Town and country in summer

Friday - into town to meet Moni for a drink. We start at the new Kufle i Kapsle in Solec... Across Plac Wójcickiej, the railway viaduct, under the arch you can see Most Poniatowskiego. The train crossing is a České dráhy service from Prague to Warsaw.

On to Sen nocy letniej (lit. 'summer's night dream' - makes me reflect there's no translation of 'midsummer' into Polish). This is a boat moored on the Vistula boulevard. The moon rising over the Most Poniatowski bridge.

Under the railway bridge, with the national stadium across the river. People out drinking, but not too crowded. Number of people in Warsaw with confirmed Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic 1,646, slightly more than Ealing (1,553) - figures as of 5 July. [Warsaw's population is 25 times larger than Ealing's)

Saturday - out to the country for a weekend at Jakubowizna. The rains have subsided, but the soil is waterlogged, puddles still extend across the paths.

In the orchards, the cherries are ripe.These are sour cherries (wiśnie), Prunus cerasus - ideal for making wiśniowka - steeping the cherries in spirytus rektyfikowany with sugar (not too much!)

I have never seen an orchard so full of cherries; the hot sun and the wet May and June have yielded results.

Below: on my działka, I've pruned back the leaves and non-fruit-bearing vines to let the sun in on the fruit and give them more nutrients. Ripe in late-September, early-October, by which time they are black. These are Concord grapes; small, with pips and thick skins - good for juice.

This time last year:

Across the Pilica to Strzyżyna

This time two years ago:
West Ealing to Castlebar Park - waiting for Crossrail

This time three years ago:
Trump flies into Warsaw

This time six years ago:
Making Poland's railways safer