Lublin and The Road

Went to Lublin on business today, a drive of 100 miles (160 km) from Warsaw. Lublin's Old Town is still relatively unmodernised and its old tenements, arched passageways and cobbled squares exude a strong, though sad, historic atmosphere that you'll be hard pushed to match elsewhere in Poland. Kraków's Kazimierz had it but has become too developed in recent years.

The Road beckons. The Road is my Muse. Since early adulthood, road movies have been a favourite cinematic genre of mine. So load up with good music and a camera, and capture the spirit of the road. Above all, take your soul. (Below) Somewhere between Ryki and Garwolin. An avenue of trees, beyond them, ripening fields of wheat, tobacco and maize.

July has started wet and stormy. (I got utterly soaked cycling home from work on Tuesday.) The sky continues to be pregnant with rainclouds. As Warsaw got closer on the run home in the early evening, the sky turned darker, brooding and more threatening. (Below:) Near Kolbiel.