Autumn colours at work.

Going out from the office on Friday I was welcomed by the best kind of Polish autumn: 23 degrees, sun and a firework of red, yellow and orange.

Jupiter above the crowd

There was a light festival at Wilanów Royal Palace this weekend. Tons of people visited to see the palace illuminated by a fine light show to music. I wonder how many noticed Jupiter watching just above the show?

Weeping gold

Now that autumn firmly is here and the leaves are beautifully colourful I can't resist to add a photo of the famous "golden Polish autumn". This is in a small park not far from home where plenty of weeping willows stand in a row and form a golden curtain in the fall.

Brass buskers

This band has an unusual style of busking. Instead of sitting and playing in a place with lots of people they walk around in residential areas and ask for money from people looking out the windows. They play some sort of Balkan Brass Band music, seemingly inspired by Bregovic and the like. They are actually quite good, but with an annoyingly small repertoire.

Horses in my dreams...

A few days ago I took a long walk in the lovely autumn weather. I ended up in one of those places I love in Warsaw that I like to call the Warsaw countryside. It's close to the centre, the landmark PKiN is clearly visible, but still has a nice feeling of serenity.

Jazz na Starówce

One of the good things about Warsaw in summer is all the jazz. There is the Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, where Herbie Hancock is playing next week, and Jazz na Starówce, a series of free open-air concerts in the old town. The photo is from the first concert this year and shows Toni Pujol, basist in the Spanish Xavier Dotras Trio.

Spring in Warsaw

Finally winter gave away to spring. The last weekend we had some 17 degrees here in Warsaw and the plants are jumping into action. We, and thousands of other Warsovians, took a trip to Powsin to enjoy a walk in the nice sun.

Moon and smoke

Had a walk today in the evening and stopped like frozen (could have been literary seeing that it was almost -15°C) to watch how the smoke from the coal powerplant Siekierki was beautifully backlit by the full moon. Unfortunately I did not have my camera, and the phone picture above does not to it justice.

Yellow city

Warsaw this autumn is truly a yellow city. Not only for the normal yellow leaves of the "golden Polish autumn", but also because of all the signs providing help around constructions sites. With the construction of the new metro-line much of central Warsaw seem to be dug up and driving is even more of a challenge than usually.

A village called Warsaw

Warsaw has these strange areas looking very much like far out in the countryside when in fact it's close to the centre of the capital. This building is a testament to how bad I am exploring my surroundings - it's just a few kilometres from home and I passed the building in the background numerous times. Behind my back is a small field of crops.
A somewhat overworked HDR from the same place can be seen here.

Warsaw skyline

I took this picture early this year from the Siekierkowski bridge over the river Wisla just south of central Warsaw. Since there are almost no mountains or hills around Warsaw it's hard to find a spot to get a clear view of the skyline.

Balkonger

This is a shot of the balconies of a building in Warsaw. The apartment block is locked in behind a fence and on the parking are only diplomatic cars from Russia. Seems diplomatic life is not always so glamorous, especially if you don't belong to the higher levels of the hierarchy. The building with these balconies lies just next to this abandoned apartment complex rumoured to belong to the Russians. Maybe the rumour is true.

The beach in Warsaw

On the Praga side of the river in Warsaw one can find a few beaches along the Vistula. This is Praska Plaża. It seems like a little oasis in the city, but bathing is probably not recommended.

Wianki

A collage of women with wreaths (wianki) on the eve of St. John. The wreaths are later thrown in the river by the unmarried girls in the hope that it is picked up by the future husband. Like the Swedish midsommarafton the celebration dates back to pre-Christian times. However, in Poland the church has been more successful than in Sweden to associate the old pagan celebration of the summer solstice with St. John the Baptist. The church was mercifully absent from the celebrations last night though, which centered more around drinking and having fun than being pious.

Girls throwing wreaths in the river in Warsaw.

Wreaths floating down the Vistula.

The park at night

A long exposure at night in the near-by Park Arkadia.

Fountains and people

Yesterday we went to see the newly inaugurated fountains below the royal palace in Warsaw. We were not alone... There has been much talk about the fountains in the last year - how much they cost; how many trees were removed to make space for them; and after the opening - how great the show is. So, every Friday and Saturday there are a number of 20 minute multimedia-shows at the fountains. We came there not expecting such a crowd. From our point of view we could not see anything of the light-show. But I got some good pictures of the crowd photographing the show.
Btw, the show is (of course) on YouTube, and it looks amazing. I need to go and actually see it some day.

Cycling i Warsaw

Even though conditions for bicycling in Warsaw is slowly improving - new bicycle paths are built, recently the rules were changed to make it easier to follow them - every now and then you see these things that are typical of the attitude towards cyclists. We are not really important, and those who plan cyclepaths have no clue about cycling themselves.

Three weeks later

Three weeks after this photo we can really see that spring is here. However, the trees in the previous image were all pruned a couple of days ago - so no leaves here.

Book café

If asked, many Warsovians will name Czuły Barbarzyńca as their favourite book store. However, I think it should be called favourite café instead. During 45 minutes sitting, I did not see a single person actually buying a book. Many browsed, had coffee, cake, talked and left... including me*. So a more accurate description I think is a café that also sells books.

* Although I have the excuse that they don't sell foreign language books.

Balconies

Saw these balconies today while out cycling. Just liked the picture.