Tomas Belcik

Cycling to Athens Tomas Belcik

Modern geographers tell us the Balkans is in neither Europe nor Asia. They consider the two the old concepts rooted in cultural variables and not physical ones and call "it" "Eurasia." The EU politicians in love with integration and open immigration of cultures from anywhere eat the concept up and want our approval. Yet the Balkans is precisely rooted in cultural variables that are a sensitive subject. Regardless of what may be the correct view on the matter, what countries are part of the Balkans, the author had no intention to ride through them all. The route he cycled from Prague to Athens was a 2700 kilometer long trip to the sea; not a trip to the beach but a journey from the heart of Europe to the coast of the Aegean. Whether you're a student of European history and culture or not, want to learn about the Balkans, or only Greece lures you, Cycling Prague to Athens is a 29-stage pictorial of an amazing passage. It takes you through Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Greece. You learn a few things about the Balkans, and you discover what it's like to travel here by bicycle. The pictorial will sort the itinerary out for you and help you decide whether you want to undertake a similar journey. Photographed and written by an author of many bicycle touring adventures, the photographic coverage of the journey follows the individual stages. With 134 photographs, informative and entertaining captions, details of stages and distances, a list of accommodations, and the journey-related GPX tracks you can download, the book promises to entice any intrepid or armchair traveler.