Yesterday I took the bike and got severely rained on. Today I decided to let the train take the strain. 1st September - new school year, so numbers of people using public transport increases by a quarter, plus there's a new railway timetable in force. Plus it's still raining - severely.
My train into town from Jeziorki, which used to leave at 07:21, getting me into W-wa Powiśle for five to eight, now leaves at 07:27, arriving just after eight (if on time), and giving me not quite enough time to get to Al. Ujazdowskie for quarter past.
So I'm waiting for the 07:27. It arrives seven minutes late. Not the usual six-carriage set, but a four-carriage set. So 33% less space for 25% more passengers. Result - I could not slip a credit card between the passengers let alone move down the corridor. At Śródmieście a train indicator board that announces that the train I'm on is not actually the one I think I'm on, but another one that's running over 60 minutes late. So Day One of the new timetable and the usual chaos.
And the online PKP timetable is at odds with what it says on the platform at Jeziorki and with reality. When oh when will PKP and Koleje Mazowieckie's management get a grip?
During my walk to Al. Ujazdowskie I witness the aftermath of two car crashes, front-to-rear shunts evidently caused by drivers tailgating one another, in too much of a hurry and blissfully ignorant of the fact that road surfaces are slippery when wet.
And it's raining. It's unbelievably dull and miserable. It will continue like this tomorrow. And the water level in Jeziorki is rising ever higher. A repeat of the Corpus Christi flood is likely - not as a result of one intense downpour, rather of three days of incessent rain.
Use the car to get to the Park+Ride? Not on your nelly. Puławska's totally gridlocked, the Jeziorki back roads are either closed for roadworks or oceans of mud. Plus my dear old Micra is afraid of the rain - the electrics are none too happy when it's wet.
Cycle? I'd need to invest in real waterproof rain gear (Goretex? Waterproof? A myth, ladies and gentlemen) and mudguards. Anyway, cycling 18km in the rain is hellishly unpleasant as I found out yesterday.
I can only cheer myself up with the thought that the weather may improve by the weekend.
You're certainly right about Goretex. Anything that says 'breatheable' says to me 'leaks!'
ReplyDeleteRain? That would be a welcome relief. We're into our fourth day of a "heat advisory". Today's humidex reading was over 40 degrees.
ReplyDeleteThe whole NE coast of North America is sweltering. A female tennis player collapsed from the heat at the U.S. Open.
Sorry, that your summer has been abruptly cut short with cool, wet weather.
You'd be forgiven for thinking that living 8km from the City Centre (and what - 1 or 2 km from the Airport?) warrants a good public transport.
ReplyDeleteNo worries though, Today's commute needed sunglasses :D
Following up on the thread from the previous post. By bus I'd get not to P+R but to bus terminus.
ReplyDeleteToday I commuted by bus
06:51 - left home
07:04 - boarded a bus in Mysiadło
07:38 - got off the bus at Metro Wilanowska terminus
08:01 - reached my office
So one hour and te minutes make a decent timing.
17:32 - left the office
And I accepted my colleagues proposal to give me a lift...
18:04 - boarded 709 bus at Al. Lotników stop
18:33 - got off in Mysiadło...
Tomorrow it won't be any better. Plus our car is out in at the dealership under repair. The engine worked a bit unsteadily recently, I told my father about it but he shriggued it off and today it conked out (nice I didn't use it today). I could have put it out of misery by driving through countless puddles yesterday, but mechanics at Renault's garage said it was a matter of wear and tear and usually an ignition coil is replaced after four to five years... 900 PLN down the drain and the first visit to the garage other than annual service since four years...
The weather gets better by the weekend? Do you mean the one on 11 and 12 September?
Incessent? IncessAnt?