The wolves’ motorway; water in the wrong place, and town planning.

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26 May Białystok

Today we got drenched as went along the main shopping street, Lipowa. Within about 10 minutes the downpour had soaked us to the skin, and we abandoned our search for music shops in Białystok. The music scene is pretty good in Poland incidentally. I came back with plenty of CDs to keep me occupied. Just don’t expect a vast range of CDs on offer in the shops, it is likely that if you want a particular album, you may have to order it. We got my CDs within two days, which was pretty good: the owner knew many of the national record producers.

With our jeans now demonstrating their ample water absorbing qualities, we tried to negotiate Lipowa, which was flooded. With drainpipes from buildings emptying onto the pavement, and only a few gutters, the cobbled street of Lipowa soon had a certain level of immersion. Our progress was not easy: cars routinely occupy most of the pavement, and the pavement was being re-laid stone by stone by hand, for presumably more car parking. Suddenly, our way forward was blocked; the pavement was stripped to the (wet) sand, and cars were not letting us cross the road. Crossing the road again twice, we finally caught a bus, which was promptly stalled in a traffic jam. This is because of the inspired decision of Białystok City Council to divert buses away from the main shopping street, and increase the flow of traffic down the main cobbled shopping street of Lipowa. Apparently an attempt to pedestrianise Lipowa, so that cafes could have tables on the pavement, lasted only very briefly. The vociferous car drivers of Białystok had their way, and once again Lipowa is choked with traffic, despite there being a six lane parallel road very close by. Well done guys! A triumph of bigotry, idleness and selfishness over municipal improvement, better air quality and enhanced retailing potential.

27 May Knyszyn Forest: Krolowy Most to Żednia.

Another trip to the forest, to a bit we haven’t visited yet. Again we took the bus east, on the ex-military road to Krolowy Most. Krolowy Most is blessed with a small shop, so we picked up some doughnuts (Polish doughnuts are unsurpassable) and headed south along the red waymarked trail. The sandy track had some large paw prints, which we reckon were fresh wolf paw prints, from a wolf heading along at speed. Crossing over a low sandy ridge we passed through older conifers and a rather strong whiff of fox pervaded. Alongside the moss had been dug off by wild boar, snuffling for roots, and some deer ran through the trees ahead of us. Back over the ridge, past a fine collection of lily of the valley, we past a small reservoir by an abandoned farm building. It was a good place for a break, before the next section, off the waymarked route, through the forest. In other parts of the forest, the forest boundary posts are a good source of navigational material, but there had weathered away. However a compass and a bit of guesswork got us slap bang into Żednia. We also got a fine portion of lily of the valley scent, certainly a step up from aroma de manky fox. The wolves appeared to have taken one of our tracks also. Żednia Forestry had a fine open garden at their frontage complete with bench, which was a good place to wait for the bus. The bus timetable at Żednia was blank, as some thoughtful individual had meticulously scratched it off. They really should get paid for this activity, they seem to manage it in most villages across the country. Anyway, a lot of the guesswork of PKS timetables is now a thing of the past, and you can plan your days out from an excellent website. The Białowieża bus was also running, so we caught that, and a good thing too. Ten minutes after we got back to the flat it began to rain heavily; we’d missed another drenching, possibly due to the influence of a small yellow deity.

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Photos

Wolves' motorway
Wolf paw print - with Kasia's hand for scale

Swinobród
Little lake, at what might be called Swinford in England.

Old forest
Plenty of signs (and yes, smells) of beasties here.

Birches, Knyszyn forest
Many young birches had been bent over recently. Cause? Send your answers please!

Comments

[labatzki]

birches
snow! only snow.