Vienna to Athens by bike

2022

Europe was my first traveling playground before I ventured anywhere else. Later on, I started feeling the urge to explore far-away lands: the Middle-East and Asia, Northwest Africa and lately North America. Back in France for a little while, I used the opportunity to start a new adventure and rediscover the Old Continent. In particular, I wanted to go back to the Balkans, a region that has always fascinated me because of its recent and tumultuous history, and its location at the crossroads of various cultural areas. This time I would go by bike and above all I would go slow. I wanted to take the time to experience these regions in a new light, letting the landscapes unfold before my eyes and sink into my memory. Kilometer after kilometer, village after village, encounter after encounter. After several months of urban living, I was also yearning to reconnect with nature. I felt the desire to focus on those simple yet essential things that we tend to take for granted in our Western societies: moving, eating, finding a place to set up camp for the night, looking in the distance and letting your thoughts wander…

Starting from Vienna, Austria, I followed the Danube across Slovakia and Hungary to Belgrade, the capital city of Serbia. After 1000 kilometers along this mighty river, I decided to leave the relative comforts of the Eurovelo 6 route and headed south to experience some more hilly terrain: southern Serbia, North Macedonia and eventually Greece. Here is the photographic diary of a solo journey that took me from Vienna to Athens during a month and a half over 2300 kilometers.