Tuesday 21 December 2010

Dense, wet, rush hour snow

Snow started falling in the afternoon. Instant knock-on effect on public transport - no buses for 20 minutes then three at once. Temperatures stayed below zero. The 162 was hideously packed. Leaving my office 12 minutes early, I arrive 16 minutes late at my destination, a mere seven bus stops away. Not good.

Indeed, once back in my car at Ursynów Park & Ride, I could appreciate the comfort factor of not being squeezed into an overcrowded bus. My own space, my own music, to which I can sing along to (loudly). The lure of the private car at this time of year is strong. To tempt motorists away from their cars, city authorities need to provide more buses and more bus lanes. More trams and Metro also appreciated!

Left: ul. Targowa in the heavy snow. One of many Warsaw streets named after Russian (or Soviet) generals. General Alexander I. Targov was responsible for murderous repressions following the January Rising of 1863. Other streets named after former oppressors: ul. Ogrodowa (Stalin-era Politburo member General Ogrodov) and ul. Towarowa (WWI field marshal, M.B. Tovarov). There are more.

Polish translation conundrum of the day: pretensja as in 'mieć pretensje do kogoś'. To 'bear a grudge' or to 'harbour a grievance' is, to my mind, too strong. Grudges and grievances one bears, or harbours, or even nurses (!) for years. Pretensje are usually forgotten about within days, unless the cause is endemic ('he's always late'). Pretensje can be easily laughed off, grudges can't. To have pretensions (airs and graces) is captured by the adjective pretensjonalny, which gives rise to the danger of the false friend 'to have pretensions against someone' when translating mieć pretensje do kogoś into English. Any better suggestions than those offered by Oxford/PWN and Getionary?

4 comments:

student SGH said...

Translation: to hold it against sb

Yesterday I attended a short X-mas Eve at my friends'. Covering the distance of four stops by 167 bus took 25 minutes, despite bus lanes on Al. Niepodleglosci and Trasa Łazienkowska. Before bus gets onto the privileged lane it gets stuck on intersections, slip lanes, etc.

And journey back home lasted 2 hours (19:50 - 21:50). No trains running up ul. Grójecka = 20 minutes of wait on Pl. Narutowicza, then Puławska totally jammed...

We can gripe about selfish motorists, but at the end of the day - in hot summer days, or in winter, travelling by car is far more comfortable, public transport can make up only by offering a much faster service, but buses on ul. Puławska don't...

Wojtek Wysocki said...

Michael, you have forgotten to mention Koszykowa St. (named after Ivan Ivanovich Koshykov, the inventor of basketball), Filtrowa St. (Sergey Alekseyevich Filtrov invented in the late 19th century the cigarette filter) and Karowa St. (commemorating Varfolomey Nikonovich Karov, who alongside Karl Benz invented in Kiev the first wheeled motor vehicle)...

;)))))))))))

Marry Christmas and Dosiego 2011 Roku to you and your family!

Anonymous said...

Did you know Jeziorki village was in fact named after Siergey Jeziorkov who in 1794 defeated Polish troops of Kościuszko Insurgency and then ordered murdering the captives ?
All that happended in the fields and swans along ul. Trombity (Mikhail Trombitov was one of Jeziorkov's colonels)

Anonymous said...

err, swamps :))