"You have to go further than you can to know how far you can go."

About 4000 km - from Gibraltar to Istanbul. Nineteen year old Matthias Klima from Bavaria, will walk this route across all of Europe. We sat down with him to find out more...

A WALK ACROSS EUROPE - Interview

1) Please introduce yourself briefly in two sentences.

My name is Matthias Klima, I am 19 years old and come from Furth im Wald in a district of Bavaria called the Upper Palatinate. I did my advanced level examinations in 2014 and then decided to do a gap year.

2) How does anyone come up with the idea of hiking through Europe?

After my trip to America a lot of people asked me whether I would do something like that again. I hadn't actually ever planned to do a second journey of this kind but then I entered Gibraltar to Istanbul in Google Maps for fun. As I went on to imagine myself walking the route and going past the Colosseum in Rome or the Acropolis in Athens, my mind was made up.

3) What are you doing job-wise/school-wise? What are you studying?

I started a degree in history and philosophy but after a short time I realised that I would prefer to do something else. I will be starting a degree course in media and communication studies In the autumn of 2016.

4) What are your hobbies?

I played football for 10 years and I still love the sport.

5) You have already hiked across the USA – what goes through your head when you are going along on a walk like that?

Strangely enough I used to amuse or entertain myself by picturing film scenes in my head or dreaming up ideas for future projects.

6) Did you sometimes think about giving up?

Of course there are days when you feel down and discouraged but I never actually seriously considered giving up.

7) What are you looking forward to most about your hike across Europe?

I am looking forward to visiting all the big cities and the little towns, seeing the beautiful countryside, meeting the people, and most of all to sampling the cuisine in the various countries.

8) Do you have a motto in life?

"You have to go further than you can to know how far you can go."

9) What three things would you least like to do without on your trip?

My sleeping bag, which I already had with me in America, my diary and my camera.