Train travels and different perspectives

photo taken from google pictures library

I've heard bad joke once before in Poland, that life is like a toilet roll - long, grey and for shit. I think some one came to that conclusion years ago during war state, after the communism times in Poland. I was too young to remember and have my true opinion about this. But from what I remember from my youth, is lots of people who lived stagnant lives. No great hopes, no amazing perspectives. That you were given this life to live as it is, that you can't change things, that things are as they are. Full stop. Or maybe this was just an attitude of my closest surroundings, that I perceived in that way. Nonetheless this are my personal feelings. And I think this kind of attitude always made me some kind of angry, and wanted me to be different and change things about my life. I never wanted to agreed to attitude "take what you are given, and be happy with it, because there is nothing better" or that "everyone has it's cross to carry" .. I wanted to runaway from that statements and this depressive way of life. I wanted to believe that there is ME who decides of the fate of my life. And not that has been given to me, decided for me. Of course now - I understand another meaning of the statement - take what are you given and be happy with it - a good meaning ;) But I won't agree with the other part, that there is nothing better..

As they say - you get different perspective from different point of view! I always wanted to believe that things CAN be better, but I knew they won't change on their own. I have to go for it. I didn't always feel happy, but staying too long in a place of stagnancy, with no perspectives for change, made me UN-Happy.
And so I lost my "nazi" corporation job last year because of that (which loosing it actually truly made me happy!) found new nice job after but recently quit to travel now, and to get new perspective and new hopes :)

If you want to ask about that toilet roll digression - well here is the answer:
It used to be only this kind of paper in Poland.  Now it can be found only on the polish trains! And only  if you are lucky! Otherwise there is non ;(

Coming to Poland in the middle of my journey around Europe, brought exactly the same feeling, like it did some 15 years ago, after my first trip abroad - that this country is in some ways like wild east. Not in good way though.

For the last month I've travelled around Europe by the trains. Everywhere trains were clean, most of the time fast, but most important; had air-conditioning, which in such a hot summer like this (over 32C in shade is absolute must) In Poland trains have open windows. And if this is not enough, you can open doors between carriages to get wild drought, (and bad smell from dirty toilets) ;(  My journey from Wroclaw to Jaroslaw (my hometown) lasted almost 12 hours! When I used to study there it was about 8 hours. Now from Wroclaw only to Rzeszow is 9. My train had some electrical issues, and we were delayed. In Rzeszow we had to wait over 1 hour for another late train to get home.
I hope not all over this country is the same! But this particular experience was exactly like this shitty grey toilet roll. Long, and nasty if you have to use it, because there is no other option...