Imagine a road with more potholes than a teenager has spots, less visible markings than a chameleon on the hunt, and, bizarrely, the opportunity to pick up large packs of persil, a rug, kebab or indeed prostitute on the way. For at least 150km it's a one lane B-road equivalent that tries patience somewhat as you get stuck behind yet another articulated lorry. This is certainly one of the reasons why Polish drivers take insane risks when over taking - and we saw plenty of examples of lunatics at the wheel on the way there and back.
Returning to the theme, one of the legacies of 50 years of Communism and relatively high unemployment is that private enterprise takes some unfamiliar forms in Poland. It's a subject I'll be returning to when looking at the plethora of shops all selling the same thing. You really do wonder how the fifth or sixth bread and cake shop in a row makes any money. So along the roadside on the way out of Warsaw small groups of men and women stand in the cold with their products. I'm not sure if it is illegal but if it is the Police tolerate it.
It makes me wonder whether there isn't some sort of logical chain of products available. Rugs for the ladies of the night, kebab for afters and then a quick wash of the clothes before it's home to the wife?
You'll be displeased no doubt to learn I only got pictures of the kebabs and the rugs, though.
A serious point remains: why does a 345km journey that should take no more than 3 - 4 hours take between 5 and 6? How can the Polish government allow the main route between its capital and its fourth largest city to get into such a state? Will it have time to do anything about it before the Euros? What implications for road safety do and for trade and investment do its choked roads ensure?
It's something that interests me and when my Polish is (significantly) improved I am looking forward to reading up on infrastructure development in the country.
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