Viktorka Rys: Across the Balkans to the Arctic Circle

She had a driving licence, but she couldn't drive. She was terrified behind the wheel. So Viktorka bought a Volkswagen, named it Rocinante, loaded it with 60 books and 7 ADHD pills, and set off on a journey. The plan: to go somewhere and come back sometime.

The journey took her through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Albania. She volunteered on farms, trekked in the mountains, and camped on beaches, at hot springs, and in the mountains. She spent the winter in a hut in the Bosnian mountains, where she fulfilled her dream of living in the wilderness. Her peaceful life in nature, away from civilisation, eventually turned into a fight for survival.

She returned to the Czech Republic, packed her bike, loaded an inflatable boat onto it, and set off for Lapland. The adventure, which began in February 2024, is not over yet. So no one knows how it will all turn out.

Don't miss Viktorie Rys's travel story and presentation at Eurocentrum Jablonec on Tuesday, 11 November, at 7 p.m.

Viktorka Rys (Viktorka's journey there) She travels with ultra-light equipment, without aeroplanes and at low cost. She mainly focuses on long-distance mountain crossings with a penchant for off-trail. She has crossed the Carpathian arc twice, reaching Banat, continued through the Balkan Mountains to Istanbul, and crossed the Caucasus from the Black Sea in Georgia to the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan. She lived in Iceland for six months, where she worked as a sheep herder, and spent a year travelling around the Balkans in a camper van. On her travels, she takes photos, films, volunteers and tests equipment for the Pod 7 kilo shop. She has published a book entitled Hory a nekonečno (Mountains and Infinity) with BWT Books. More at: ultraviktorka.net

Numbered seating. Tickets can be purchased online (link above) or at the Eurocentrum box office. Online ticket sales end 24 hours before the event. After that , tickets will only be available at the Eurocentrum box office. If the event is not sold out, you can also buy tickets just before the start of the event.