Jules Verne wrote the famous Around the World in Eighty Days. Dutch designer and photographer Esther Kokmeijer was away a bit longer. In 15 months she traveled 75,000 miles and crossed the borders of 46 countries. In each of the seven continents she tried to find the exact centre, the geographical heart, which was calculated by a geographical institute in Paris. The only continent where it proved to be impossible to reach the centre was Antartica. The last continent she visited was Europe, which apparently has its centre in a field in Lithuania. At the moment Lithuania isn't a Eurail country (yet), bordering country Poland is the closest you can get to Europe's heart with a Eurail Pass.
The experiences of Kokmeijer are collected in the impressive book A Summary of the World. It contains more than 600 photos and offers stories and essays in English, Dutch, French, German, Spanish and Esperanto. The book can be ordered through the website daarzijn.nl. 15% of the sale profits go to SOS Children’s Village in Bangui where Esther Kokmeijer stayed several weeks during her trip.
The next project of Esther Kokmeijer will be an exploration of Europe, in search of the heart of each European country. Let's wait and see if these places will be easily accessible by train when traveling with a Eurail Pass...