Poles revive ancient tradition of timber floating on longest river

GASSY, Poland - A group of Poles have assembled tree trunks into a long raft and are streaming down the country's longest river, the Vistula, to revive the ancient tradition of timber floating.

Their day begins at dawn with a prayer recited by captain Zdzislaw Nikolas in his bass voice while the whole crew stands around an image of their patron saint.

They sing it at night too like their ancestors, said Nikolas, who sports an impressive handlebar mustache.