This day course takes the form of a workshop for planning your own travels by train through Eastern Europe. This year Mike Shaw extends his focus to the Western Ukraine, Rumania, Bulgaria and on to Istanbul. He will explain the origins of each of the national networks, the resulting choke points and how to avoid them. Thereafter we will work through a number of possible journeys and how these can be planned in detail. If you have a yearning to explore the byways of Eastern Europe, then let the train take the strain. The course will advise you on the minimum preparations desirable, it will equip you on how to address unforeseeable contingencies and what to expect when you arrive in the main cities, or venture off the beaten track. All-comers welcome.