We accompany Dutch writer Auke Hulst on his mission to hitchhike across the waterways of Europe. His destination: Odessa, the famous port city on the Black Sea. Auke has traveled the world, but his own continent remains a partial mystery to him. He is European, but what is “European”? He hopes to find out.

His way leads through the watery world of the Dutch canals, the freight routes of the rivers of northern Germany, the idyllic waterways of Poland, the swamps of Belarus and the enormous reservoir lakes of the Ukraine. 2,500 kilometers of adventure in the middle of Europe. Well-known waterways transition into unfamiliar, tranquil routes, into small, little-trafficked rivers with idyllic landing sites – time and space for special impressions, a road movie on the water. Auke becomes a guest on cargo barges and leisure yachts, boats belonging to fishers and policemen, catamarans and historic clippers.

Big skies, wide lands and water, Auke experiences landscapes and cities. The gas fields of his Frisian homeland, the disappeared border between two German states, a famous airport in Berlin, Warsaw’s rediscovered waterfront, the European border town of Brest and Pripyat, the ghost town by Chernobyl, a square in Kiev and finally, a certain famous stairway overlooking the Black Sea. Traveling by water allows us to see things from a particular perspective. We become open to the unexpected, to encounters with other people. Rivers connect past and present, histories with stories.

Director: Dagmar Brendecke
Writers: Walter Brun, Auke Hulst
Cinematographers: Deen van der Zaken (1-4), Susanna Salonen (4-5), Piotr Rosolowski (6-10), Dmytro Tiazhlov (9)
Editors: Viola Rusche (1-5), Lena Rem (6-10)
Music: Auke Hulst & Andere
Narrator: Martin Bretschneider
Sound: Wouter Veldhuis (1-4), Alexey Fedorov (4-10)
Commissioning editors: Pit Lehmann (MDR), Sarah Elena Schwerzmann (arte)
Production managers: Brigit Mulders, Bernd Schwarzer (MDR)
Producer: Andrea Ufer
Channels: MDR/arte
Idea: Walter Brun