180 DAY TRIPS — INTRO

In 2013 I circumnavigated Scandinavia by sea kayak in a boat I designed and built myself. I documented the whole journey in a blog called 180 Day Trips. It was written in Czech and sat untouched for ten years — until now I've translated it into English so paddlers and adventurers from around the world can follow the journey.

Prague. Autumn 2012.

The sun is barely up and the city is already doing its thing. Golden light sitting low on the old stone buildings. Cold air, clean and sharp. Somewhere above the rooftops birds are singing like they own the place.

At the junction the bakery. The smell of fresh pastry and coffee drifting out into the street.

A beautiful woman walks past. The scent of her perfume hanging in the cold air, mixing with the smell of dog piss.

I got on the tram. Packed, as always. Just another morning commute.

And somewhere between stops a thought landed that wouldn't leave — I'm supposed to be doing something more natural than this.

For a couple of years I'd been turning one idea over in my head. Circumnavigate Scandinavia by sea kayak. Human power only. No engines, no support boat, no shortcuts. The problem was always the same — how do you close the loop? There is actually a water route, through Russia and the White Sea. Technically. Practically you'd be paddling past submarine bases hoping someone in Moscow was feeling generous that day. So that was out.

Then it hit me. Just walk the damn thing across Lapland.

In that moment I knew — in six months I was going to set off and circumnavigate Scandinavia. I knew when. I didn't know how. But I knew I would.

As I got off the tram my phone rang. A friend asking how I was. Great, I told him. I'm going to kayak around Scandinavia. He didn't miss a beat — sounds cool, I'll be your sponsor.

Just like that it had momentum.

That same day I went straight to my boss. Told him I'd be leaving in six months — enough time to find someone and get them up to speed. The clock was ticking. Departure date: 21st March 2013, first day of spring.

What followed was six months of pure frenzy. Full time job, building the C-Gator, emails, calls, meetings with potential sponsors, making deals, chasing leads. Not a single day off. A year of work packed into six months.

As word spread people started reaching out. Many wanted to help and many did.

But three made it possible in a way the others couldn't.

Standa Prdoch — calm, positive, a problem solver to his core. He'd spent his career in the paddling industry and knew everyone in Europe worth knowing. I'd come to him with a problem and leave with a solution and usually a boot full of free gear from his kayak shop. He opened doors I didn't even know existed.

Vítek — my on-land commander, my editor, my one-man mission control. Honestly, he put more work into this expedition than I did. I just did the kayaking. He did the rest. Without him this blog wouldn't exist — just another diary sitting in a drawer, same as all my previous trips.

And Porko — my great friend, the most creative person I've ever met. Two weeks before departure I still didn't know who would look after my dog Khumbu. Porko stepped in without hesitation. He told me — not because of you, but because of him.

Without those three I never would have left.