Świnoujście – slight return

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.

I intend to write a post next month with an update of the summer sleeper-train timetables; in the meantime, here's a photo of what can be expected in a two-berth compartment. The new rolling stock, introduced on the Świnoujście service last December, is a vast improvement over the old carriages (the ones with wood veneer interiors). Depending on demand, the sleeper-carriage compartments can be configured for two people or three. The couchette carriage only has compartments for six. I would recommend the two-person compartment, but if none are available, I'd absolutely advise you not to choose the middle bunk. It's claustrophobically cramped. 

But the two-berth compartments are fine. Note the small sink; you get a bar of soap and a face flannel, a half-litre bottle of water, and 70g of sękacz sponge cake. In the morning, the attendant brings a tea or coffee to your compartment half an hour before your destination. Out of shot behind me is a pull-out ladder for access to the top bunk (the lower one's better, but PKP now sells the upper one by default to the first person to book a two-berth compartment, in case someone buys a ticket last-minute). Sleeper carriages are 100% safe; you can lock yourself in and secure the door with a chain too; the attendant's on duty all night long, and the doors are only at one end of the carriage. Book early! 

This time last year:

Czachówek Wschodni and its new, raised, platform

This time last year:
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