As I wrote in the previous post, there is no train from Szczecin to Warsaw between 12:29 and 22:54. So rather than hang around in Szczecin from the end of my meeting (around 15:00), I took a train up to Świnoujście. Back again after a mere two and half weeks away!
My train left Szczecin at 15:20, and two and half hours later, having crossed the Świna on the ferry and walked two and half kilometres from the ferry to the beach, I am on a deckchair (in my suit) sipping a locally-brewed Pilsner from Browar Dobosz; warm evening sun on my face, sea breezes, sound of the waves lapping on the shore and seagulls overhead. Bliss. A total connections with summer happiness.
Below: I must go down to the sea again! Beer consumed, I set off along the path behind the first row of dunes between the beach and the town. A glorious evening. It's getting cooler, so time to put on my Gore-tex jacket.
Below: juvenile herring gull (mewa srebrzysta, Larus argentatus), second-winter bird, head starting to turn white, but body still flecked brown. White with grey wings in adulthood. One of the largest gulls inhabiting the Baltic.
Below: black-headed gull (mewa śmieszka, Chroicocephalus ridibundus), common inland as well as by the sea (Jeziorki's wetlands are home to a noisy colony).
Below: the brisk north-easterly wind tempered the sun's heat and brought out the kitesurfers. Interestingly, whilst I could see dozens of them in the distance looking east, but looking at the German beaches – Ahlbeck and Heringsdorf – I could see just one (visible in the distance).
Below: seaside sublime – a developer's dream from 1956, made real in the 2020s.
Below: only in Świnoujście... ancient electricity infrastructure as heritage monument; a ban on horse-drawn carriages (and therefore horse-droppings in the street).
Below: on my walk back to the quay to catch the ferry back to the station, I take a different route, passing down ulica Hołdu Pruskiego (a typical street name found across Poland's recovered territories). Beautifully restored mansions are where the the posh lived before the war, and where they live today.
Back to catch the ferry, and in time to see the carriages that will form the Uznam night train back to Warsaw (via Szczecin!) draw into the platform. Being half an hour early means I can board the train, get into my compartment and get ready to sleep as the train departs. Below: the express engine backs slowly onto the rake of coaches, as the diesel shunter that has brought them in leaves the station.
S7 extension progress
This time two years ago:
Town and country
This time eight years ago:
Beautiful May Sunday
This time nine years ago:
Three days – three Polish cities
This time 12 years ago:
Part two of short story The Devil Is In Doubt
This time 13 years ago:
"A helpful, friendly people"
This time 14 years ago:
A familiar shape in the skies
This time 15 years ago:
Feel like going home
This time 16 years ago:
Mr Hare comes to call
2 comments:
you should see the Bismarck tower in Szczecin
@ Anonymous:
Excellent! I didn't know about this one – or indeed the whole Bismarck Tower craze that swept Germany in the early years of the 20th century (240 built, 170 remaining). I shall certainly look out for it the next time I visit Szczecin! Many thanks!
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