An Unedited Entry

I am not going to go very deep into certain matters but simply give an overview of what I think. This may perhaps be very simple and not very well thought out but it's what I am feeling at this current moment in time having briefly read through some of the events going on in the world today, mainly the Israeli invasion of Gaza and the shooting down of the MH17 plane in Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists.

You might argue that I have not used my words correctly in describing the above and have a lot to argue against this but this but the main point of this blog entry is to express sadness that these things are happening and have happened. I can also count myself very fortunate to be in a position that is very far removed from such events and cannot imagine how it must be to directly be involved or affected by them.

Of course there are a lot of tragic things going on in the world that are not highlighted in the media that I often turn to such as the BBC, The Guardian and other social media. Often I am desensitised to news reports of the loss of life but sometimes it is too hard to ignore the darkness of human nature and the horrific actions this can lead to.

Right now, I appreciate where I am and consider my problems petty in comparison to others. I also contemplate if it is worthwhile to be informed at times. I know it is important to know what is going on in the world even if it makes me feel that my own existence is quite unimportant in the grander scheme of things. However, I do still believe that little gestures count for something and have to hold on to the idea that we all do make a difference.

To Bus or to Train It

There's something romantic about travelling by train, the sound of click, clack as old trains rattle along tracks through villages, towns and countryside that is sometimes not accessible any other way. In Poland recently there has been a surge of new bus companies springing up with really low prices and attractive routes that is putting a struggling train network under more pressure and rightly so.
Despite this, I still opted for the train on a recent trip from Przemysl to Kraków.

An old train took us as far as Rzeszów before it broke down. It was bad news for everyone but particularly for those who had their journey abruptly cut short only half a kilometre or so from the station. We had to wait while the burly driver and conductors ran up and down the train until it was towed back to the station. At least another train was arranged which was more than what happened on an Austrian train I travelled partly on not so long ago. After the train had broken down in the middle of nowhere, we had to wait for about an hour for a bus to come and take us to the nearest u-bahn stop and not the destination on our ticket, the main train station in Vienna.

So, back to the Polish journey. The train I was on was due to terminate in Tarnów but I found out from some Ukrainian travellers that there was a connecting train from there to Kraków. I was even able to buy a ticket from the conductor for the corresponding train and was told that this train would wait for us but we had to be fast.

When the train reached Tarnów, we quickly got out but our train was nowhere to be seen. Had it gone already? No. It arrived fifteen minutes later. This gleaming, modern, smooth train was quite a contrast to the previous two trains of the day. There was even information about the name day of saints on that particular day (very useful to know) and a speedometer which was quite erratic to say the least and turned off possibly due to the embarrassment of the driver as the journey was incredibly slow. At one point the conductor suggested to smokers that they go for a cigarette as we had to wait for three trains to pass by before we could go. The Ukrainians looked as bemused as I felt with the whole train experience and I am sure they were thinking how much better things are in their country regarding train travel.

The train stopped at every stop and the only thing that kept me interested was comparing the numerous modernised stations with the old discarded ones that had been abandoned to the past. Despite the modernisations, it all seemed a false as it would have been a lot faster to take a bus. I hope that PKP (the national train association) will sort it out and stop using the excuse of renovations causing delays as this can only be the case for so long. People tell me that trains used to be better in the past so perhaps all these modernisations are only for show but have no real purpose or perhaps we need to remain patient for better things to come. The fact that PKP provides bus services on some lines suggests otherwise.