I have written before many times about the joys of Wars, Poland's catering company on rails. I make a point of using its services whenever I can, on the basis that its loss - or even its loss of quality - would pain me.
I'm back from Kielce, the journey from Chynów via Warka being a real pleasure these days, travelling on modern Dart trains, with a guaranteed buffet car.
But buffet cars are not equal to each other... In recent weeks, I have travelled to Łódź, Kraków, Rzeszów, Wrocław and Kielce, using the services of Wars wherever possible, and I'd like to make the following observations.
Firstly, there are big differences in the quality of service, mostly outside the control of the bar staff. Items might be missing off the menu - there was no chilli con carne on the way down to Kielce, there were no Jan Olbracht craft beers on the train from Wrocław, no hot cabbage, only a cold cabbage salad on two of the trains; and there were paper plates and recyclable wooden cutlery on the Kraków train (apparently there was no water for the on-board dishwasher). And prices are going up.
Today I paid 59 złotys for schabowy (pork schnitzel) with braised cabbage and boiled potatoes with dill, served with a craft beer, this combo cost 51 złotys last December, and the falling pound means that's now £11.75 compared to £9.35.
And today, I was the only person tucking into a hot lunch - or indeed consuming anything - in the Wars compartment as the train headed north out of Kielce, despite it being half past one. Usually, one has to wait for a seat to become vacant, there being ten seats/three tables in the dining area. I hope this doesn't lead to that vicious spiral of rising prices - falling demand - lower quality of service - even less demand - eventually leading, as it did in the UK, to the end of the restaurant car as we know it. Replaced by a stand-up buffet serving crisps, Mars bars, Coke and tinned lager. If you're lucky.
So - here we are. The joys of Wars. Brought to me at the table, on a porcelain plate, with metal cutlery, with a craft beer, a schabowy lunch, below. Huge, piping hot, very tasty. I could hear the pork fillet being battered with a meat mallet back in the galley, then I could hear it sizzling away on the frying pan. Sadly, no glass glass with brewery logo, just a half-litre plastic beaker (can't have everything I want!), but otherwise ten out of ten.
This time three years ago:
Another dream of Dziadio
This time eight years ago:
Teetering between rage and reason
This time nine years ago:
Poland - it works!
This time ten years ago:
Bricktorian Birmingham
This time 12 years ago:
Fog hits Modlin Airport
This time 13 years ago:
The local elections and what they mean
This time 14 years ago:
Synchronicity of shape - PKP Powiśle, Hanger Lane, Mel's Drive-In
This time 15 years ago:
The last of Jeziorki's noted landmark - the Rampa na kruszywa
This time 16 years ago:
Jeziorki spared high-density development thanks to airport zoning
2 comments:
I believe the price of a lunch is here to blame. Train tickets on some (not all) services are already inordinately expensive. The cost of the lunch you ate accounts for almost 1% of an average net-of-tax monthly salary in Warsaw (or something 1.2% of an average pay in Poland) - I believe many would look for cheaper alternatives for filling their stomachs.
@StudentSGH
I don't consider dining in the Wars as mere 'filling of the stomach' - it is an experience - it's like being on holiday. And because I've not been away on an actual holiday for nine years, I can afford it!
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