It was 01:33 on Monday when Szymon Szumniak dropped his voting slip into the ballot box at Wroclaw Polling Station No 148.
The entertainment blogger had been queuing in the biting cold with hundreds of others for six hours, long after the polls should have closed.
The giant queue has become a symbol of the high level of engagement with Poland’s parliamentary election, where a record high turnout of over 74% ousted the right-wing Law and Justice party, or PiS, from power.
“People gave us blankets, hot tea, cookies. The hospitality of residents in that area was incredible!” said the 26-year-old of his long wait to vote.
At one point, a group of women broke into song. At another, a local pizza company delivered heaps of free food. The firm was so inundated with donations the next day from grateful Poles, it began redirecting the cash to charity.
Szymon never once thought of giving up and going home.
“We’re building our future and I think a lot of young people understood that,” the blogger told me from Wroclaw.
He didn’t want to reveal who he voted for but was “happy with the way things turned out.”
“The queue was long and painful because it was so cold. But the people made it a cool experience.”