My name is Marc, I’m a 30-year-old vegan from Bönigen in Switzerland. In the summer of 2010, I finished high school and began studying mathematics at the University of Berne in autumn 2010. In my free time, I went climbing several times a week, was playing a lot of music, either with the electric bass or with the saxophone and I was active in the animal rights organization tier-im-fokus.ch (TIF).

First Bicycle Tour

My first bike tour was in the summer holidays in 2011. At that time I drove in 8 days with an old 3-speed women’s bike from Geneva to Genoa.

Paris by Bicycle

One year later I wanted to go to Paris. So I pedalled, again with the old 3-speed bicycle, from Basel to Paris.

To the Mediterranean by Bike

Another year later, I rode from my home in Bönigen to the Mediterranean. This time I used a mountain bike, which allowed me to cycle uphill instead of always having to push the bike on slopes.

Nordkapp

During the semester break in the summer of 2014, I made my first longer tour. In 100 days I cycled from Bönigen to the Nordkapp in Norway and back again.

In November 2014, I decided to start a bicycle trip after completing my studies. At that point, I expected that I would graduate in February 2016. One month later, however, I realized that I had made much faster progress in writing my master’s thesis, and so in May 2015 I already obtained a master’s degree.

Eurasia

As I worked as an assistant at the university for some years during my studies, I had been able to save enough money to travel directly after graduation through Eurasia for 741 days from June 2015 to June 2017.

Eurasia 2.0

From August 2017 until February 2018, I lived in Berne and taught mathematics as a substitute teacher at a high school. Originally, I was only hired for six weeks, but this contract was extended until the end of October 2018. During this time I prepared a winter trip through Russia, which I wanted to start on 1st November 2018. But the Russian visa regulations destroyed that plan. Fortunately, I was able to extend my employment at the Gymnasium (high school) for another four months. During this time I also met Grete in Bern. However, I had already planned my trip Eurasia 2.0. In March 2018, I left Switzerland alone, as Grete still had to work. The summer we spent together in Iran and Central Asia, before Grete went back to Zermatt for another winter season and I spent the winter in Kazakhstan and Siberia.

Eurasindica

My last journey started in June 2019. The idea was to discover untouched places with Grete. We intended to cycle though Europe, Asia, India and Africa, that’s why we named this travel Eurasindica. 

From the home of Grete’s mother in Tartu, Estonia, we cycled to Russia and took trains all the way to Novosibirsk. From Novosibirsk, we cycled to Mongolia, where we spent most of the time on dirt tracks. From Mongolia, we crossed into China and explored the beauty of the Tibetan plateau. In January 2020, we cycled through the Tibetan areas in the provinces Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan.

Because of the Corona-Virus, we weren’t able to leave China overland to Laos and waited a few weeks in a hotel in Jinghong. Suddenly, I got a brain inflammation and had to be repatriated to Switzerland in an ambulance jet. Fortunately, I recovered surprisingly quickly. But as Grete and I separated, this journey won’t be continued.

Future Plans

Luckily, my brain recovered completely and surprisingly fast from this brain inflammation. Unfortunately, the successful treatment of the disease with high-dose steroids caused avascular necrosis (death of bone tissue) in my hips as well as in my shoulders. That’s why I had to get hip prostheses on both sides in early Summer 2022. It’s not sure yet if I’ll have to get shoulder prostheses as well.

Currently am working full time as a math teacher and I try to earn and save a lot of money, so that I can continue travelling when my body is ready again. In the meantime, I am already thinking about some short tours, some longer travels and most importantly about several expeditions.

I am looking forward to starting to travel again (most likely in summer 2024). I am really keen to be out there again, but my body needs to recover first.

Gallery