Monday 30 August 2010

Summer slipping away

I can only hope for a typical Polish złota jesień to compensate us for a wet and dull summer (that glorious heatwave in the first half of July excepted). The weather has turned much cooler and there's that ever-threatening afternoon sky that glowers.

The ever-present threat of a cloudburst prevents me from cycling, so I'm using the Park+Ride. Above: the view outside our office, around half past five, looking up ul. Fabryczna.

Above: on my way to the bus stop, along ul. Kośmińska. Less than three minutes from our office, the bus route to Politechnika Metro station has become much better since bus lanes were painted along Trasa Łazienkowska, and a new bus line, the 382, added. Waits are much shorter, the journeys much quicker. I can make it from my office to Ursynów P+R is under 25 minutes.

Above: that same glowering sky at Politechnika Metro. The station entrance is in the foreground, in front of the twin spires of the church at Plac Zbawiciela. As yet no rain. Any second now.


Above: I emerge from the Metro at Ursynów, which has just experienced a shower. I make it to the car without a drop of rain falling on me - lucky, as I had neither hat nor coat. Nor umbrella.

In three weeks time we'll have the autumn equinox and once again slip into the gloom. Over those three weeks we'll lose nearly two hours of daylight.

2 comments:

student SGH said...

Bartek's long-term forecast: this winter will be warm, rainy and gloomy. That's 10 PLN.

Seriously - I generally like when it rains but this time weather has gone far over the top. Newly opened ul. Emilii Plater was partly waterlogged, generally walking in the centre is meandering between big puddles - draining system of course doesn't work properly.

Commuting - ZTM brough back a school-year timetable for 709 bus. Back in June it would run once in three or four minutes just after 7:00 in the morning. Now it runs once in six minutes - surely this would encourage commuters to change cars for buses. Today my commute wasn't a big nightmare. NI -> P+R Wilanowska in 30 minutes (7:00 - 7:30), P+R Wilanowska -> NI in 40 minutes (17:10 - 17:50) - not that bad given the beginning of the school year and the awful weather...

PS. Snaps excellent as always.

Michael Dembinski said...

NI -> P+R Wilanowska by car or bus?

Half an hour is terrible given that during that same time KM can get me (all being well) from Jeziorki to Powiśle in 35 mins. From Wilanowska to my office it's another 20-25 mins by Metro and bus.

Snaps - Exposure is key. It's too easy to over-expose and lose those doom-laden skies!