Are the four cardinal directions, four seasons, and four elements so far from each other? Is it necessary to look for a new coordinate system in the world of the 21st century, or is it determined once and for all by historical experience? Is Russia's position on the cultural map of the planet changing? The starting point of the author’s travels to two dozen countries on three continents is the Czech Republic. From here, from the geographical center of the Old World, he goes in search of answers to Paris and Istanbul, to Madrid and Omsk, to Amsterdam and Kyiv, to Verona and Kaliningrad; to the ancient Orthodox monasteries of Northern Greece, to the Egyptian desert, to the Copenhagen hippie quarter; descends into Slovenian karst caves, rises in a hot air balloon into the sky above Prague. Among the heroes of the book are historical figures and famous writers, great composers and popular rock musicians, famous scientists and eccentric inventors. Among the subjects of research are issues of relationships and interpenetration of cultures, religions, languages, gastronomic, literary, and musical traditions. The new book by the famous journalist Andrei Shary is written in the genre of ironic artistic essays, combining travel prose, historical notes and journalistic digressions.