The spring of 2017 will likely go down as chilly and wet. The current weekend is the second one this spring (after the first days of April) when both on Saturday and on Sunday temperature neared +20C and sunshine was not sparse. While the weather was not high, outdoor did not beckon, unlike this weekend.
The first
stopover during my short (20 kilometres or so) bike trip yesterday was the site
of airplane crash in Las Kabacki. I visit the place each year around the
anniversary of the tragedy. This year’s is a round one, it has been already 30
years ago. Oddly enough, most people hanging around, sitting about, praying or
contemplating silently the memorial plaque were youngsters, who just like me
have not had the chance to remember the day Il-62 crashed into the forest.
On my way
towards leisure park in Powsin. I am heading east yet meet quite few fellow
cyclists, runners and pedestrians on my way. Though the weather is conducive,
lots of people are either too burdened by duties put off until weekend, or
simply too lazy to get up from their sofas and take a few breaths of fresh air.
Sadly.
The
clearing on the southern edge of the forest is one of favourite hangouts for
barbecue aficionados. Weather permitting, one can come across scores of people
either burning bonfires or making barbecues, indulging in Poles’ favourite
sport (grillowanie) and the place is filled with smoked and characteristic
smell of grilled meats.
Having
turned up at my destination I spot several traces of boars’ activity. Looks
like flocks of wild boars ventured here when few humans were around and digged
around the grass. Disturbingly, boars in droves are not afraid to approach
humans’ dwellings and might attack if incensed. My mother, while walking to her
spine rehabilitation classes in Konstancin on Friday, was surrounded by a flock
of boars who fortunately only looked around (at her standing still) and ran
away.
Klubokawiarnia
is the focal point of the leisure park and a spot where visitors coming here
for more than an hour can sit back, have a drink or a snack. I must plea I don’t
know whether lunches are served to whet appetites of hungrier guests. Comparing
to how it looked in 2009, little has changed. The place has its spirit and a
whiff of modernity is absolutely redundant if the spirit to be nurtured.
The amphitheatre
where concerts are played on Sunday afternoons, also a popular dating hangout
for teenagers from Ursynow, Wilanow and northern parts of Piaseczno. In the
foreground, my bike, I have had it nearly for a year, replaced a saddle to add
comfort to my backside, had it overhauled (or rather serviced) before the high
season and after overcoming ailing spine (though I stay cautious not to
overstrain it), I can enjoy longer and longer trips (this year I intend to take
at least a 50-kilometre day tour).
The further
from densely inhabited district of Ursynow, the fewer individuals one can run
across. Here, on the south-eastern corner of the forest one would sooner have
an encounter with wild deer (heaven forfend!) than with a fellow human. While
cycling there I felt a bit guilty, as if I trespassed someone’s home.
As I grow
older, I learn to cherish more the days in spring, summer and early autumn when
I do not have to toil away in the office. Clement weather is something one
should make the most of, so on such days, I attempt to confine staying indoors
to absolutely essential time dedicated for house-related duties which I could
not handle over the working week. Some people enjoy themselves on parties on
Friday or Saturdays and then spend a large part of a weekend fighting a
hangover. What a waste of life! Given a choice between night-time revelry and
day-time leisure outdoor, I would opt for the latter for most of weekends (some
partying is essential, since a human cannot be bodily fit but socially dead).
Actually while working long hours Monday to Friday, a decent dose of physical
exercise over the weekend is essential to keep an office worker and let them
recharge batteries.
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