329: Transport to Tegel

I'm at Berlin Tegel airport waiting for a connecting flight back to Blighty. Thought I would just upload some pictures of some of the various forms of transport I've been on in the last week or so. It was quite a surprise to get on a propeller-driven aircraft this morning (a DASH8-Q400). It took just over an hour from Warsaw to Berlin.
Followed by a clip of the old Burt Baccarach number "Trains and boats and planes". No boats recently - but perhaps I'll manage the Woolwich ferry on Tuesday.
Incidentally, in the last blog I showed pictures of two of  Warsaw's bridges. By a strange quirk of fate the bridge two bridges down from where I was was engulfed in flames last Saturday evening. Absolutely nothing to do with me. I've heard rumours it will be repaired by 2017!

Try saying the name of this metro station when you've had a few drinks, or even when you haven't!

328: Sun day

I wish it were. Sun day I mean. Yesterday was a lovely, bright, sunny day and I used the opportunity to go on a photo shoot of some bridges for the back of my Polish business cards. Which one do you vote for 1,2,3,4,5 or 6? Today the sun has disappeared. Back to Seasonal Affective Disorder.
I also snapped a couple of churches and roadside religious artefacts which reminds me that for the last few days there has been a poster stuck to the entrance door of my flat advising that something was going to happen at 3 p.m. yesterday. Did I need to be present or not? I eventually found out from my landlord that it was to be a pastoral visit from a visiting priest. Anybody that wanted to could buttonhole him for a chat (and was expected to pay money for the privilege of bending his ear). On balance I decided that yesterday I didn't need any pastoral advice so went off on my photo shoot. 1-6 vote now!
To finish, a video clip showing the little red man in the traffic light dancing. Dear municipal authorities of Warsaw - please can you install such a system? It would make the interminable waiting around less tedious.

327: Fat Thursday

Today is Fat Thursday in Poland. It, together with similar special days in many other countries, is an opportunity to gorge oneself before Lent starts next week and traditionally many people fasted in the run-up to Easter. You can read more about Fat Thursday here. On this day Polish people particularly enjoy doughnuts and faworki (also known as Angel's wings) and for me it was interesting to see the long (-er than usual) queues outside the bakery shops that I passed on my way to work this morning.
Managed a visit to Warsaw's old town on Sunday and here are a few pictures. I'm actually trying to get a decent picture of a bridge over the river Vistula for my Polish business cards but the day was gloomy and overcast with snow falling from time to time. I'll try again this weekend when it is forecast that the sun might show itself.

An organ grinder - don't see many of those nowadays
	The great Copernicus. What a star! And relax! A cup of Descafe?

326: Traffic lights 0: Des 1

Regular readers will remember the recent "incident" where that nice Mr Plod stopped me and deprived me of some of my hard-earned cash as a punishment for crossing the road while the little man was still red. Warsaw traffic lights for pedestrians probably stay red for just a few minutes but it always seems like hours and hours, especially when it's cold and snowing.

I thought I would grow to hate them but I've managed to turn them to my advantage. When I go running they are ideal for making me vary my pace by either sprinting to catch them while they're still showing green or stopping to get my breath back if they are on red.

My current bête noire is the local Lidl store. It is only a two-minute walk from home and its presence was one of the factors that helped me choose this place over others I had viewed. Well known in UK for being "cheap and cheerful" I thought it would be a big plus. But actually every time I visit it raises my blood pressure. Firstly you always have to have a 1 zlotty coin to hand to release a trolley from the stack. It is an enormous trolley and there are no baskets available. Obviously a psychological ploy to encourage customers to fill it. Inside the store there are narrow aisles. I'm forever barging aside the trolleys of Poles who aren't going as fast as I am - haven't they got lessons to prepare? Perhaps that will be my next transgression of the law - a breach of the peace inside a Polish supermarket. And the queues at the cash desk are unbelievable. Occasionally, when the queues get too long another cashier will deign to open and relieve some of the pressure but it is only occasionally. Usually most of the cash desks remain firmly shut. Uncharitably, and surely it's not just me, I always think that the staff are on extended tea breaks in their rest room. I shall pray for patience both on the way around the shop and at the cash desk.

Rant over, get on with life. A friend has no life left to get on with as he was killed earlier this week when his motorbike crashed into a car on icy roads. Rest in Peace Kevin. We all cling to life by a very thin thread. Puts things back into perspective.

Here is a snow picture from Monday morning, or was it Tuesday? I forget already. There is no snow now but more is promised. It is only February after all. Everybody has been posting snow pictures recently so here is mine. It was the view when I stepped outside my door. Completely unexpected as I had forgotten to either check the weather forecast or look out of the window.

325: Exploring London

Yesterday I went to London - to visit my sister and then my son. I had a great day, more of that in a minute. Firstly, a petty annoyance. The station car park meters click over from rush hour rate (£5.80) to off-peak rate (£3.30) at 10.00 exactly. The fast train to London leaves at 10.01. It is impossible to park after 10.00 and then race to catch the train one minute later. I was hoping the train might be a little late - how ironic is that  - but no. So I had a coffee in the station buffet and waited for the slow train at 10.34. That train seems to call at every station between here and London.
In fact I probably should have arrived earlier, stopped being miserly, paid the extra, and caught the fast off-peak train. I had forgotten about London Bridge. Most of London Bridge station is closed for most of this year for major reconstruction so I had to route via Charing Cross. Never mind, I still got to Blackheath for just before 1 p.m., as arranged and agreed. We had a nice lunch, and a natter, and I headed off back into London to buy some Polish zlotties and spend some quality time with my son.

Some days earlier we had signed up for a hidden city "treasure" hunt. (without the treasure!) Pay £25 and "they" send you a series of cryptic clues to your mobile and you have to find your way from one location to the next. Clue 5, for example, said "Bound Basinghall Street. Just beyong a secret society's avenue seek a spire to your right to spy five faces facing you. Who has a pleased puss?" Great fun working out all the clues and doing it as a team. Our team name was "one man and his dad". I'd like to say we were the fastest team on record and went straight to the top of the leader board. But I can't. We struggled over one of the clues and incurred a couple of time penalties asking for hints. At the end (after 15 clues) we felt we had earned our drink. We started in daylight and finished in the dark as the photos show. It was nice to learn a little more about this particular part of London  (in and around the city). Also my first time over the millennium bridge.

324: Krakow

Last weekend I went to Krakow. Almost five hours to get there on Polski bus and half that to come back on an Inter City express train. Polski bus much cheaper, train much faster. To have gone there and back by bus would have sapped the will to live so it was a very wise choice to come back by train.
I had booked into the 4* Amadeus hotel for the Saturday night but when I arrived I was told they were fully booked so they had upgraded me to the Holiday Inn. Very nice too. I can, and do, appreciate 4* and 5* hotels from a comfort point of view but the prices in the bars and restaurants make the eyes water a bit. Still, you only live once!
I enjoyed my visit to Krakow very much. I would like to make the comparison that as Brugge is to Belgium so Krakow is to Poland. They are both jewels in a tourist's crown.
Here are a few pics to mark the occasion.

Is there a town anywhere in Europe that doesn't have figures like these coming out for a look around every hour or so!

Time for lunch. Polish pierogi. in a cafe dedicated to music. Instruments and sheet music everywhere.

323: Whoops!

Not been here two weeks yet and already I have incurred the wrath of the authorities. I took the liberty of crossing the road while the little man was showing red. Mr Plod sprang out of nowhere and explained to me, in perfect English, the error of my ways. He gave me the choice of accepting his award of 100 zlotties (about £20) or appearing in court tomorrow. If I chose the second option they would very kindly accommodate me for the night in one of their little rooms. Needless to say I chose the first option. We walked to his police car where he wrote me out a ticket. He offered to translate it for me but I think the language of these tickets is fairly standard. I wanted to just give him the 100 and not bother with the ticket but I didn't dare offer in case it was misconstrued as a bribe and I might have got into even deeper water.
So there we are. I am a criminal in Poland. These traffic lights are everywhere and they seem to take for ever to change to green. The stark choice before me is either to wait, like most other people do, (and now I know why they do!) or to look around more carefully before stepping out.
It's been one of those days really. Talking about water, during my last lesson I spilt some water on the touch pad of my laptop and now there is no functionality to move the cursor. I hope it will return once everything dries out. It will save me carting a mouse all over town.
Last weekend I had a recce for this week's lessons and came across this Christmas tree on the edge of the old town. Wonder if it's late, or early?