Recharging batteries

Probably almost everyone, counting out Scatts, has already got bored with the topic of shaky stock markets, so this undeniably exciting issue will recede into background for a while and I'll focus on more down-to-earth stuff. I've had a busy weekend, the coming ones don't appear to give respite (longing for real restful holidays), but over the long mid-August weekend I had some time to recharge batteries...

On Sunday I brought my parents on taking a trip to Konstancin. The foray was quite short, the weather was perfect (sun, not to hot, not really cool) and batteries in my camera had long been waiting for charging up - took just a few snaps. To the right - view from a path running from rebuilt bridge over river Jeziorka towards the park. Water meadows are flooded, mosquitos assault, but the place enchants.

To the right - got into the park. The signage (probably - my guess) shows distances to twin cities to Konstancin. A few second after taking this photo I had to rush quickly from the pavement, as reversing bus on military number plates was attempting to crunch me. Shouldn't such parks have status of pedestrian precincts, with bans on entry for engine-propelled vehicles?

To the right - the main cultural attraction of the park in Konstancin - a bandstand, with some musicians getting ready for a performance. The stage, built recently shows some glitches in terms of technique of construction, but all in all this place should be here to offer entertainment to local residents and tourists. It has to be said it has a long tradition. My father would come here for dancing in his late teens, my paternal grandparents met here two years after WWII. May it look splendid...

On Monday morning I ventured for a bike trip around nearby villages. The weather stays perfect - +17C and sun. Warm, yet cool enough to wear a T-shirt without running a risk of breaking sweat. Bracing breeze is taking edge off heat and so off I go. To the right - empty street in Piaseczno - one can cycle safely when the traffic is so sparse - one of main advantages of riding a bike in the morning on Sundays or bank holidays.

To the right - first photo taken without stopping. Due to technical limitations of my bike and physical limitations of my legs I don't risk being fined for speeding. This is ul. Orężna in Piaseczno. One of favourite destination of walks with my mother and maternal grandfather in my childhood. Memories brought back; the place hasn't changed much since then, but unlike in 1990s this is not a dreamt-up place to live.

Why wouldn't I like to settle down here? Come to think of it. Rural landscapes, silence, no fumes, no noises, no... infrastructure. It's actually hard to get by here if you don't have a car at your disposal. Local buses run here a few times a day, you can catch one in morning rush hour, but if you happen to oversleep and come late, you're in the doghouse. The last one arrives here at 20:20 - much too early. Think of coming late from a party - you have three options: 1) don't drink and come by car on your own, 2) ask someone from your family to pick you up, 3) take a taxi. Each option has a drawback: 1) you can't draw pleasure from blissful state of intoxication, soberity is not conducive to socialising, 2) you are dependent on someone, 3) you fork out over 100 PLN for a ride from Warsaw (Metro Wilanowska)...

This time I fail to make a sharp photo without stopping a bike. This colourful building is a typical landmark of Polish rural landscape. Feels like I'm some 300 kilometres away from Warsaw, while in fact I'm less than 5 kilometres, as teh crow flies, from the city limits. As you can see, the owner did not bother to turn up and open the facility on bank holiday (according to Polish labour code, only shopowners can stand behind the counters on bank holidays).

I cycle further west to discover I don't know where I am. The signboard to the left says I'm cycling to Jazgarzewszczyzna (what a long name!), the one to the right opts for Łoziska. The truth probably lies in between, so the road must mark boundary between the two villages. As I'm snapping the signboards, symbols of Polish mistrust bark at me loudly. Suddenly one of them finds an open gate and makes me put away the camera to my pocket and test how quick I can pedal...

Having turned right in Bobrowiec I find myself on ul. Postępu running straight towards Warsaw, where its extension is ul. Karczunkowska. Bus stop with ZTM signage reminds me I'm still in the vicinity of Warsaw. This doesn't yet mean commuting from here is easy. Buses run just a few times a day, so if you miss one, you may have a problem. The traffic is still sparse. What a lovely day!

Crossed the intersection with road linking Piaseczno and Magdalenka and I'm heading north. I stop on the roadside to snap a beatiful field overgrown by weeds. In the distance - detached and semi-detached houses in Lesznowola. In six years S7 expressway running from Warsaw to Kraków should be here. According to plan this is also a site where a junction with local 721 road is about to be built. But these are years to come, before it happens. After Euro 2012 spurt, pace of construction is very likely to grind to a halt.

Some 500 metres up the road I again stop by to take a shot of a partly pulled down house. When I last was there in early June there was one more room on the first floor. Who used to live here? Why was it torn down in such weird way? Who administers it?

Turned right in Nowa Wola and I'm on my way towards Nowa Iwiczna. Reckless drivers tend to speed at empty ul. Krasickiego Nowa Wola, so I choose to cycle on empty pavement, built in 2008 after two tragic accident in which three pedestrians had been killed at the scene. And a classic snap - Warsaw skyline as seen from beyond the southern border of Warsaw. Skyscrapers are shrouded in a haze, as the air is wet, as it's been for a few weeks on. With dry air, the visibility would a whole lot better. Compact camera set at the highest possible resolution, maximum (4x) optical zoom in use - device is a bit too close to the low-end to rise to the occasion.

And at the very and - a photo from the archives. I wanted to put it up on Polandian, but fellow writers remonstrated me over chasing cheap sensation. Another shot of Warsaw skyline, taken on 8 August 2010 around 8:35 in the morning, from the corner of ul. Karczunkowska and ul. Raszyńska, I don't know if it is still Warsaw, Zamienie or Zgorzała. Click to enlarge, look carefully... Can you see anything strange?