got into the mindset of travelling frugally at that point. I stayed at the Second Home Hostel which had some amazing staff members, including the receptionist who I had a chill game of chess with while talking about our various adventures. Istanbul is truly an amazing city and was one of the highlights of my trip. Definitely stay there for at least four nights. There's quite a lot to do here, the food is brilliant and one of the most affordable places I visited in my trip. You can get on the ferry that takes you from the Europe side to the Asian side (and vice versa) for around $1.5 AUD. The ferry ride in itself was really enjoyable and peaceful. If you want to get a more authentic feel for the hustle and bustle of local life in Istanbul, I would strongly recommend spending your time in the Asian side. ​ **Plovdiv** **- Bulgaria** (two nights) - This city is the oldest, continually inhabited city in all of Europe which makes it sound super interesting. Honestly, this place was one of the more dull cities I visited. It's worth doing a free tour of the city to understand its historical significance and maybe checking out some of the hills in the city which offer a decent view. There are some ancient ruins there, which some ancient history nerds might be interested in seeing, but I found them quite boring. While I was there I also did a short day trip to Asen's Fortress and a nearby monastery (the name of which I forgot). The fortress is definitely worth checking out but the monastery was quite underwhelming. ​ **Veliko Tarnovo - Bulgaria** (two nights) - The old capital of Bulgaria from thousands of years ago, this town is pretty lovely to just walk around and appreciate the views of the surrounding landscapes. There's a cool fortress there that is worth seeing. I stayed at Hostel Mostel (highly recommended place). On the day I arrived there I just walked around with someone I met on the Marshrutka from Plovdiv. On the next day I went on a tour that the hostel organised that took us to the UFO monument and a very secluded waterfall. I think it was around $40 AUD for the tour, and it was 100% worth it. The guide Andy, from New Zealand is really nice and has been living in Bulgaria on and off for the last few years. The tours are based off how many people sign up for it, so there is a chance that you won't be able to go on the day you planned it, but I had heard that some people hitchhiked to the monument on their own. ​ **Bucharest - Romania** (two nights) - The capital of Romania and home to Ceausescu's glorious/hideous palace. Bucharest wasn't the greatest city I visited. It's got this weird blend of nice romantic buildings and ugly, brutalist Soviet architecture. It is definitely worth reading a bit about the history of the city, or go on a free walking tour and they will basically give you an overview of what happened over the course of it's history. I heard that it's pretty good for partying and clubbing (a place called Culture House is meant to be quite cool). Unfortunately, I was too tired on the Friday night I was there and opted to hang out at the hostel and chat with some people in my dorm. On the last day I was there I got a tour to check out the palace which is the second biggest building in the world (after the Pentagon) and also the world's heaviest. I think you need to book your tours in advanced, but I got the guy at reception at my hostel to book over the phone for me and a buddy I met in Veliko. If you get the cheapest tour of the palace, which is the one that I booked, you will only go to about 10-15 of the rooms (albeit, probably the nicest rooms) which only makes up about 1% of all of the rooms in the entire building. ​ **Brasov - Romania** (three nights) - This town is located in the heart of Transylvania and sits at the bottom of a large mountain with a Hollywood style sign of the town's name. This was by far my favourite place in Romania. I could have easily stayed an extra night here. It is located in fairly close proximity to a number of iconic locations. It is about an hour from Bran Castle and Peles Castle as well as about two hours from Sighisoara. Unfortunately, I missed out on both Peles Castle as well as Sighisoara. Remember to check what day and what time places are open to the public. As I found out just as I was about to leave the hostel, Peles Castle is closed on Mondays. However, there is still some cool stuff to do in and around Brasov, like climbing/taking the funicular up the mountain and going for hikes around there. On the day I was meant to go to Peles Castle, me and my friend went to a place called Seven Ladders, which are a bunch of ladders that you climb through these crevices and waterfalls which ultimately leads you to a fairly short (\~30 mins) but pleasant hike. For anyone who is here and pressed for time, I would strongly, strongly recommend skipping Bran Castle. If I could go back, I would have not gone to Bran Castle and gone to either Sighisoara or Peles Castle instead. It is extremely underwhelming. I thought it would be a massive castle on a mountain covered in mist, etc. but found it to be quite a small castle on a less than impressive hill that was full of tourists. ​ **Sibiu - Romania** (two nights) - Another town in Transylvania that is quieter and less touristy than Brasov (which is honestly not that touristy at all compared to the hundreds of tourist hot-spots in Western Europe). This town is quite comfy and charming. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy my stay here as much as I'd liked to, because I split ways with my travel companion who I had travelled with for a week, and because the hostel was pretty average, and I didn't really meet anyone there. On the full day I was there, I took a bus to the mountains and did a 3-4 hour hike through the woods. This was definitely nice, although a bit difficult in terms of getting there. The busses go there about four times a day and the last bus leaves there at 5pm, so make sure you don't miss it unless you are comfortable with asking strangers to give you a lift back into town. ​ **Iasi - Romania** (two nights) - This town is on the other side of Romania, right next to the Moldovan border. Took me 12 hours on a Marshrutka to get there which was not the best ride I've ever been on. This was the first time I had ever couchsurfed (as I could not find any available hostels at all). I was pretty wary and cautious, but my host was super chill and incredibly smart. I had only one or two personal references when I applied so I was extremely grateful that he agreed to host me (obviously the less references you have the less likely someone is willing to be to let you - a stranger - stay at their place). The town of Iasi (pronounced 'yash') itself does not have that much to do. I just went to the botanic gardens and checked out the palace of culture. But staying with a local and chatting about their way of life as well as answering questions about your country and culture is a nice experience. Remember - couchsurfing is not a tool that's primary focus is to find free accommodation, it is a platform to foster cultural exchanges between host and guest. ​ **Chisinau - Moldova** (one night) - The capital of Moldova - Europe's least visited and poorest country. I arrived by way of BlaBlaCar which is an app that pairs up people who are driving to a certain location with people who need a means of getting there. It is basically like hitchhiking but done online. My host in Iasi helped me organise it. Note: BlaBlaCar is definitely a cheaper alternative to other forms of transport (I think I paid about $5 AUD for the ride) but it is extremely unreliable. I tried to use it again on two other occasions but my drivers cancelled on me last minute. However, I met a really nice Moldovan girl in the car and she was telling me about the country and about how so many Moldovan's are desperate to leave the country (can't say I blame them). There is not much to do in Chisinau other than the famous Cricova wine cellar which is the biggest in the world. I did not go to it, because I wasn't super interested in it, and because I don't think I had the time. But from people I met who did it, it is definitely worth checking out even if you don't care all that much for wine. While I was there I just hung out with these two guys in my hostel and we had dinner. Next day I just walked around town before my bus ride out. ​ **Tiraspol - Moldova/Transnistria/Pridnestrovie** (one night) - The capital of the unrecognised nation state of Transnistria. If you want to visit a Soviet time capsule that still uses hammers and sickles on their currencies, have streets named after Karl Marx, and numerous Lenin statues, then this is the place for you. Transnistria - called 'Pridnestrovie' by the locals, who consider 'Transnistria' to be an offensive name, is a 'breakaway' state that is officially still part of Moldova, but issues its own currency, enforces it's own border and only speak Russian (whereas Moldovans speak both Romanian and Russian, but definitely prefer to speak in Romanian). I was originally freaking out about the border crossing into and out of here because I had read some problems people had from (very dated) forums. However, it was super easy. They give you a slip of paper when you enter, which states when you enter and how long you intend to stay. Do not lose this piece of paper, or you may run into some issues later on. They have recently changed their entry and exit regulations, so you can stay up to 45 days without a 'visa'. This is the case with Australians and I think Americans, but I'm not sure about other countries. However, once the novelty of the place wears off, there is no reason to stay here longer. I was happy with just one night. I checked out Bender Fortress which is in the neighbouring town. The fortress is not that amazing, but I met two Pakistani guys who were travelling there, and we had a nice lunch together. We walked together around the streets of Tiraspol and hung out around the 'beach' on the Dniester river. ​ **Odessa - Ukraine** (three nights) - A melting-pot city of about a million inhabitants on the Black Sea. This city once had huge commercial activities through its port. Although it doesn't really have much of that now, the legacy of the port days can still be felt. I was originally intending to be here for two nights, but my driver who was meant to take me to Kiev cancelled and I couldn't find a bus/train in time. There is not a whole lot to do in Odessa. There are beaches which are absolutely full of local Ukrainian tourists. But, as an Australian, it takes a lot for a beach to impress me, and the one's in Odessa were far from impressive. On one of my days there I took a cable bus with a guy from my hostel and we went to Arcadia (one of the southern most points of Odessa), and we walked northwards through all the beaches (quite a few nudist beaches in between). Some of the buildings in the centre are stunning, like the opera house. I didn't watch an opera while I was there, but from what I heard it is definitely worth it. I think two nights in Odessa is a good amount. If you decide to go clubbing/partying in Odessa, be wary of buying drinks for 'friendly' girls who approach you in the bar, I have heard stories of people being charged hundreds of dollars for these drinks. ​ **Kiev - Ukraine** (four nights) - The capital of Ukraine, which was the birthplace of the Slavic nations. Originally I was going to stay here for five nights, but because I was delayed in Odessa, I had to cut my stay short by a day. The city is really awesome, and has been through so much. You can go to the Maidan square where there are still memorials for the 2014 revolution. Definitely got chills reading people's experiences through the revolution. Before going to Ukraine, I would recommend reading the book 'Borderland: a Journey through the History of Ukraine'. The first half talks about the country's early days and it's culture. The second half of the book I found more interesting and really gives insight into the absolute shit show that is modern day Ukrainian politics. You can tell that with the right governance, the country could have soared ahead economically. They have extremely rich and fertile land (called 'chernozem' which means something like black soil) and was once the breadbasket of the USSR. Driving across the Ukrainian landscape, you can see the inspiration of the flag. However, with a series of extremely corrupt presidents (including one who's face is totally disfigured after an assassination attempt with poison), the country still lags behind other post-Soviet states like the Baltics. When I was in Kiev, I had lunch on two separate occasions with some locals and they were explaining to me what life was like in modern day Ukraine and the level of corruption that is still so ubiquitous and pervasive. I also spent half a day checking out Mezhyhirya, which is the massive residence/dacha created by one of the corrupt ex-presidents. This place is huge, with numerous golf courses, and you could easily spend hours and hours just walking around. It is beautiful, but also infuriating to know that the president spent the money on it while the country got none of the benefits. Also, on my last full day there I did a day tour to Chernobyl. It is a fully militarised zone, so you can't just drive there on your own. I went with a tour group called SoloEast. The tour was about $100 USD, but included everything (even lunch). The tour guide's English wasn't great, but he was quite knowledgeable and even took us into an abandoned apartment and the local school (which he apparently was not allowed to do). Chernobyl is quite touristy now, mainly because of the TV show (which I admittedly still haven't watched), but you can easily go around walking with your guide for hours and only come across one or two other tour groups. However, it is only going to get more tourists, so it would probably be better to go sooner rather than later. ​ **Lviv - Ukraine** (three nights) - Lviv is the main city in Western Ukraine and was once a part of Poland and at another time a part of Austria. One big difference between Lviv and the other Ukrainian cities I visited, which most non-Russian speakers will probably not pick up, is that they speak almost exclusively in Ukrainian. In Odessa most people speak Russian, in Kiev, it is quite 50-50, but in Lviv it is almost 100% Ukrainian (and no, do not tell a Ukrainian that the language is basically the same as Russian, or that it is just a dialect of Russian, they probably won't appreciate that too much). Lviv is a pretty cute little town and is very European influenced. They definitely see themselves as a part of Europe, and try and distance themselves from Russia - I saw shops that sold toilet paper with Putin's face on it. There's not plenty of stuff to do in Lviv, but I still really enjoyed my time there. I met these two mid-forties guys in my hostel who were so different in terms of their personality, but were almost inseparable. We hung out and got dinner every night. On two of the nights we went to a ribs place that had a rack of ribs for about $8 AUD (which is not super cheap, but definitely not that expensive). Even though it wasn't my favourite place, I could definitely see why people would love spending long amounts of time there - one of the guys I hung out with had already been to Lviv twice before, and was spending about three weeks there when I met him. In his words, Lviv embodies 'romanticism'. ​ **Minsk - Belarus** (four nights) - A classic example of Communist-era architecture and city planning. Belarus was not on my original itinerary, and was a bit of an impulse decision to go there. For Australians, a visa is not required if you enter by flying into Minsk airport and exiting by flying out of Minsk airport. You can stay up to thirty days without a visa. If you plan on crossing the border by land you will need to apply for a visa. I flew there, so I won't be able to help with the visa application process. At the airport, if you decide to go visa free, you will only need to present them with proof of medical insurance. At the airport in Lviv, I met a guy from NZ who was also going to Minsk. We chatted heaps about our travels and experiences and ended up hanging out in Belarus for the whole time I was there. We were both couchsurfing in Minsk. The city of Minsk is very, very Soviet-inspired. The streets and footpaths are super wide and the buildings have a grandiose appearance, all to make one feel small within the monolith that is the communist system. The size of the squares, streets, paths and the extreme levels of cleanliness give it a fairly surreal atmosphere. It feels quite empty. The metro stations still retain their Soviet murals and random hammer and sickles. The library is definitely worth checking out, which is shaped as a rhombicuboctahedron (its easier to just look it up). There's not a whole lot of stuff to do in Minsk, but I would still highly recommend it. It's about one of the last capital cities in Europe where people will be genuinely surprised and happy to hear that you are from Australia/America/Canada and visiting the country. While I was there, me, my host and the NZ guy went to a Brazillian street parade (although I think I saw only one Brazillian person). They had all these percussion instruments and were going along the street following a bunch of people dancing in Native American clothing - yeah I know, completely weird and random, but still awesome. ​ **Babruysk - Belarus** (one night) - Small city about 200km from Minsk. The NZ guy found someone on couchsurfing who was willing to host us in Babruysk. If I thought that Belarussians were shocked to hear foreigners visiting Minsk, I was about to learn that they were going into cardiac arrest when I told them I was visiting Babruysk. Even Belarussians have absolutely no reason to visit Babruysk. The town is really dull and drab compared to Minsk. There is almost nothing to do here. Our host met us at the train station and gave us a tour of the city which was finished in about 2 hours. One cool thing was that they had bunkers or jails that were constructed during the Napoleonic Wars which housed the prisoners. Although they were almost completely neglected, falling apart and full of empty beer bottles from teenagers' late night parties, it was still a pretty cool thing to see. The highlight of Babruysk however was going to the host's grandmother's place to stay the night. They live on the outskirts of Babruysk in an area where they still had dirt roads and each house had its own banya - a Russian sauna in the backyard. She spoke absolutely no English (except for 'how much?') and thought that speaking to us in Russian at a higher volume would make it more understandable to us. Without our host translating to English, we would have had no idea what she was talking about. She cooked this amazing dinner. I can't remember the name, but it was meat with rice wrapped in cabbage and boiled in an amazing soup. We both left the next day in the morning for Minsk, but not after our babushka made us overeat for breakfast. ​ **Vilnius - Lithuania** (two nights) - The most southern of the Baltic states. After taking a 30 minute flight from Minsk I arrived in the capital of Lithuania. After being in places like Ukraine and Moldova, it was somewhat refreshing to arrive in a more 'developed' country like Lithuania. I think it was from Lithuania where I started using the couchsurfing 'hangout' feature - which I highly recommend to people. Through it, I met a Russian girl and we explored the old town together. She also told me of the Father John Misty concert and we went together the day after where I met some more cool people. There's a nice castle in Vilnius that's on top of a hill. You can get a really nice view of the city and the river that runs through it. ​ **Riga - Latvia** (three nights) - The party capital of the Baltics. Riga definitely feels very different to Vilnius. Unlike Vilnius - which is an inland city, Riga is right by the ocean. I would imagine that at some point it was a port city. Even though I had a good time in Riga, it is much less clean than Vilnius. The old town isn't as romantic as the ones in Vilnius and Tallinn, but still worth visiting. Through the couchsurfing hangout feature I had dinner with a bunch of fellow solotravellers. At the dinner I met some people who wanted to go to the nearby beach called Jurmalla. Apparently it's fairly famous in the post-Soviet states because they used to have an annual music festival there. The beach itself is nice for a walk, but otherwise it is not at all a great beach by Australian standards. We spent the day there and watched the sunset which was quite beautiful. Originally I was meant to stay here for two nights (i.e. two nights in each of the Baltic countries), but on the day I was leaving I found out that the Riga City Festival was going on. They were celebrating the 818th birthday of the city and so I decided to stay. The festival was pretty fun, just dancing to some famous Latvians singing some popular folk songs. ​ **Tallinn - Estonia** (one night) - The northernmost, and prettiest of the three Baltic cities. Although Tallinn is probably the smallest, the old town is by far the prettiest and really encapsulates the medieval, preserved atmosphere that the Baltic capitals are famous for. I had dinner with some guy there and he showed me the 'hip' area of Tallinn. After that I spent the rest of my time just walking around late at night, admiring the old castle walls and the narrow cobble stone lanes. I really wish I could have spent more time here, it is a truly beautiful little city. ​ **St Petersburg - Russia** (four nights) - Peter the Great's window to Europe. I was obsessed with reading about Russian history so I'll give a quick overview of the history of the city. After Peter I (aka Peter the Great) travelled in Europe in order to gain better insight into the maritime technologies of the west, he came back to Russia and realised how 'backwards' it was. He despised his own capital Moscow, and decided to make a new city on the path to westernising his country. Despite being in Russia, St Petersburg was the most 'European' city I visited. It is absolutely beautiful, with numerous palace-like buildings scattered along the main boulevards. I spent the first day with my host just walking around as she told me what it was like living in Russia. Like a lot of people who live in St Petersburg, she is originally from another city, but moved there for better opportunities. The second day I was there, I spent the whole day in the Hermitage. After spending about two or three hours there, I thought that I had seen it all, but I finally got a map of the museum and realised I hadn't even seen half of it. There's another museum/art gallery across the square which I also spent a great deal of time in after I explored the Hermitage. The last full day I had there, I was choosing whether to go to Catherine Palace or to go to Peterhof. I ended up choosing Peterhof and spent a few hours there. It was super crowded, and I didn't get a chance to go into the palace. After that I went to the old naval base Kronstadt. I heard of it because there was once a huge mutiny there during the height of the Russian Revolution. There's not much to see there, other than a pretty cool cathedral and a nice view of the Baltic Sea. I made a huge mistake when I went to Russia and realised that the flight I booked home was scheduled a day after my visa had expired. If you go to Russia, make sure you have a date you will definitely be there by, and then just say your exit date is the end of the maximum length you can stay. Although you can't enter Russia before your start date, you can obviously leave the country before the end date of the visa. I learned this the hard way and ended up taking a bus from St Petersburg to Milan because the flights were too expensive. For anyone wondering, the bus took 46.5 and was over three days. Also, applying for the Russian visa is surprisingly easy, don't be intimidated by it, it is totally worth going through the process to visit Russia. ​ **Highlights:** **People:** Honestly, the trip itself was a highlight in my life so far. I had such an amazing time and met so many wonderful people. The local people are really nice. I honestly did not have a single negative incident with the local people while I was travelling. Although there is an obvious language barrier (a lot less people in Eastern Europe know how to speak English compared to Western Europe). It makes me so happy to talk to people from a country and have them be genuinely surprised and curious to know what you are doing there. This is not so much the case in Istanbul, but almost everywhere else, the locals really want to know why you're visiting. I thought the people of Romania were super friendly. As an example, while I was in Brasov, me and a friend were trying to find a bus to Rasnov Fortress so we asked a woman if she knew. She didn't know, but tried to help us find a way and was asking other people around. She spent about 15 minutes taking us to a busstop she thought was the right one all the while asking us about our opinion of Romania. She told us that she had a once-in-a-year medical entrance exam the following day, and I told her that she should stop helping us and focus on that instead. She insisted and although she couldn't find the bus, she found a guy who was willing to drive us there for a small fee (I think it was around $5AUD each). She was super apologetic about it, but we were grateful for her efforts. ​ **Belarus and Ukraine:** Of all the countries I visited, I had the most fun in these two. Although there isn't a whole lot to do in Belarus (there's still heaps to do in Ukraine), the experience I had in Babruysk with our host and his grandmother were definitely a highlight for me.