I've been to Poland for a private b-day party over a long weekend in April this year (Thursday--Monday). When this country was marked red.

I came by train from Berlin. The rules were to have a negative test not older than 24hs and to quarantine after arrival. No one ever checked. Go figure.

This happened: Thursday evening, just after I arrived, my host said: let's go to tango (we are social tango dancers).

We drove to a (previously) regular event which is in a park in Warsaw, close to the center, that weekday. It was on as if nothing had ever happened.

I know the tango scene in Warsaw a bit. Everyone was there. All the familiar faces. About 80-100 people. And even some people who live like 100km away. I couldn't believe it.

Dancers I talked to there told me this was going on for months. "Basically there never was a lockdown for social dancers." they said.
"At the beginning you had to register for 'classes' but as soon as the doors were closed it was a normal dancing event. No masks, no distancing etc."

Restaurants were not allowed to open at the time. So what happened Friday was straight out of a movie.

We drove to a brand new residential building in a side street. Approaching it the door opened and woman in a black mini dress welcomed us. Immediately checking our names on a list.

Once she had found us two thugs in tailored suits who would befit the extras list of any action summer blockbuster appeared behind her; out of nowhere.

Inside they escorted us to an entrance next to the building's elevators that led through a narrow hallway, past a busy restaurant kitchen into a top notch Italian joint.

No one wore a mask but amazingly only every 2nd table was being used. There was a DJ in the middle and my friend told me: "This turns into a private club from around 10:30pm."

The front side windows had blinds that were tightly shut. From the outside the restaurant must have looked completely shut down.

After dinner, at around 11pm, my friend suggested we go to a (real) club. But we had to wait for at least 30mins, he said.

Because the police were blocking the back door through which we entered -- waiting for their cut. As they did every night at 11pm.

I asked him how he'd know. He said: "I spoke to the owner when this happened before and we couldn't leave."

The owner and the head waitress were pulling together the evening's proceedings on a tablet. Then they stuffed an envelope. My friend told me he had asked the owner and the police would expect to pocket 10% of the evening's earnings.

And they they wanted to see the proceedings on the tablet.

When we exited the building through the side street entrance again, at around 11:30pm, the police car just pulled out in front of us.

The club we went to afterwards was also in an old residential building in the center. Through a narrow old door into a wide, low ceiling hallway leading to the yard. Stuffed with rubble and old bicycles.

In the middle of the side of the hallway a narrow stairway leading down to the basement.

About 300 young guests, seemingly drunk, in a space of maybe 300sqm -- minus bars & toilets. It was so crowded you couldn't drop to the floor if you lost your balance.

I wasn't ok to enter there so went to my friend's house instead but I saw it for maybe 30 secs.

So Poland, yeah. Maybe someone got fined 30k PLN for breaking some COVID rules. Maybe.