German Karsten Rinck, who is walking around Europe on foot with his dog, visited country Number 21

Karsten Rinck is 43 years old and was born in the village of Steinkirchen, which is located near Hamburg. Together with his 10-year-old dog Lottie, a mix between Labrador and Münsterlander, he is walking around Europe. 

He has been in Bulgaria for several days, arriving in Burgas on Saturday, after which he headed to the Sunny Beach resort for a short vacation. Iskra.bg sought him out for an interview to tell the readers about his adventures and his impressions of Bulgaria.

What made you decide to drop everything and start touring Europe on foot?

Mental problems. The canadian Jean Beliveau, who walked 11 years around the world. He inspired me to do something similar. Not the world but Europe. My plan is to visit 40 countries on this continent and it will take me about 5 years. The total distance will be close to 25.000 km

How many countries have you visited so far and did you count how many kilometers you walked in total?

I started this walk on May 1st 2021. Bulgaria is country number 21. Till Sunny beach, where I am right now, I have walked about 15.600 km. 11 pairs of shoes carried me across half the continent.

How does this lifestyle, which for many people seems extreme, affect you? How you feel physically and mentally?

One of my first experiences where how fast the human body remembers instinctual behaviors. Like: When the sun goes down you become suddenly tired. When the first bird starts it’s singing in the morning you wake up. It’s a bit wild when you compare it within the 4 seasons. In the wintertime you go to bed at 5 o’clock in the afternoon and you sleep fully to the next morning 8 o’clock. That’s 15 hours of sleep. In the summertime you sleep less. And you are still full of energy.

You get an idea what our ancestors where capable of doing. The human body can perform on an extraordinary Level. But nowadays many people have lost this knowledge. We complain about so many small things. Our life is from many perspectives way to easy. We gave up on so many traits. We are so dependant on so many things which our grandparents and great grandparents were capable of doing. It’s mind boggling.

Is your adventure expensive?

I am calculating with 25€ per day, plus some passive expenses. Over a year I am calculating with 10.000€ in total.

What was the hardest part of the adventure and was there a moment when you wanted to give up?

I never wanted to give up. There was one event where I kind of lost my head. Lotte grew a tumor on her right leg. The veterinarian told my that I should observe it and when it grows in size consider a surgery. That happened in southern France, nearby Cannes. I was close to let Lotte brought home. From there I would have walked home alone. It was about 1200 km from there, about 3 months. That would have meant that I would’t see Bulgaria. But everything went well and now we are here in Sunny Beach at the Black Sea.

Tell a travel story that people wouldn’t believe actually happened!

It’s amazing how our universe works. When you stick to negativity, you become a giant „sh*t magnet“. But when you stay positive, the most extraordinary miracles will happen to you. Every time I was going through rough and tough times out of a sudden someone came around the corner and offered help. Was it with small problems like a punctured wheel or the tumor story with Lotte. I bumped into a person who was able to speak french and he helped me the make an appointment with a veterinarian who had the capacity at this day in time to help me that I wouldn’t loose to much time. He even took a huge chunk off of the bill. I will forever be thankful to that guy and his family. It’s incredible how things came together and just with the »power« of positivity.

Yesterday you arrived in Burgas, and today you are in Sunny Beach. What are your impressions of the two places?

Both places are quite interesting. But to be honest: I haven’t seen very much of it. Especially Burgas. I am not the »town/city guy«. Most of the time, when I have to go through a huge crowded place I try to get as close as possible and the next day I run right through it. I enjoyed the landscape from Slatograd to Burgas way more. Coming across the mountains from Greece and slowly walking into the more flat regions of Bulgaria. It’s huge forests and astonishing views everywhere. The howling of the jackals at night when you spend the night in a bus stop or in the tent. The lizards zooming through the grass trying to hide from Lotte. The snakes you sometimes can spot.

Turtles. Butterflies and bugs. I really enjoyed the landscape and animals. In Sunny Beach I will stay 2 days to rest up a little bit. There I will spend a wee bit more time to visit a restaurant or sit on the beach.

What will be your next destination?

From Sunny Beach my way will lead me towards Schumen, Razgard and Russe. In Russe I will cross the Donau river and visit country number 22: Romania.

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