Sleepy time, Christmas to Three Kings

Christmas Eve still isn't a public holiday in Poland, but Three Kings (6 January) is. Passed by Sejm (the Polish parliament) in September 2010 and a day off work since 2011, it pushes the number of statutory holidays in Poland up to 11 (compared to the UK's eight). The temptation to extend the bridge days between Christmas and the New Year right up to Three Kings means that far fewer people are working normally, hitting Poland's productivity and therefore GDP. 

And so my Facebook feed is full of photos of Bali, Hawaii, Turkey and Dubai – however, for those with an eco-conscience, the slack period is a good time for reflection and local walks. As I mentioned in my last post, I have been doing circular walks around Jakubowizna village checking to see if anyone has put up posters advertising a lost kitten (as yet, they haven't). Photos in reverse chronological order...

Around dusk (sunset is now quarter of an hour after the year's earliest; slowly we emerge from darkness). Pavement all the way from the edge of the village to the railway station. Yesterday's snow all but gone.

Below: approaching Jakubowizna from Machcin II. A recently completed house and one under construction to the left of the road. And other one under construction behind the new house, and a building plot advertised for sale on the other side of the road.

Below: the forest between Jakubowizna and Adamów Rososki, looking towards Jakubowizna. One of the XII Canonical Prospects.

Back to work today – I feel it will be a good year for Poland's economy nonetheless.

Bonus photos: the southbound InterCity Kolberg hammering through Chynów station along the 'up' (northbound) line. It is running precisely to time, and somewhere between Chynów and Krężel it will overtake the local southbound Koleje Mazowieckie service.

Below: the northbound InterCity San crosses ulica Spokojna on the border of Chynów and Węszelówka; the train (from Przemyśl to Warsaw) is running two hours late.

I hope for a year of interesting travels around Poland.

This time last year:
Trains in the snow around Chynów

This time seven years ago:
New football pitch for Jeziorki

This time eight years ago:
The Winter Sublime

This time 14 years ago:
Long train running

This time 15 years ago:
Most Poniatowskiego

This time 17 years ago:
Warsaw well prepared for winter