There are certain moments in travel when you stop, take a breath, and think: this probably isn’t in the brochure.
Ours came somewhere along a narrow Polish street, the kind lined with pastel buildings that look like they’ve been quietly minding their own business since 1893. We had barely settled into the back seat when I noticed a faint glow coming from the dashboard. Not unusual, I thought. GPS, maybe. Radio display. Sensible, responsible driving aids.
No.
It was a full-blown television show.
At first, I assumed it was paused. Perhaps our driver had excellent taste and a terrible sense of timing. But then—movement. Characters. Dialogue. A plot developing. Meanwhile, we were also… moving. In a car. Through actual streets. With corners.
I locked eyes with my travel companion in the rear-view mirror, hoping for reassurance, or at least confirmation that I wasn’t hallucinating. Instead, I caught the driver’s eyes flicking between the road and what appeared to be a very emotionally intense scene involving at least one person in a dramatic coat.
Now, I consider myself fairly adaptable when travelling. I’ve accepted mystery meats, navigated public transport systems that seem to operate on vibes alone, and once trusted a “shortcut” that added three hours to a journey. But there’s something uniquely unsettling about realizing your driver is keeping up with a storyline while also responsible for your continued existence.
And yet—this is the strange part—it didn’t feel chaotic. There was no swerving, no sudden braking, no sense of impending doom. Just… calm, competent driving, accompanied by what I can only assume was the latest episode of something very gripping.
Apparently, this isn’t even unusual. In fact, I’m told it’s relatively common. Which raises several questions, chief among them: how good must Polish drivers be to casually multitask at this level? And secondly, what was the show? Because honestly, it looked kind of compelling.
By the time we reached our destination, I found myself oddly impressed. Not reassured, exactly, but impressed. There’s a certain confidence required to navigate traffic while simultaneously following a subplot.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely not. Would I survive it again? Probably. Would I like to know how that episode ended?
Without question.
Travel, as always, delivers. Sometimes it’s culture, sometimes it’s cuisine, and sometimes it’s a reminder that the definition of “normal” is wonderfully, wildly flexible.
