Kolobrzeg: Frames of Return follows two June weeks on the Baltic coast — morning walks with Monty, coastal rides and quiet evenings in Kołobrzeg, captured in gentle, salt‑edged light
The Road There
Some journeys begin before the destination does. Ours started in Czechowice-Dziedzice, with the car packed, Monty settled, and roughly eight hours of Polish motorway ahead. We broke the drive with regular stops – not because we planned to linger but because the road demands it and Monty insists. By the time Kolobrzeg appeared on the horizon, the anticipation had already been doing its quiet work for hours.
Monty — Chief of Operations
Every journey needs someone who keeps things grounded. On this one, that responsibility fell to Monty — our Shih Tzu, our morning anchor, and the most consistently enthusiastic member of the expedition.
The routine was his before it was ours. Each morning and evening, Monty led the walk — nose down, unhurried, entirely certain that whatever he was investigating was the most important thing happening in Kołobrzeg at that particular moment. The city, to its credit, seemed to agree with him.
When longer distances called, the Monty Truck was deployed. In town, it became a trolley — a red, rather distinguished carriage that drew its fair share of glances in the city centre. On cycling days, it transformed into a trailer, hitched to the back of my bike, orange safety flag raised, ready for the Baltic coastal routes. Settled inside, eyes forward, Monty rode to the beach with the composure of someone who had never once considered walking when riding was available.
He did not negotiate with the fish and chips, weigh in on the coffee, or offer opinions on the cycling routes. But he was present for almost everything else — and that, it turned out, was exactly enough.
The Rhythm of the Days
We settled into our apartment, and almost immediately the city handed us a routine. Mornings belonged to Monty — a walk before the day had fully decided what it wanted to be, the streets still cool and the port nearby and full of its own slow industry. Those first few days were spent finding our feet again, relearning the city on foot — the port, the centre, and the particular way Kołobrzeg holds the light in the early hours.
Then came the bicycles, and everything opened up. The three of us became a small convoy moving through the Baltic air as we followed the cycle routes down to the beach, with the Monty Truck firmly attached to the back of my bike. The coastline offered itself generously — wide, unhurried, salt-edged — and we rode it as often as we could. Many of those moments found their way into the camera and, ultimately, into Kolobrzeg: Frames of Return — a gallery that tries to hold what the Baltic coast offered us that June.
Old Friends, New Memories
There is something particular about meeting old friends in a place that is new to them. Marco and Alexandra – friends from my UniCredit years in Poland – joined us in Kolobrzeg, and for three days the city became something more than just a return. It became a shared discovery. We walked together; found fish and chips by the water; and lingered over cake and coffee in the way that only people with real history between them can. No agenda, no schedule — just the pleasure of company in a place worth sharing.
Pawel and Joanna came for an afternoon, and another chapter from my UniCredit years reopened briefly and warmly. We walked, ate, and caught up as good friends do, as if no time had passed.
Niechorze
Midway through our stay, we drove to Niechorze to spend a few hours with Dorota’s Auntie Malgorzata and her husband Rudolf. The visit felt unhurried and warm — we took a short walk together, then had a meal, then enjoyed ice cream, because some things should not be skipped. Niechorze is a quieter place, a little removed from the energy of Kołobrzeg, and the afternoon carried that quality — gentle, generous, the kind of visit that leaves you feeling replenished rather than tired.
The Road Home
The return to Czechowice-Dziedzice was a different journey entirely. Forty degrees of Polish summer pressed down on the motorway, and the stops became less optional and more necessary. We drove carefully, rested when we needed to, and arrived home with the particular exhaustion that only a rewarding holiday produces — the kind that carries warmth in it rather than weight.
Kolobrzeg had given us back something we hadn’t quite realised we were missing. It had also, somewhere between the morning walks and the coastal rides and the long evenings, found its way into the music. Kolobrzeg Beyond is the sound the city left behind — follow the link and let it take you there.
We will, without any doubt, return.
The Gallery
The photographs from our June return gathered in one place – two weeks of Baltic light, familiar streets, and coastal rides. Kolobrzeg: Frames of Return →
The Music
Kolobrzeg left something behind that only music could carry. Kolobrzeg Beyond — listen now →
