Dramatic evening, disrupted travel

And as in Travel as in Life, the Unexpected happens when one gets complacent - quantum luck. Willing a trouble-free journey to Wrocław, all went well (a mere six minutes delay). But the way home... On leaving the conference venue, the wind was whipping up; it hadn't occurred to me to discount the possibility of travel disruptions. On arriving at Wrocław station, the arrivals and departures boards were both showing several trains with long delays. Again, I had not causally linked the two concepts of 'strong winds' and 'long journey home'... The Warsaw train didn't leave for some ten minutes after the appointed time, then it crawled towards Opole. The conductor told us that indeed, power lines had been torn down and that diversions were in place.

Still, the dramatic weather made for some good photography - dark clouds flying north-eastward at speed, lit by a low, late-afternoon sun.

Agriculture in western Poland (former German lands) was collectivised to a far greater extent than in the Polish heartlands. As a result, such prairies are a more common feature of the Lower Silesian landscape. Below: maize awaits harvesting. Soon after, we would see a heavy goods vehicle attended by three fire engines and a police car after having been blown over sideways by the wind.

 

Below: straight out of the box, no fiddling with the sliders, the natural colours of trees in autumn, untouched by Photoshop.

Below: approaching Opole, crossing the Odra river - the left bank...

...and the right bank below. The low clouds, long shadows and strong sunlight on the tall trees remind me of the landscapes of Rowland Hilder.

Below: having departed from Opole station, some track-side tenements lit by a low sun, with dark clouds racing east, driving by strong winds. 

Below: somewhere west of Częstochowa, traffic streaming out of the town under a setting sun.

Yesterday was a Bad Day for Polish railways. Across the country, over 360 trains were seriously delayed due to strong winds. Our train, due into W-wa Zachodnia at 18:23, arrived at 20:25, two hours late. Beyond Opole, it was a stop-start ride, slowing down to cycling speed for some of the time. 

My train home to W-wa Jeziorki was due to depart W-wa Zachodnia at 21:00; as that time approached, the indicator board described the train as running 25 minutes late. As 21:25 approached, the indicator board showed the delay had extended to 60 minutes. So I boarded a train headed for the airport and caught a taxi home from there (58 złotys). Below: delays of up to five hours shown here.

Poland's trees are unused to coping with such fierce winds; old trees were uprooted or snapped in half. New trees will adapt to the changing climate; along with flash floods, droughts and snow-free winters this is the cumulative price we pay for our environmentally irresponsible lifestyles.

This time last year:

Sunshine, take me to Jakubowizna

This time four years ago:

Searching for the perfect działka

I found it!

This time six years ago:
Ogórek by the Palace of Culture

This time ten years ago:
Autumnal dusk, Jeziorki

This time 14 years ago:
Autumn sun going out