Warsaw, towards the end of the summer holidays

Conscious of the waning summer, yet waiting with certain trepidation that moment of mono no aware - the Japanese term for the very first intimations of impending autumn. In the meanwhile, Warsaw is still in a late summer holiday mood. Below: taken from the back of a number 4 tram, a rather classic photo, if I may say so myself!

Below: the mirror'd canyons of Al. Jana Pawła II, the Q22 building in the foreground, Rondo ONZ 1 in the distance. Manhattan-on-the-Vistula, soon to become even more so as new skyscrapers begin to rise from the earth.

Below: in the far distance - cranes. This is where Varso tower will soon dominate the skyline - by 2020, it will be the highest building in the EU. The building with the Mercedes-Benz logo is the 22-storey Ilmet tower, which currently awaits demolition ahead of the building of something taller.

Left: the entrance to Rondo ONZ station on Line 2 of Warsaw's two-line Metro system. Work is currently underway to extend the line north-eastwards and westwards at the same time. Once extended, Line 2 will have the effect of shifting the centre of gravity of Warsaw's central business district out towards Wola and Praga Północ.

Below: the tree-lined Al. Jana Pawła II, a fine thoroughfare. Trees still very green, despite this year's hot summer.

Below: from this location, on the north-east side of Rondo ONZ, there will be yet another change in the skyline in the next two years - PHN tower will rise in this space, between Q22 (left), Spektrum tower (centre) and the Cosmopolitan building on Twarda 22 (right). PHN tower - also known as City Tower, will be 38 floors high.

Further along ul. Świętokrzyska, outside my office window, the foundations of another skyscraper, the 24-storey high Central Point, are being laid. Again, ready for 2020. Add a plethora of office development around Rondo Daszyńskiego, and it's clear that the next few years will see dramatic changes of Warsaw's skyline.

Below: looking out of my office the other way, towards PASTa - Warsaw's first skyscraper, captured from the Germans during the Warsaw Uprising 74 years ago yesterday, commemorates the event with Home Army national flags.

Left: another building whose image remains linked with the Warsaw Uprising - the Prudential tower, Poland's first modern skyscraper (and home to the Polish-British Chamber of Commerce before WW2), completed in 1933. At the time, Europe's second highest building! Photo also taken from my office window. Currently in the last phase of refurbishment, it will soon be reopened as a luxury hotel.

By early next week, Warsaw will be back at work; schools start in earnest the week after that, so time to make the most of the last days of the summer holiday season. September to mid-December is the busiest time of year in the Northern Hemisphere!

This time four years ago:
Plans for modernising the Warsaw-Radom railway line

This time five years ago:
World's largest ship calls in at Gdańsk

This time seven years ago:
Raymond's Treasure - a short story

This time eight years ago: 
Now an urban legend: Kebab factory under W-wa Centralna 

This time nine years ago: 
It was twenty years ago today 

This time 11 years ago: 
By bike to Czachówek again