Michael Palin reads his own account of a journey into a new Europe.
Michael Palin's New Europe starts with a simple idea: that only a
couple of hours from home are a half of Europe that is for him as
unknown and unexplored as the plateau of Tibet or the vastness of the
Sahara. Cut off for most of his life by Cold Wars and Iron Curtains,
Europe's eastern lands are now open for business - and Michael sets off
to discover them. Visiting 20 countries, more than in his Himalaya and
Sahara journeys combined, he encounters painful memories and exuberant
celebrations.
Throwing himself into local life with his usual reckless curiosity, he
samples pig fat with a brandy chaser, meets Romanian lumberjacks, drives
the 8.58 stopping train from Poznan to Wolsztyn, learns about
mine-clearing in Bosnia, treads the catwalk at a Budapest fashion show
and watches Turkish gents wrestling in olive oil. It's New Europe, but
vintage Palin.