A Day at the Walchensee: Simply Going with the Flow

“Where are you going?” A question that sooner or later finds its way into almost every holiday conversation. And I catch myself asking it again and again, too. Harmless, really. Just an ordinary question we ask to show interest. And yet, sometimes, I feel there’s something else hiding behind it: a certain expectation of what a holiday is supposed to look like. Shaped by what we’re used to, what we consider special, and perhaps also by what society tells us is worth striving for. Almost as if there were an unspoken rule about how we’re supposed to spend our time off.

Of course, I love discovering new places, stepping away from familiar routines and leaving everyday life behind for a while. But I don’t necessarily need to travel to the other side of the world to do that. I don’t necessarily need to go somewhere where an impressed “Wow” is almost guaranteed. Or to some exotic destination that required a great deal of money, planning and effort to get to.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with making those dreams come true. If your dream is to travel overseas, experience foreign cultures and get as far away from home as possible – why not? The real question, to me, is something else: Is that truly what makes us happy? Or do we perhaps enjoy the idea of how others will react, and being able to say that we’ve been there?

I think sometimes it’s less about the journey itself and more about the image we create through it. The idea of a life that looks impressive in photos and seems to call out adventure, success and freedom. A holiday that isn’t solely about what makes us happy, but also about earning the approval of others.

This year, my boyfriend and I decided to take things a little slower. To spend time with family. Not to fill every free day with a plan. Not to constantly chase the next destination, but simply to decide spontaneously what we felt like doing.

And looking back, that was exactly what we had been longing for most.

Halfway through our second week of holiday, we decided to head to Lake Walchen. We quickly loaded the kayak into the car, added some snacks and our swimwear – and that was really all we needed. After around four hours of driving, setting up the kayak and applying our first layer of sunscreen, we were already gliding across the sparkling surface of the lake.

And suddenly, there it was: this endless turquoise. So clear and intense that we had to pause for a moment ourselves. Surrounded by mountains, the water beneath us and nothing ahead but an afternoon completely open to whatever might come. We started paddling, stopped wherever we felt like it, took breaks, went for swims and simply stayed for a while, listening to the gentle movement of the water or taking in the view.

And perhaps that is part of what happiness sometimes comes down to: not always knowing what comes next. Not feeling like we’re missing out on something. But being so completely present for a moment that whatever comes afterwards simply doesn’t matter.

This kind of freedom, to me, has little to do with how far we travel. It doesn’t necessarily exist in a place everyone has heard of. Sometimes, it’s right here at home – by a lake that looks almost Caribbean, spending an afternoon that feels completely open. Maybe that’s why we should change the question a little next time.

From: “Where are you going?”

To: “What do you feel like doing this holiday?”

A question that doesn’t assume a particular destination, but instead asks what we’re actually looking for. Peace? Adventure? Something new? Time with the people who matter to us? Or simply some time by the water – somewhere that may (admittedly) be impressive to look at, but is also relatively close and doesn’t require much effort to reach?

Because perhaps the best holiday isn’t always the one we can tell the most stories about, or the one that was planned down to the smallest detail. Perhaps it’s the one where, in the end, we realise just how good it felt to simply let ourselves go with the flow.

Our route: Starting in Niedernach, around the island and back