About us
Why we do what we do
Welcome to the Wild East!
Eastern Europe is still a blank slate for many people today. However, what was once almost inaccessible behind the Iron Curtain is now well connected to the West. More and more low-cost airlines are offering direct connections to cities such as Vilnius, Warsaw, Budapest, Kyiv and Belgrade. Eastern Europe has long since gone from being a destination for stag parties and backpackers to a trendy destination for cultural travelers and gourmets.
In the countries between Estonia and Albania, travelers often find original culture right next to the latest trends for hipsters. Rich and poor often live next door to each other. These contrasts as well as the rich and diverse culture and history of these countries and regions are the reason why we finally wanted to create an Eastern Europe travel blog with Wild East to show you the most beautiful sides of the East and convince travelers that a visit to these countries is one of the best experiences as a traveler.
Why Wild East?
Of course, we want to play on prejudices with the name. Because for many people, Eastern Europe is still wild. Considering that more than 30 years after reunification, more than half of all West Germans have never been to the so-called new federal states, we thought the name was apt.
But there is also some truth to it. Because in the past, and in some states even today, the East is actually a bit wilder. People live more anarchically and are less law-abiding than some in the West. This is mainly due to the fact that the state in Eastern Europe was weak after the collapse of the Soviet Union and its satellite states. The region was plagued by mass unemployment, crisis and corruption. However, this has changed rapidly for many of the countries, particularly as a result of the EU’s eastward expansion. Krakow, Vilnius, Prague and Zagreb are in no way inferior to many cities in the West.
But the East is also often wild because there are still many untouched natural landscapes here that are rarely found in Western Europe. This is another focus of this blog: the experience of original and authentic life.
We hope that we have been able to give you an insight into our project and would be delighted if you would support us and follow us on our various channels.
Stay healthy!
Peter, Markus and the Wild Easterners
Who is behind Wild East
I’m Peter Althaus and I love Eastern Europe. I founded the travel blog Rooksack in 2011. But my real love has always been Eastern Europe. I now live in Lviv in Ukraine. Here I run a tour operator company for tours through Ukraine. But since I have never lost the desire to write, there is now the Wild East – the Eastern Europe travel blog. Here I write together with my co-authors about my favorite region.
My name is Markus Bingel and I lost my heart to Eastern Europe years ago. I studied and worked in Poland, Ukraine and Russia for a long time. As a travel book author, I am drawn to the countries in the “Wild East” several times a year – and I am still fascinated by this region every time. I would like to introduce you to the unknown, exciting and always surprising sides of Eastern Europe in our blog.
