Warsaw; Friday, 25 July, 2008

By the time the train eventually pulled into Warsaw it had managed to slip from on-time to late and then to quite late indeed. At 55 minutes late it wasn’t the latest train I’d ever been on, but it was getting close!

Along with the general delayedness of the train, the other thing that had become increasingly noticeable was the humidity. As we had travelled inland further from the Baltic the temperature in the carriage had risen, and everyone was slowly looking more uncomfortable.

Just as I exited the station at Warsaw the solution to the humidity presented itself, with a massive flash of lighting and a torrential downpour. Thankfully, unlike at Westerplatte a couple of days earlier, I was already under shelter when the heavens opened so was able to watch other people getting a soaking.

The rain lasted for about five minutes and then subsided to the occasional drip, so I thought it was a good time to make the short walk from the central station to the metro stop about half a kilometre away. However, as I walked I did notice that the rain didn’t appear to have cleared the humidity. As I approached the metro station the small spits of rain become big gobs of rain and I quickened my pace, diving into a shelter just seconds before an even more spectacular downpour took place.

After the rain had subsided it took another five minutes or so for the lakes that had been formed to drain away to the point where you could walk rather than wade to the station. I brought my ticket, and made my way to my Hotel.

With the checkin formalities completed, I dumped my stuff and headed back out into the strange light that you get when there is thunder around. Thankfully, the last of the storm had passed, and it was noticeably fresher and more pleasant. I caught the trams round to the Old Town and once there climbed up the Belfry of St Anne’s Tower to take in some of the sights.

I descended back down just as the clock was striking half nine and wandered over to a restaurant for a late dinner.