Warsaw: midsummer's day, midsummer's night

Midsummer's Day - the middle of summer, or the astronomical start of summer? A busy day in town today, to the office, a conference call, a trade workshop, an economic conference and a business mixer. On my way from the workshop to the conference, I walked along ulica Prosta, popping through the completed Norblin complex (which I last visited before work here started in earnest). Below: looking towards Norblin from the plaza outside the mBank building.

Below: walking along Pasaż Ludwika Norblina. Quiet for the time of day. But it's so nice - a blend of old brick and modern architecture.

Below: looking back at the mBank building along Pasaż Ludwika Norblina. A stone's throw from where my father lived as a small child.

I wrote recently about pre-war German ghost signs in Silesia, here's a sign from Poland's more recent Stalinist past - a health and safety slogan from the early '50s by the look of the typeface that was uncovered during the reconstruction and preserved. 'On each job, take care not only of your own safety, but also equally of your work comrades.'

Below: from the 32nd floor of the Warsaw Unit, looking east along ul. Prosta (lit. 'Straight Street'); the mBank building to the left, the narrow black building is Skysawa tower; beyond that the (shorter) Central Point that sprang out of the ground outside my office during the pandemic; to its right, Rondo ONZ tower, further right is the Intercontinental Hotel. The Palace of Culture is hidden from this view.

Below: looking at the same skyline from street level. Plenty of cyclists and e-scooterists using the cycle path. Build it, they will come.

Below: plac Grzybowski, standing there a vintage Jelcz 043 coach.

I reach the Bristol hotel to see to my delight a whole lot of classic cars (including three Jaguar XK140s, three E-Types, two '65 Ford Mustangs) outside - participants in the Imperial Rally, from Oslo to Lisbon.

Below: looking north along Krakowskie Przedmieście towards the Bristol hotel. Tourist season hasn't yet begun in earnest.

Below: waiting for the train home, W-wa Zachodnia station. This view will soon be history, as work will soon start on the modernisation of the suburban platforms.

Below: the new long-distance platforms as seen from an old suburban platform. Note the difference in lighting. Sunset (the year's latest - 21:01 in Warsaw today) leaving light in the sky nearly an hour and half later.

This time two years ago:
Rural rights of way

This time three years ago:
Not a whole lot going on...

This time seven years ago:
Dreamtime supernatural

This time nine years ago:
Baszta - local legend round these parts

This time 11 years ago:
Downhill all the way to December

This time 12 years ago:
What do I want for Poland

This time 13 years ago:
Summer holiday starts drizzly

This time 14 years ago:
Israeli Air Force Boeing 707 visits Okęcie