Poland works at Christmas

Three public holidays in a row, for the first time. Christmas Eve became a statutory day off work this year, along with Christmas Day and the day known in Britain as Boxing Day (referred to here more prosaically as Drugi dzień świąt ('second day of the holidays'). Below: sunrise, as seen from my kitchen window, on Christmas Day, a few minutes before eight.

Normally, I'd have stayed over, but (again for the first time ever) there's six cats at home that need feeding, so on each of the three public holidays, I travelled between Chynów and Jeziorki and back again with Koleje Mazowieckie. All my six trains arrived on time; the ticket app worked faultlessly (together with banking app for payment); there was no rowdiness among the passengers. The train was neither crowded nor empty (about the same passenger numbers as you'd expect on weekdays outside of rush hours). Many people had suitcases or rucksacks. 

Each of my six train journeys took 24 minutes (the 35km journey by car takes around 45 minutes using about two litres of petrol). And given that one litre of 95-octane petrol costs the same as my train ticket (with senior's discount and annual Warsaw travel card), there's no sense in driving whatsoever. It's twice as expensive. Plus, I can drink, which, let's face it, is a good reason to avoid the car at the festive season.

Compare the situation in the UK. This is the message from National Rail: "There will be no National Rail services on Christmas Day as usual this year. On Boxing Day most train operators will have no service – however, there will be a very limited train service operated by a small number of train operators." Given the far larger percentage of non-Christian workforce in the UK than in Poland, it surprises me that public transport grinds to a complete halt in Britain, whilst in Poland it's working well. By leaving public transport to operate across the Christmas holiday, seasonal travel problems are diluted and folk aren't forced into cars.

Poland gets on with it. The shops have been shut for the three days, not a problem with a little forethought, but a lack of public transport would be a hindrance. The Christmas timetables were basically a Sunday service minus a handful of trains, but essentially an hourly service was maintained throughout. Over the three days, I received five alerts via email from Koleje Mazowieckie that some train or another was delayed or cancelled on my line. However, four out of those five were either south of Radom or east of Czachówek Wschodni, so they would not have affected my travel. 

Having said that, coming back from town on the night of Friday 19 December there was a massive delay (one train was 85 minutes late, my own one home was 20 minutes late); this was caused by a driver crashing a car into the level-crossing barriers south of Ustanówek station. As my delayed train crawled south from Ustanówek, we passed several fire engines on either side of the tracks, blue lights flashing in the cold night. Below: a Góra Kalwaria-bound train passes the scene of the previous night's hold-up, Saturday 20 December.

Below: a seasonal photo of Czester the Czonker who has occupied an empty box of tangerine oranges.

Back to normal tomorrow, fortunately I still have plentiful supplies of cat food but I am right out of fresh fruit and veg.

This time three years ago:|
Part I of the Long Review of 2022

This time four years ago:
S7 extension Section A walked end to end

This time six years ago:
Eighty-five chains to Hazelwood Station

This time seven years ago:
Christmas round-up

This time nine years ago:
Derbyshire at Christmas

This time ten years ago:
Across the High Peaks

This time 11 years ago:
Derbyshire's rolling landscapes

This time 12 years ago:
Our Progress Around the Sceptr'd Isle 

This time 13 years ago:
Out and about in Duffield

and...
Christmas Break

This time 14 years ago:
Boxing Day walk in Derbyshire

This time 15 years ago 

Derbyshire in the snow

This time 17 years ago:

Derbyshire in the sunshine

This time 18 years ago:

Derbyshire in the drizzle

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

Our Progress around the Sceptr'd Isle - Part 2

Christmas day, after church, and the traditional drive across the Peak District to my brother's house in Derbyshire. A very scenic route, along the A6 all the way. This stretch is certainly one of England's finest roads in terms of the landscapes and towns it passes. Weatherwise, pleasant, dry, sunny intervals. On the north-eastern slopes of the highest of the Peaks, there was a light dusting of snow. And very little traffic.

The A6 snakes its way over the Peaks

A characteristically December sky, Derbyshire

Late Victorian Matlock

Britain has a richness, variety and depth to it which makes it a fascinating place to visit. Acquainting oneself with the texture of reality of this country is richly rewarding.

This time last year:
Out and about in Duffield
and
Christmas Break

This time two years ago:
Boxing Day walk in Derbyshire

This time three years ago

Derbyshire in the snow

This time four years ago:

Derbyshire in the sunshine

This time five years ago:

Derbyshire in the drizzle

Our Progress around the Sceptr'd Isle - Part 1

The run-up to the celebration of the birth of the Baby Jesus is the most stressful time of year. Many preparations, jostling with the crowds to buy presents that must all be given on precisely one day, hearing Last Christmas and Merry Xmas, War is Over played everywhere for weeks* - but for us, the greatest stress is the known unknown of holiday travel. From seven-hour delays at fog-bound airports to trying to inspect a hire car hidden under three inches of snow, our annual pilgrimage (London-Manchester-Derbyshire-London) is ever a hostage to the elements.

Yesterday, our flight to London was extremely uncomfortable as we came into land, flying directly into a gale that made the plane pitch and roll violently. And outside the airport, waiting for the bus to take us to the car hire depot, sheets of rain lashed horizontally against us. The news on the radio was bad - the M6 was stationary between junctions 11 and 13; there were hardly any trains running north from Euston or south from Victoria. 150,000 homes were without power across the south-west of England. Despite the winds and intense, heavy rain (non-stop for 20 hours in some parts), it was warm, with 10C in London. The bad weather in the UK even made it into the Polish media... (see report here in Polish)

But after a night at my parents in Ealing, we ate a hearty breakfast and set off at the crack of noon towards Babcia Wanda's in Manchester. Departing under leaden skies, by the time we reached Stokenchurch on the M40, the weather front passed and the rest of the journey (with a showery interlude south of Birmingham) took place under the bluest of skies. Below: Eddie's photo of the M40 in Oxfordshire - not a cloud to be seen.

Christmas Eve on a tropical island

Having said that, there were plenty of flooded fields on either side of the motorway, especially in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. And the blue skies and sunshine are temporary - more wind and rain expected on Friday and Saturday.

Motorway services in the UK have poshed up; the one near Warwick has a Waitrose (Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand's Marlborough - a family favourite - £20 for two) and Burger King selling veggie burgers (which are sadly not on the menu in Poland).

So far so good - tomorrow - across the Peak District from Manchester to Duffield.

* It's difficult to imagine no religion, John, when you incessantly remind us to have a very merry Christmas each year.

This time two years ago:
We flew into Manchester that year...

This time last year:

Christmas Eve in England

This time four years ago:
Washing the snow away

This time five years ago:

Traffic at 38,000 ft

Manchester for Wigilia

Eddie, Moni and I flew into Manchester airport late last night, picked up a hire car and drove to Babcia Wanda's. Temperature +9C, it has stopped raining (my wife said it rained every day last week, my brother said it was +15C in Derby on Thursday). Shops crowded with last-minute shoppers - the prices at John Lewis hard to believe (expensive) what with the pound costing 5.30 zlotys (compared to 4.70 last December).

Papers in England talking about men being habitual last-minute gift buyers, with 80% waiting for Christmas Eve before buying presents. This phenomenon has been named the 'man dash' by the media. Canny retailers change their shop window displays to cater for the change in gender of the predominant customer group.

To my surprise, the car park outside John Lewis and Sainsbury's in Cheadle was almost as full of black SUVs with darkened rear windows, so it seem a broader socio-cultural phenomena than just the bad-taste merchants of Warsaw. Lack of imagination seems to have no borders.

And now, time to sit down to śledź, barszcz and the other accoutrements of Polish wigilia. Fortunately, no carp (hello taste - where are you?). I can't say this is my favourite time of year.

This time last year:

Christmas Eve in England

This time two years ago:

Washing the snow away

This time three years ago:

Traffic at 38,000 ft

50% off half-price and nothing to pay to June 2016

Poland's gone back to work after Christmas, but here in the UK, there's an extra two days of public holiday (on account of the fact that Christmas Day and Boxing Day fell on a weekend). In Poland - tough. Public holidays on a weekend - the workers lose out (national accounts do better).

So how have Britons been spending the day? In a word, shopping. So Moni, Eddie, Cousin Hoavis and his mum set off with me to Derby. Westfield Centre was packed to the gunwales. Table for five at Pizza Express? That'll be a one and half hour wait. 70% advertised off in many shop windows. Last year's tat that failed to move off the shelves. Want something timeless? Classic? Normal price. Do these people milling aimlessly about know what they actually want? Or are they merely tempted by the thought of bargains?

Outside the Westfield Centre, every other shop is either boarded up or advertising a closing-down sale. The opening of Derby's new mega-mall coincided with the recession hitting these shores. Some nice (read: non-chain) shops still survive around the Quarter by the Cathedral, offering something outside of the standard. Pound World and 99p Kingdom are doing boffo business, I pop in to buy some more reading glasses.

We find a Pizza Express in the Cathedral Quarter - a table for five magically appears just for us. And our waitress was from Wroclaw.

Yuletide break

Off to the UK with the children; taxi will be at the gate in half an hour. Taxi to Okęcie, WizzAir to Luton, thence hiring a car for onward travel to Manchester; wigilia in Manchester at my mother-in-law's; first day of Christmas . Then on to my brother's for Christmas day in Derbyshire (that nice journey over the Peaks). And ever onwards to London to visit my parents, then back to Warsaw in good time for New Year.

In the UK it will be muted consumerism. Continuity announcer: "And now on BBC One - Christmas murder. On Two, a murder double bill. Over on BBC 4 - mass murder. And starting now on BBC Murder - more murder." No thanks. Let's listen to the radio... "Just chill out, pull out that litre bottle of Waitrose vodka from your freezer, fill up a pint mug and listen to Classic FM..." Well, I think not.

A peaceful break to all my readers, hope it all goes well for you, lots of rest, time to recharge the batteries; hopefully a post here soon after Christmas Day.

UPDATE: Made it to Manchester. Got upgraded from a Ford Fiesta to a Nissan Note at Luton (no winter tyres of course, a beermat sized plastic scraper to remove ice from windows, windscreen wiper fluid frozen solid). We chose to drive over the Peaks rather than take the soul-less M6. Beautiful - snow and sunshine once more. Matlock Bath especially charming (below).

WARNING TO URSYNAUERS JOURNEYING TO OKECIE AIRPORT: Early this morning, the north-bound lane of ul. Gordona Bennetta was closed off to traffic. NO DIVERSION SIGNS. Our poor taxi-driver was blundering around helplessly looking for a way to the terminal buildings. He was about to take us all the way back via Poleczki and Pulawska to Motokow and Zwirki i Wigury (a detour of about 20 minutes and 70 zlotys), when we found that the unmarked diversion runs along the southbound lane of Gordona Bennetta. Infuriating.

May bank holiday, Las Kabacki

Bike ride through the Las Kabacki forest in Warsaw's Ursynów, May 3rd national holiday. Above: my brother Marek and Eddie manhandling their bikes up the embankment built between the Metro depot and the forest.

Compare the photo above with this one, taken less than ten months ago in Derbyshire. Moni and cousin Hoavis, both wearing same tops, in same alignment. Different bikes, different landscape, different pair of Converse sneakers.

This time last year:

Flags are out for Poland's national day
World's longest weekend (well, last year it was)

It's Independence Day

November 11, 1918, Poland came back to the map of Europe as a nation after 123 years. Today is a national holiday (even though it's a Sunday). An occasion - like May 3 - to hang out the flags. Here in Ursynów, on ul. Hawajska, we can see that this is a popular thing to do, with around one in five apartments showing patriotic fervour in this way.

Moni and Eddie with their respective guide and scout troups spent the cold (+2C) and gloomy day marching around Warsaw, attending Mass with the Archbishop, and taking part in fieldcraft exercises.

Armed Forces Day parade, Warsaw

Today, 15 August, commemorates the anniversary of the Polish victory over the Bolshevik army at the gates of Warsaw in 1920. This day is now a public holiday, and a celebration of the Polish Armed Forces. Along with friends we braved the heat and the crowds to see the parade, which trundled fitfully along Aleje Ujazdowskie towards the presidential palace. Lots of stop-start activity, exhaust fumes, waiting, wailing infants, fainting old folk. But a crowd-drawer. Main battle tanks, rocket launchers and armoured personnel carriers passed tens of thousands under a hot August sun.

Above: Assault and transport helicopters, jet fighters and trainers flew overhead at low level. While there was an air of popular pride in the armed forces among the crowds, the same cannot be said for the politicians. Below: President Kaczynski takes the salute. His presence was met with subdued boos, comments such as 'no spitting' and 'Kaczor'. Not quite the respect accorded to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as she takes the Trooping of the Colour. Nor does it say much about the chances of Kaczynski's PiS party in the forthcoming general elections.

The day was a chance to visit the Army Museum and stroll through Warsaw taking in its history. Below: Eddie standing by a pair of 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns from the Polish WW2 destroyer, ORP Blyskawica. Eddie's grandfather Tadeusz was the Artillery Officer on board the ship; he would have commanded these very guns.

After the parade, we walked to Ochota to dinner at our friends, who by coincidence live on the same street as my father did before the war. Along the way, we came across this commemorative plaque (below), marking the spot where my father's Home Army unit, Batalion Odwet ('Vengeance'), began its fight during the Warsaw Uprising.

Although the day's events generated plenty of enthusiasm for today's Polish armed forces, my thoughts are with our parents' heroic generation and the hell they went through. For the sake of our children and subsequent generations, I pray that Poland never suffers war ever again.

Left: Eddie and Sabina on their way back from the parade.

UPDATE, OCTOBER 2007: PiS indeed got a drubbing at the ballot boxes.

Flag day

May 3 - Poland's national holiday commemorating the signing of Poland's constitution in 1791. This was the second written constitution in the world, after that of the USA. A patriotic day bringing the nation together under one flag. Round Jeziorki, the flags were flying in abundance. On houses of the rich and the not-so-wealthy, farmers and city folk.