I’ll start with complaining. As I walked into one of compartments (I don’t know if you have such things in other parts of the world - most wagons are divided into smaller structures, each of which consists of 6 to 8 seats) I asked politely if there are any free places. Everyone started looking around (mostly on their feet), shaking their heads in random directions and trying to look like I-don’t-know-probably-there-aren’t. I clearly saw that there are two seats with no one sitting on them. What could I do? I said, irritated, “yes or no?” and without waiting for the answer I started putting my baggage on racks. In the middle of my trip, the situation repeated in worse variant. There was only one seat left (opposite to me, next to an old man who put his newspapers on it). There were THREE ladies asking if they found a place to sit and he just said NO three times, holding the doors by his hand. What a fool. I didn’t react (I should have done this) because of his age - I just though there’s no way for me to sound polite.

Hardly anyone reads books or newspapers. They would just stare at some point in space for minutes and hours. If they slept - that would be okay, but they stare all the time! Oh, I have to apologize all of those who stare and think at the same time. I guess it would be better if someone put some free newspapers around the corridors/compartments. Actually I’m not complaining about this, I just think it’s sad that people are so reluctant to think in their spare time. They would say something like: “it’s not the work- or school-hour, I’d like to rest for a while”. Since when “resting” means “doing nothing”? Ignorant society => government ignoring society.

I was happy to see electric sockets on corridors: it meant I would be able plug in my laptop and write a few e-mails (don’t think there’s wireless Internet over there, I wanted to do it off-line). How surprised I was to discover that there’s no electricity in those sockets. Why? I haven’t ever seen someone using it so I can tell it was not because of huge usage. This is a real riddle to me.

One could say I’m very pessimistic, but I’m not. Despite all those difficulties, train-traveling is my favorite way of moving around Poland (abroad I prefer hitchhiking because 1. train tickets are expensive 2. I meet many kind and interesting people. More on hitchhiking soon). I have time to think and read, to learn and write (at least I have a battery in my laptop). While traveling by train I realize how beautiful my country is. Especially in autumn, with all those golden-red forests and the grass still green, little cottages, cow herds, small lakes and ponds. Empty fields all around with a lonely tree here and there. If you want to see our landscape, take a train from Gdańsk to Zakopane. I guess in mountain area it’s even better, though I’ve never traveled by train there. And take a good book with you.

Oh, I forgot to say one good thing about PKP (Polish railway company): if my train is delayed, they always call the station where I change trains and the train waits until everyone is in. That causes another delay which is quite easy to reduce: instead of waiting 10 minutes on next stations, it waits 5 minutes or so.