Ice in the Vistula

To Wybrzeże Kościuskowskie, for a morning meeting. By the Most Świętokrzyski bridge, I alight from the 162 at the bus stop by Pomnik Syreny, the statue of the mermaid that is Warsaw's symbol. The river is flowing rapidly, with ice floes scudding past. Icy accretions on the far side are building up. And note the lack of any buildings on the other shore.

Many years ago I read that it takes nine days where temperatures do not exceed -9C for the Vistula in Warsaw to freeze up entirely. Over the past week, the temperature has stayed resolutely above that level; a thaw is due on Friday.

Left: This is one of three Syrenki that grace the capital; there's a statue in the middle of the Old Town square and another on the bridge across the spiral roadway on ul. Karowa. All are portrayed as women with a fish's tail. Yet it is this one that most closely resembles the city's coat of arms.

By coincidence, on the day I write about Warsaw's mermaid logo, another mermaid logo hits the headlines. Starbucks Coffee, with its twin-tailed mermaid is going green and dropping the 'Coffee'.

The day started bright, but by the afternoon, gloom descended.

This time last year:
Upon my way to work and home

This time two years ago:
Zamienie in winter

This time three years ago:
Five Departures from Warsaw Okęcie