When Monika and I set out over a year ago on our kayak expedition down the Vistula from Kraków to Gdańsk, we had a brief stopover in Toruń. While scouting for a place to eat, we met an elderly lady launching into the river with an Oru Kayak - one of those origami-style boats that fold down into a suitcase, a rare sight on Polish waters. Her journey had no rigid itinerary or set destination; she was simply drifting forward. We traded a few smiles, exchanged brief greetings, and returned to our respective routines.
Despite the gap between our departure times from Toruń, we caught up with her out on the water surprisingly fast. “Caught up” might be generous - while we were paddling earnestly (bolstered by Łukasz Wojciechowski, whose presence lifted our spirits over those days), she was barely stroking at all, letting the current slowly carry her forward. Even from a distance, you could see she favored small binoculars over her paddle, quietly scanning the shoreline.
Drifting alongside for another quick chat, she shared stories of her past paddling journeys - adventures truly impressive compared to our modest logbook. Upon learning we had started in Kraków, she asked two peculiar questions:
“Do you have binoculars with you? Are you contemplating the river?”
I had packed binoculars, but with my practical mindset, I mailed them back home from Włocławek to shave weight off the boat for the remaining stretch.
“Are you contemplating the river?”
The question began echoing in my head barely ten minutes after parting ways. It struck me as amusing at first, so I teased Monia with a grin, asking whether she was contemplating the river. Yet beneath the joke, an uncomfortable doubt took root: Was I just pushing miles to hit an endpoint, or was I taking in something deeper along the way?
That phrase lingered across our remaining days on the Vistula, and it still resurfaces on our travels today - still making me smile, still nudging me to reflect.
During our recent trip to the Tatra Mountains, before we headed high up in search of early snow on Kasprowy Wierch, we spent our opening days roaming the lower valleys. Uncertain weather forecasts kept the usual crowds away, leaving sections of the trails almost entirely to ourselves - ample space to enjoy each other’s company and, true to form, a bit of quiet “contemplation.”
We captured some footage during those misty days, compiled here into the second video (though chronologically the first part) of our Tatra getaway.