Return to town after 14 weeks

My last day in the office before the lockdown was Friday 13 March. I came back to the office today, Tuesday 23 June. Several reasons - tomorrow being the AGM, the Chairman's Report to proof-read and finalise (I was working on it yesterday, but because of the incessant rain, the internet at home kept cutting out, so to be on the safe side I decided to go in because the network was more secure). Then there was a letter to London that I didn't trust the local post office with, a suit that had been waiting for me at the dry cleaners for 14 weeks, various bits and pieces to pick up from my office desk...

It was a strangely unstrange sensation, seeing my colleagues in the flesh after 14 weeks of WebEx meetings; seeing my desk, untouched; on the other hand, new rules in Reception and kitchen area, a safety zone marked around the front desk, anti-viral hand sanitiser as you come into our office. 

Outside in the streets, few people bothering with masks (still the majority on the train, which was running almost empty from Jeziorki - maybe six people in my carriage at 10am). The biggest change was in construction. Varso tower is starting to be cladded; there's a whole new development rising behind the Mercedes-Benz building on Aleje Jerozolimskie, and from outside our office, the new Central Point tower is beginning to rise.

This is how it looks today, it is due to rise to just over 20 stories (the same height as the building on the horizon)

And this is how it looked before the lockdown - still little more than a hole in the ground.

My last photo of central Warsaw before lockdown - little did I know going home that this would be my last trip to town for 14 weeks!

I lunched at the Scottish restaurant on the corner of ulica Marszałkowska and ul. Świętokrzyska; every second seat removed; customers wanting to come in without masks were turned away. Staff with sterilising fluid cleansed every table between customers. The place was two-thirds empty at peak time -- best of all - no noisy school outings which make Maccy D's insufferable in June. Prices seem higher, but then profit = volume x margin; I'm happy to pay more for a less crowded, safer dining experience.

Graffiti pest Fukow noted the 42nd day of the pandemic. This is the chipboard wall around the Central Point site which will be torn down as soon as the offices are ready. Fukow, whose 'works' can be seen along the tracks from W-wa Zachodnia to Wschodnia, has started printing stickers to save the trouble of spraying his tag on walls.

Did I miss town for 14 weeks? I don't know... the longer you're without something, the less you miss it - maybe I'm turning into a country boy in my old age. Or maybe its a summer thing, and come the winter, I shall again pine for the city streets.

This time last year:

From Peace of Mind to State of Elation

This time two years ago
Last summer before S7 works begin
[Actually it was last summer.]

This time three years ago
Nostalgia, ideology, aesthetics, emotions

This time five years ago:
Civilisation and barbarism - how the former deals with the latter

This time six years ago:
Ahead of the opening of Jeziorki's Biedronka

This time seven years ago:
New views of Jeziorki

This time eight years ago:
Motorway finally links (the outskirts of) Łódź and (the outskirts of) Warsaw

This time 11 years ago:
Kraków Air Museum

This time 12 years ago:
Quintessential Jeziorki

This time 13 years ago: 
Little boxes, Mysiadło