Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Warsaw

  • PKP Intercity : Bialystok to Warsaw

    PKP Intercity : Bialystok to Warsaw

    The entrance to Bialystok railway station.

    Standing on the footbridge over the platforms, the train on platform 3 is the one that I was boarding. There’s a story, albeit of limited interest to anyone, about that. I’m always moderately nervous about boarding the wrong train, so I was confused that there were quite a lot of people on the platform who weren’t getting on the train.

    I was confused as the yellow departures sheet suggested that there were no other trains departing, so the train that was on platform three should be the only one to get on. Not least that it also had the train number and Warsaw on it, but I pondered why not everyone was getting on it. So, I faffed around taking some photos before boarding.

    Here’s one of them. Anyway, at this stage, a shiny intercity train pulls in, seemingly quite delayed and that was the reason that people were waiting. So I decide it’s time to board the train that I’m meant to be getting on and head to my seat. There are no other passengers on the carriage other than the person sitting in the aisle seat, next to my seat and she has just that second sat down and made herself comfortable. I hate such situations, it would look ridiculous if I make her get up to let me in and then we’re the only two on the carriage for the journey. So I sit nearby, until someone hovers nearby to where I’m sitting and I guessed that I was in their seat (I wasn’t as it transpired) before then deciding I’d move to my originally allocated seat. There’s a Very British Problems post about just this sort of situation….

    Bialystok railway station, which is being heavily renovated at the moment, although they’ve still got another year to go before it’s all finished. The newly restored building looks excellent and they’re renovating stations along the railway line, so this arterial route from the city to Warsaw is likely heading for increases in passenger usage.

    Around half-way through the journey, the train stopped at Małkinia Górna railway station. I felt an urge to check Wikipedia about this station and I found out, although really should have known, that this was the connecting line to Treblinka concentration camp. If I’d thought about it in advance, I’d have got a train ticket to here and then walked to the site of the camp before getting a later train to Warsaw. There isn’t much at Treblinka, but I’ll like to see the memorial and I think there’s a small museum there.

    I had expected a compartment / corridor train, solely because that’s what the rail company used on the train to get me to Bialystok a few days before. But, it was a more traditional type of carriage, which was comfortable although lacked power and wi-fi.

    And safely back into Warszawa Centralna, exactly on time. The journey had again cost £6 and lasted for around two and a half hours. All very easy once again….

  • PKP Intercity : Warsaw to Bialystok

    PKP Intercity : Warsaw to Bialystok

    I’ve written about the train I took last week from Warsaw to Kielce, so I won’t repeat too much of the same information.

    I’ve been to Warszawa Centralna railway station many times before, although I realised that I’d never seen the waiting area. It’s not surprising on reflection, the platforms are on level -1 and the large waiting room area is on level 2, so three floors up.

    Nicely reassuring, I can see that my carriage will be at the front of the train. It’s quite a short train, with just five carriages. There are several stops en route, with the service taking just over two hours.

    Confirmation of the platform number, I do like it when they make it nice and easy.

    And here comes the train, arriving around fifteen minutes before its estimated departure time. There’s clear signage on the train where it’s going, which gives me lots of reassurance.

    Image result for very real british problems trains

    Brits at least need that reassurance….

    And it’s a compartment train (or corridor train, I’m never sure of the difference), something which I still see on mainland Europe, but they got rid of on UK trains decades ago. They seem to be on their way out in Poland though as well, all of the newer trains that I’ve seen have open carriages, so I imagine these will taken out of services over the coming years.

    I personally prefer open carriages, but there’s a slightly strange social dynamic that occurs with these compartments which is interesting. On an open train, where there is no division within the seating, I’ve never seen in Poland anyone say anything to someone in the nearby area when they leave the train. Here though, there seems to be some social etiquette of saying hello when entering the carriage and goodbye when leaving the carriage, which is of course a complete anathema to British people in terms of social engagement.

    Image result for very real british problems trains

    This is British social etiquette on trains.

    Image result for very real british problems trains

    Compartment trains also leads to this Very British Problem.

    Safely in Bialystok.

    Looking down on the train from the bridge, which terminated here (I mean the train terminated here, not the bridge). The train arrived into Bialystok on time and the entire process of boarding it and finding the seat was again very easy, almost idiot proof. The fare was £6, which was about the same as the Flixbus, which again seems rather good value for money to me.

  • Warsaw – Ibis Warszawa Stare Miasto

    Warsaw – Ibis Warszawa Stare Miasto

    This is the seventh Accor hotel in Warsaw that I’ve stayed in over the last couple of years, and the fifth this month, and it’s also the one I’ve liked the least and the only one that I wouldn’t stay at again. I posted separately about how Ibis are seemingly moving away from what I personally would like, with this hotel being the cause of that post.

    Irritatingly though, for an Ibis hotel, the breakfast, the welcome and the design of the public areas was well ahead of the curve for the brand. The public areas do have that community feel, although they need to go further, whether it’s by implementing some form of coffee shop or some form of specialism, such as my own favourite of craft beer. The first impressions for guests at this hotel is, I’d imagine, a really positive one as it’s airy, bright and contemporary in style.

    I’ve already posted that I don’t like the room, I think it looks dated, although it’s the lack of functionality that is primarily why I don’t like it. There used to be a lovely desk and chair under that window. Ibis used to be proud of that, in the booking confirmation for this stay it even mentions “a large desk”.

    Incidentally, the room does still have a door, this hasn’t been removed yet. In terms of cleanliness, it was spotless, with the bathroom feeling modern and contemporary. This also isn’t the brand standard for the new room that Accor sent to me last year, all three of their room designs had desks in, albeit not as large as I’d personally like, so I’m not sure why at this stage they’ve changed.

    The room’s climbing frame and play area. As an aside, the bed was very comfortable. Although since there’s no chair now, I suppose it has to be.

    Just as my opinion, this is a really poor design, I’m conscious that a couple of airport lounges introduced these, then had to take them back out again. Anyone with an adapter, so the USA, the UK, much of Asia and the like, may struggle as they’re recessed. That leaves one power point in the room. I don’t understand why they can’t just keep things simple and have a power socket on the wall that everyone can use. Design improvements are meant to make things easier, not present the guest with more difficulties.

    I digress slightly, but a few years ago, Marriott hotels had this marvellous idea that they’d take the desk out of hotel rooms. They claimed this was what the younger generation wanted, that guests didn’t want formal desks, they wanted informality and they could always sit on their bed with their laptop or just use public spaces. It was a little bit of a PR nightmare for the company and the policy was scrapped during the fit-out process, it had misunderstood the needs of millennials, let alone everyone else. I’m also pretty confident that in a year’s time that Accor will be doing the same, saying that they’re evolving the room design by re-implementing larger desks.

    Anyway, back to my normal drivel, this is the welcome drink voucher. The check-in process was seamless, the staff member particularly engaging and everything felt clean and modern. I’m pleased to note that this hotel still has a check-in desk, although Ibis are apparently ditching them so that customers have to queue up at the bar. I have no idea how Accor have come to the impression that this is a great idea, although they have access to far more customer data than I ever will, so I’m sure they’ve got good reason. Although, I still think customers want to be receive a proper welcome from a staff member at the check-in desk, they often don’t want to check-in at a computer, or by trying to find a member of bar staff padding around with a device to check them in.

    This is the standard beer offered by Ibis as a free gift, all acceptable if not particularly exciting.

    And a lovely touch, very much appreciated.

    For a few seconds I wondered what was going on here, but it’s just the floor being protected whilst they go through ruining the rooms with the new design.

    Breakfast was much better than the standard Ibis fare, I’m not sure why they’re going further than the brand standard. My Polish friends know what I think of smalec, but it’s a delicacy which it’s good to see for those who want to try it. The range of cold meats isn’t the usual Ibis standard either, it’s much better, which I very much approve of, with a wider selection of breads.

    All told, and excluding what I personally consider to be a dysfunctional room, this is one of the best Ibis hotels that I’ve been to. The cleanliness, staff friendliness and attempt at localisation at breakfast are all really positive, although I’m always easy to please by giving me free chocolate. But, a desk and chair in the room is essential for me, if not for others, so this is a hotel I won’t be revisiting.

  • PKP Intercity : Kielce to Warsaw

    PKP Intercity : Kielce to Warsaw

    Back at Kielce railway station, which had a light dusting of snow on the ground, getting the early afternoon train back to Warszawa Centralna. The service starts down in Krakow and ends in Olsztyn, with my ticket purchased on-line a couple of days ago.

    Artwork at the end of the subway at Kielce railway station.

    Kielce railway station waiting hall and ticket desks. The railway station was first constructed in the 1880s, but this is a much more modern building, albeit now quite dated.

    The old style split-flap boards, I miss these from London Liverpool Street.

    Lots of information boards, so it was clear from where the train was departing from.

    More platform, track and sector boards, which fortunately do make sense for those passengers paying attention.

    A busier service than I had anticipated, with the train being one of the older Stadler rolling stock, but it was all clean and well maintained.

    Boarding the train in Kielce. The journey was all smooth and on-time, with the train being nearly full. The seat reservation system works well, with the signage being relatively clear, although not perfect. The staff member performing the ticket check was helpful and polite, although I didn’t see any refreshment trolley working its way up and down the aisles on this service.

    The service starts from Kielce (where the 9hr 19 min) is above, then goes to Radom and then Warsaw. I noticed the very strange rail routing today on my map, although there is a line which goes directly from Radom to Warsaw without looping around. I assume it’s not a mainline, but there are no stops between Radom and Warsaw, so it’s an erratic route in geographic terms, which doesn’t make for the quickest of services.

    And safely into Warsaw…. There was a little problem here as the staff couldn’t open the doors, which led to the guard who was standing near me phoning someone. There was a good 60 second wait for the doors to open, which is fine when you are near the guard and can see what’s happening, but it’s nervy for those further down who just assume only their doors weren’t opening.

    It’s warmer in Warsaw and the air quality is better, I still have a sore throat that I’m putting down to air pollution in Kielce. Anyway, the train journey represented good value for money, around £6 for the three-hour long service.

  • PKP Intercity : Warsaw to Kielce

    PKP Intercity : Warsaw to Kielce

    Although I’ve been pleased with how good the services from Flixbus have been recently in Poland, I’m also conscious that I do prefer rail travel. The fare to get from Warsaw to Kielce was around £6 with both Flixbus and PKP Intercity, so on this occasion, I went for the rail option.

    The ticket purchasing process is all very easy with PKP and it can be done on-line and the ticket is sent as a PDF file which can be saved to the phone. Although international tickets and berth tickets need to be printed, there’s no such need for intercity services within Poland. I completed the purchase on PKP’s Polish site, but they do have an English version.

    Everything was very clear, this is platform 3 at Warszawa Centralna, with the yellow printed timetables visible, as well as on displays in numerous places. Like nearly everything else in Poland, the platform and railway station were clean and tidy.

    This tells passengers where to wait on the platform depending on which carriage their reservation is at, with mine being the 14:25 service to Krakow.

    The European way of presenting track information isn’t always obvious at first, this is platform 3, track 2.

    And the sector of the platform I have to wait at. So, platform 3, track 2, sector 3.

    Here comes the train, dead on time. I used my phone to take this and so it’s a bit blurry, but the signage along the train makes things nice and clear for passengers who want to check that this is the correct service. I appreciate this, I hate confusion when using public transport, especially when it’s avoidable. Also, trains across much of mainland Europe, and indeed the United States, have a number on, which makes it much easier to see which service is which. The UK don’t have this and perhaps they should….

    It’s not the most luxurious, but second class is sufficiently comfortable. There is wi-fi and power at every seat, both of which worked fine. The passenger next to me had an argument with the conductor for about three minutes, which seemed very exciting. It was more of a complaint than an argument and I was disappointed that I couldn’t follow exactly what was going on and what was being said. It was something to do with the out of order toilet, but I’m not sure exactly what, nor why the discussion went on for so long. But, little dramas like this are exciting.

    Disembarking at Kielce, the train arrived on time. I was surprised that the bulk of passengers got off here, I thought most would be going from Warsaw to Krakow.

    And Kielce railway station. All was well with this journey, the staff were polite and the ticketing purchasing was easy to understand. There is a catering carriage on board, but a staff member also pushes a trolley through selling hot and cold drinks, as well as snacks.

  • Flixbus – Torun to Warsaw

    Flixbus – Torun to Warsaw

    After a week in Torun, it was time today to return back to Warsaw West coach station. I’ve been pleased with how easy Flixbus have been making my coach trips recently, after years of being more than a little inadequate in that regard. So, I wasn’t surprised today to see the coach turn up on time in Torun, at the location that I expected it. I’d even go as far as to say that I’m starting to trust Flixbus.

    The Flixbus tracking was working well, so I could see where the coach was.

    I can guess how busy a coach will be by trying to buy tickets for the service that I’m about to get on. If there are no tickets left, then the journey will be packed. If, as with the above example, there are 34 tickets left to buy, then it’s likely to be nice and quiet.

    One of the oldest buses I’ve seen Flixbus use, but it was clean and comfortable. I couldn’t use the power supply as the design doesn’t fit the size of my adapter, but I won’t hold that against them. The wi-fi was working, but was just a little sluggish, so I used by own data. However, I’m sure that the wi-fi would have been a usable speed for light users.

    And here we are safely into Warsaw coach station. The service was a few minutes late, but nothing of any note. The price was also cost-effective, it cost around £5 for the trip.

  • Warsaw – National Museum in Warsaw (Baptismal Font)

    Warsaw – National Museum in Warsaw (Baptismal Font)

    What with the 1492 Carrying of the Cross and the Polychrome Statue of St. Barbara, half of the previous contents of St. Elizabeth’s Church in Wrocław seems to be on display in this museum. Anyway, this baptismal font is a notable piece of work, made from bronze and dating back to before 1477.

    The church today seems very proud of the artefacts and items that it still owns, with very little from before 1500, and I do wonder whether they cast half an eye over the collections in the National Museum that once came from here. This is certainly one of the most detailed fonts that I’ve seen though, so it’s worthy of having such a large national audience and it’s probably just a security headache in a church anyway with people trying to steal it.

  • Warsaw – Polish Army Museum (Yak-40)

    Warsaw – Polish Army Museum (Yak-40)

    This Soviet built aircraft, the Yak-40, is part of the outdoor display at the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw. It came to the museum in 2013 from Okecie Airport in the city, which is now better known as Warsaw Chopin Airport, where it had been used for VIP transportation. The Yak-40 aircraft was used for commercial and military travel and was mostly, but not entirely, operated by fleets in eastern and central Europe.

    Although it wasn’t open the day that I went, they do allow visits to see inside, with access from the rear of the aircraft.

  • Warsaw – National Museum in Warsaw (Carrying of the Cross – 1492)

    Warsaw – National Museum in Warsaw (Carrying of the Cross – 1492)

    This installation looks like it is almost new, representing the carrying of the cross, the Last Supper, washing of the feet and agony in the garden. The detail of the faces is quite astounding, even a little menacing, with the wooden figures dating back to 1492.

    The representation of the carrying of the cross.

    These sculptures were originally located at the Chapel of the Krappe Family in St. Elizabeth’s Church in Wrocław. This is the same church, which I’ve visited, that the museum’s Polychrome Statue of Saint Barbara is from. Johannes Krappe had taken over the chapel in 1477, but it wasn’t consecrated until 1492, by which time these figures had been installed. It’s not known who created and designed the figures, but their purpose was to teach the congregation the suffering that Christ had been through. I can imagine that they were not ineffective in that task, they’re emotional figures.

    I can’t find out the journey that these figures have taken over the centuries, their survival in such pristine condition is noteworthy in itself.

  • Warsaw – National Museum in Warsaw (Pietà from Lubiąż)

    Warsaw – National Museum in Warsaw (Pietà from Lubiąż)

    I didn’t know this before, but a Pietà is a depiction of the Virgin Mary holding the dead Jesus on her lap. It’s quite eye catching given its colour and vibrancy, with the whole polychrome item being in a decent state of repair. It’s a beautiful item and it dates to around 1370.

    The card by the exhibit says that it comes from the Cistercian Monastery at Lubiąż Abbey, but the museum’s web-site which has more information, adds that it might also be from the Cistercian Monastery at Trzebnica. I hadn’t heard of Lubiąż Abbey, but it seems an amazing historic site, one of the largest Christian sites in the world. The monks were kicked out of their abbey in 1492 by Jan II the Mad, who from his name sounds a bit of a character.