I'm staring at all this with increasing satisfaction. There is something poignant about the scale of this whole port. Many themes are striking: for example, the loneliness of the long-haulers - because the men mostly sit in the restaurant alone, separately, without talking to each other - after all, they are perpetually on the road, they don't get a seat anywhere, there are no conditions for ongoing networking, for forming permanent relationships. There are people here from the four corners of the world, most of course Poles and Ukrainians, but also many Georgians, and there are people from virtually all over Europe.
There is a specific solitude, continuing later in the truck, on the eternal way to the next point, with the next load. I like to travel, I know that such movement can be a lifestyle and a state of mind. The car becomes a second home, a mobile bedroom, full of various patents on how to live in constant motion. Everyone has their own inventions here, folding stools to sit next to the car in the parking lot, fans in the cabin, individual artistic arrangements, often very complex installations with illuminations and creative messages aimed at the rest of the car world.
bird's eye views of the city
© UM Radomsko
At the same time, there are plenty of common parts, common denominators, customs, traditions and habits in this world. There is a peculiar style in clothing that only begins with lace-ups, flip-flops and sandals. There is a specific sense of humor - yes, the diner next to the parking lot is really called Polish Kebab. And as there is a subculture, there is also a culture. This one is best reflected in the slang, the speech of the drivers, the jargon used to operate the CB radio. Although the era of CB radio is slowly passing, the device is going away, displaced by smartphones, cheap calls, mobile internet and satellite navigation, the language associated with it is an interesting representation for the whole community.
"Kaśka" is GPS navigation, "toadstools" are hitchhikers, "bears on scooters" are police officers on motorcycles, "saloonkeepers" are cab drivers, "pilgrim" aredriving lessons, "roundups at the disco" is an ambulance at a signal, "crocodiles" is the road transport inspectorate, "lemonade" is fuel, "dryer" - hand-held police radar, "dump" - fixed speed camera, "mobilek" is a driver, "management" is usually the wife, "curtain" is a truck with a trailer, "pan" is the same thing, but with an open trailer, "path" or "roadway" is theroad condition, "margin" is, of course, the side of the road, "amba" is fog, "sleepwalker" is a car driving with lights out, "valve" is a cyclist, "detour cinema" is an unmarked radio car, "mate" is a CB radio user. I like it, and so, gentlemen: WIDE!
bird's-eye views of the city
© UM Radomsko
I spend two nights in Port Radomsko, sleeping in the camper. We seem to have taken a liking to each other, because no one here wants money from me - neither for parking nor for plugging in. For me, it's such a specific, modern Polish Wild West, populated by a distinct tribe of drivers - nomads of the 21st century. Once I consider the Port embraced from my point of view, I get on my bicycle and set off towards the city. On the way I pass a disturbingly long building - it's a Whirlpool factory, formerly Indesit was here. I associate it, you could see this building from the game road, now you can see it from the highway. But only up close can you get a sense of what a huge building it is, not tall, but vast. I pedal, kilometers move by, and with them more similar monumental industrial buildings.
I think to myself - this Radomsko surprises me. First the Port, now some gigantic economic zone. I finally reach the city. At first glance, nothing special. Blocks of flats, some older buildings, visually - a typical Polish mess (which I don't like), dotted with advertisements and exuding small business (which I like and respect), common in the country on the Vistula.
there is a lot of hipster greenery in Radomsko
photo: Mateusz Zmyślony
A lot of right-wing rhetoric on the walls of buildings, some neglected, quite small-town tenements, somehow more than enough "furniture" signs. I arrive at the center, dug up, in the process of a major renovation. Here the first surprise: the heart of the city, the market square - no concretions! In contrast to the nationwide scourge of tiles, concrete, gazons and "polbruk", in Radomsko there are beautiful trees on green grass. Lots of flowers, plenty of shade and a palpable friendly atmosphere.
Neo-Baroque St. Lambert's Church
photo: Mateusz Zmyślony
