Eva zu Beck, officially Ewa Bianka Zubek, (born 26 April 1991) is a Polish travel blogger and vlogger.[4] She hosted TRT World's show, A Place Called Pakistan,[5] and presented a Euronews YouTube miniseries called Rerouted: The Balkans.[6] She has also partnered with National Geographic and Deutsche Welle. She has travelled to 60 countries including Pakistan, where she lived for over a year,[7][8][9] Afghanistan, Yemen[10][11] and Iraq.[12][13] She went viral after a controversial dance video in 2018 that was believed to have disgraced the national flag of Pakistan.[14][15][16][17] She joined BBC's The Travel Show as a presenter, reporting on the clean-up of the Mexican wetlands from the canals of Xochimilco[18] and a 450 dog-sled race in Yukon in Canada marking the 125th anniversary of the Klondike Gold Rush.[19]
In early 2022 she began a road trip of the Americas while living in a converted Land Rover Defender that she named Odyssey, which she had shipped from Germany to Mexico. Her goal was to drive to the northern tip of Alaska and then to the southern tip of South America.[20] While her truck was en route to Mexico, zu Beck flew to Antarctica in early February 2022 where she was among a group that climbed to the summit of Mount Vinson, the Antarctic's tallest peak.[21]
In the fall of 2022, with Vilk, her German Shepherd puppy, she reached the northern tip of Alaska[22] and briefly swam in the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean. She then drove south through the US again and re-entered Mexico. While still in Mexico, in March 2023, she announced on her YouTube channel that she had abandoned her goal of driving to the southern tip of South America and would be taking a break from vlogging and therefore had no immediate plans to post any more videos.[23] She participated together with Vilk in the 2024 Lapland Arctic Ultra, but had to drop out after 100 km due to an unexpected paw injury suffered by Vilk. In July 2024, she finished in third position among women – and tenth overall – in the Gobi March 250 km ultramarathon.[24]
American border detention
In late May 2022, zu Beck attempted to legally enter the US from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, at the Texas border. To her surprise, zu Beck said she was interrogated, handcuffed and placed in a holding cell while US Border Patrol officials searched her truck. Afterwards, she was permitted to enter the country. She later described the experience as "terrifying" in a YouTube video. She said border officials never offered an explanation for their unexpectedly rough treatment of her.[25]
Personal life
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zu Beck was born on 26 April 1991 in Poland. In early childhood, she moved to England.[26] She studied German and French languages at the University of Oxford.
zu Beck was once married but ended the marriage before launching her solo travel career.[27][28][29]
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