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Beyond the effort
Why Monaco ?
Monaco is a gateway to Europe.
Between sea and continent, this place embodies openness, dialogue, and humanitarian commitment.
It is also the official starting point of the Via Alpina.
From there, the path turns inward, toward the heart of the continent — toward mountains, effort, and crossing.
The stability and calm of the coastline deliberately contrast with what follows.
The sea marks the origin.
The mountains become the journey.
Why the Via Alpina ?
The Alps are the mountains of my childhood, in Valais.
They taught me wisdom, respect, and patience.
On the Via Alpina, one moves alone before vastness.
The same effort, the same silence, whatever the country crossed.
The mountain does not lie.
It connects what borders divide and places everyone in their rightful position.
Moving forward here means accepting beauty and difficulty as one and the same path.
Memories of the past
Crossing Europe also means crossing its memory.
Some places still carry the weight of humanity’s darkest acts.
And yet, we once said “never again.”
Passing through these sites means refusing to forget.
It means moving forward without turning away.
Running — not to escape, but to remember.
Sites of memory crossed Jasenovac Memorial (Croatia) — Former camp site, a place of remembrance and reflection Counter-Memorial of the German Occupation (Hungary) — Citizen-led memorial made of personal objects, born from the refusal to forget Shoes on the Danube Bank (Hungary) — Memorial of absence, paying tribute to murdered civilians Auschwitz-Birkenau (Poland) — Central symbol of the Shoah, a place of silence Lviv Holocaust Memorial (Ukraine) — Tribute to a community almost entirely annihilated
Why Ukraine ?
No matter one’s origin, language, or religion.
What matters is the bond between people.
Ukraine lies at Europe’s doorstep.
Going there on foot shows just how close it is.It is also a country we depend on, often without seeing it.
The breadbasket of Europe. An invisible yet real link.I met Ukrainian women in Switzerland and in Berlin.
Sometimes, a single encounter is enough to make a reality tangible.
Why Ukraine?
Why not.
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