ROB CAMERON

A wandering elk spotted at dozens of locations across Central Europe this summer has been captured by authorities in Austria and released in forests close to the Czech border. The elk, nicknamed Emil, was tranquilised by wildlife officials on Monday after straying dangerously close to a motorway in Upper Austria. It’s hoped he’ll now settle in the Czech Šumava forest.

For years, Polish women have been evading their country’s strict abortion laws by seeking medical help to terminate unwanted pregnancies abroad. One such country is the Czech Republic, where access to abortion is legal, safe and provided on demand. Thousands are believed to have had abortions that would have been denied to them in Poland.

“Could you,” I once asked a train-mad friend “travel right across the Czech Republic using only the slow, stopping trains?” The answer was yes, as I and another friend proved in 2007. We spent 19 days covering 2,000 kilometres, setting foot in over 80 towns and villages, and crossing the border into Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Austria. This is an audio diary of that journey.