Where should you go for a hiking trip, and what are the benefits of traveling by camper van? We explore these questions in a conversation with Marta Lis, known as wiedzma_w_ruchu (the witch on the move).
Editor: Why hiking? Why is this way of traveling so enjoyable for you?
Marta Lis: It really helps clear my head. I have an incredibly stressful job, and I feel my best when I’m surrounded by nature—that’s where I can truly relax. Since I was a child, I’ve been connected to scouting, so the forest has always been part of my life. Later on, I kind of forgot about it. University, work… I got deeply immersed in it, which led to burnout. That’s when I remembered what truly brings me joy—hiking. And since I have a dog, it’s an even better reason to combine the two.
Is your four-legged friend a good companion for such trips?
Yes, because it forces you to stay active (laughs). On one hand, it pushes you to get moving, but on the other, it does limit you a bit. Obviously, you’re not going to hike Orla Perć with a dog. Unless you’re carrying it in your backpack… It also makes you realize how well Polish or European trails are adapted for hiking with dogs. But overall, hiking opens up a lot of opportunities to travel with pets.
You also travel a lot in a converted camper van. Why this mode of travel?
We move around a lot—me, my dog, and my partner. Spending money on accommodation became financially unsustainable for us after a while. Maintaining a van is still cheaper than booking flights and accommodations five or six times a year. Of course, you could camp in a tent, outdoors. We spent six days like this in Kashubia. But it’s not the best solution when it rains. A camper van, on the other hand, lets you start your hike right from the trailhead in the morning. You don’t need to rely on buses, trains, or rental cars. It’s all taken care of, and you can sleep in amazing places with stunning views. Plus, you have everything you need with you.
Was your recent trip to Kashubia also in a camper?
No, that was purely a hiking trip. It was our first long-distance trail. We covered 140 kilometers with our backpacks. We’ve recently gotten into long-distance hiking. This time, we left the dog at home because we wanted to see if we could handle it and if we would enjoy it. And the trip was fantastic.
You work a full-time job, so how do you manage to balance work with traveling?
You need a good boss (laughs). I work full-time, with 26 days of vacation, but luckily, my boss also loves to travel. We’re like an old married couple—we have to compromise (laughs). In the summer, I work longer hours so I can get an extra day off. That way, I can turn a weekend into a three-day getaway.
It’s not a problem to hop in the camper and drive 300-400 kilometers. By evening, you’re there, and you’ve got three full days to explore. It makes for a great long weekend, and we do this every other week (laughs). Plus, with 26 vacation days, there’s even more room for traveling.
Do you already have plans for your next trip?
I have so many plans, I’m not sure I’ll get to them all in this lifetime (laughs).
One of your goals is to visit all of Poland’s landscape parks, right?
Yes, that was my first major project. I feel like Poles tend to focus on two regions: the Baltic Sea and Zakopane. But if you look at the map of Poland, there are so many fantastic trekking areas that we hardly visit. On our last hike, we only came across one other person on the trail. Of course, we met people on bikes or with trekking poles, but there were no other hikers. My goal is to promote these lesser-known areas. These spots just aren’t as well-known. It’s an ongoing project—it can’t be done in a year.
We’ve also recently gotten into long-distance trails, not only in Poland. I’ve found a few interesting ones, but again, we’re limited by time. Now we’re dreaming of Lapland—once the Finnish part, but now more the Swedish side. The upcoming long weekend has sparked a bit of debate between a trip to Latvia or to Adršpach in the Czech Republic. One thing’s for sure—we won’t be bored!
How do you choose the places you visit?
Generally, it’s just me and my partner. He loves joining me, but he’s not really into social media. I have a whole Google Map with places I’d like to see. Whatever catches my eye on Instagram, YouTube, or in a magazine, I mark it. Then it’s time for the trip…
In reality, a camper van gives you the freedom to change plans quickly. If the weather isn’t great and it’s raining for two weeks, you can just change course and head to a different part of Europe. With today’s electronic payment options, you don’t have to worry about exchanging currency. You just get in the van and go. Unless, of course, you need a visa for a particular country—that complicates things a bit…
My decisions are mostly based on the weather. It’s the key factor. Once, we had a ferry booked from Tallinn to Helsinki, but the day before, we decided to drive to Bulgaria instead because it was forecasted to rain in Finland for ten days straight. That’s the freedom of choice—today you’re here, and tomorrow you can be somewhere else, with nothing holding you back.
My partner is very flexible. For him, all that matters is nature and having a good time. I’m the planner, the one who organizes everything, but the final decision always comes down to the weather.
There are so many beautiful places in the world, but what are your favorites?
There are so many. Of course, there are some places you’re more drawn to return to. My number one is Romania—that was our first trip. The landscapes are beautiful, and the people are fantastic, so easygoing.
Any specific places in Romania?
Maramureș, the Maramureș Mountains. In general, I love the mountains, even though I live on the coast (laughs). The second place that really captivated me and where I could live is Estonia. All those swamps, forests, wilderness. It’s an amazing forested area, and for miles, you’ll only see a few houses. Estonia is incredibly well-organized for tourism.
Can you share an interesting anecdote from one of your trips?
In Romania, we had an interesting encounter when we set out on a trail. There was a group of guys, around 30, sitting at a table, dressed in sportswear. We thought they were rescuers, like our GOPR (Mountain Rescue Service). When we set out, they were already there. Nine hours later, when we returned, they were still sitting there, whistling at us. I told my partner, Łukasz, to go ask them what they wanted. We thought maybe we had parked on private property. It turned out that the guys just wanted to chat because they were bored. They had been sitting there all day drinking beer but hadn’t actually gone hiking (laughs). They told Łukasz to sit down and have a beer with them and said, “If you want, you can call your girlfriend over too. She doesn’t need to stay in the car” (laughs). It shows a different culture, where a woman is expected to sit in the car and wait for her man to have a beer and come back. Romania is also a European country, but the cultural differences are quite noticeable.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example, which is a very conservative and largely Muslim country, the way women are perceived is different. But women also feel very safe there.
That’s definitely valuable when visiting a foreign country.
Exactly. It’s a completely different culture, even though it’s not far from us.
Traveling isn’t the only thing you do—you also have a full-time job (laughs). What other interests do you have?
Another huge topic (laughs). I’m a bit of a Renaissance woman—I do everything at once.
What brings you the most joy?
Probably crocheting, though I haven’t done it in a long time because I just don’t have the time. Since my partner and I decided to start a YouTube channel, I’ve been editing videos. Now I basically have two jobs (laughs), but I only get paid for one of them.
I love crocheting, especially when something turns out well. I play various instruments, mostly piano, and guitar by the campfire. I also dabble in model-making. I’m currently building a Moomin house, which is waiting for me to finish. When I’m sick, I’ll have more time for all these things (laughs).
It does feel like there’s never enough time to do everything…
Exactly. I love playing RPGs, but I don’t even remember the last time I sat down to play on the PlayStation or computer. Yeah, I’d need a day twice as long to have time to relax (laughs). I don’t want to say something always has to give, but I probably won’t be able to fully dive into my hobbies until I’m unemployed (laughs). Unfortunately, I’m still far from retirement.
In your free time, you also add spots to the Findia app. What place can we find in the GetFindia app?
I initially focused on places in Poland. I had the honor of being one of the first to join Findia, so there was still a lot of room to explore (laughs). I added some spots along the coast, a few from the Hel Peninsula…
One of the more interesting spots is Napoleon’s Well. There’s a fun anecdote about it related to Wielkopolski National Park. We seem to have a thing for Napoleon, and we enjoy featuring places connected to him in various locations. There are also some spots in the Warmia-Masuria region linked to him. There’s even a Napoleonic trail that we’ll be exploring soon… I’ve also added other intriguing spots like Mostar or the Cross on Hum Hill. It’s a very painful place for Bosniaks, not very well-known. It’s not like you can just go on Wikipedia and instantly find information about Hum Hill. We stumbled upon it by chance. We were driving and discovered that we could go up there.
It’s not like I don’t plan my trips at all, but along the way, we come across so many fascinating places, so it doesn’t make sense to set rigid plans. Hum Hill was one of those places I had no idea about before the trip.
So, do you try to find out more about interesting places once you’re there?
Most of the time, I spot something and then try to look up more information if I have the time. If there’s an information board, I’ll read it… though you can’t expect to find anything in English in Bosnia. Bosnian is somewhat similar to Russian, but not that much. And you’d also have to know Russian…
I was sitting on Hum Hill because we decided to camp there for the night. I started browsing the internet and found out that this was the site of the largest massacre of Muslims by Christians in Mostar. You sit there, and it makes you feel a bit guilty, realizing that you, “a European, ” arrived here unaware of the history and decided to camp on such a site. It’s not a widely publicized story. In Poland, it would immediately become a national memorial site. But here, Catholics even put up a cross to provoke Muslims. It’s unpleasant, but that’s their history…
Thanks to people like you, we can learn that such places exist and that it’s worth knowing their history.
There’s something to that. We’re learning too. You can’t know everything, but it’s nice to share knowledge with others. And I’m talking about basic knowledge too. For example, in Switzerland, roaming doesn’t work. And that ignorance cost me 190 złotys. It’s worth learning from mistakes, even other people’s, so you don’t repeat them later.