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Poland May 2006
Warsaw Back in Poland then, though less of a tour and more of a family visit. Taking advantage of lower fares, we flew from Liverpool to Warsaw. The flight is 2.5 hours, and it is a jolt when you arrive - suddenly everything is in Polish, the weather's warmer, and the street environment is very different to Britain. Cleaner, for a start.
Because our flight landed with only an hour before the evening Białystok train left, we decided to stay overnight at Radek's in Warsaw. We got the latest on Polish current affairs. The new government has finally formed after months of uncertainty. So there has been a big anti-corruption drive, which has led to many people being put in jail. Then there has been the appointment of a controversial figure as Minister of Education from the Catholic Family Party. This provoked a protest from many students, and so the Minister delcared that the protesters were all "gay"! He either has an astounding (and rather disturbing) insight into the private lives of all those protestors, or he should not be in office. There is also a big increase in policing and an
Lunch upon high
Kasia has the Director's chair! intention to put the death penalty to the popular vote, irrespective of the European Human Rights legislation.
So with a combative political background, Polish politics is set for a turbulent future. Wether the changes have the desired effect, is open to conjecture.
Next day we got the mid morning train to Białystok and enjoyed a peaceful compartment to ourselves for the run north east over the Mazovian plain.
Sokole to Michałowo
The
Knyszyn Forest lies to the north and east of Białystok. One thing you notice about the area is how sandy it is. Like concrete hexagons on paved surfaces, sand is common in Poland, and it is amazing what grows on it. It is a bit trying for agriculture, but for trees, especially pines, it is just fine.
Home to wolves, wild boar and buzzards, the Knyszyn Forest is a large expanse of semi-wild country, though constantly under threat from development - being so close to Białystok. Having said that, it is easy to access the forest, most people come to build a house there, rather than actually go for a walk there. So much of the time we had
Free Open Air Forestry Course
...courtesy of Żednia Forestry Department. This notice is about how the aftermath of a forest fire is dealt with. the forest to ourselves, which is good news when you have been living in a densely packed part of Leeds, or are staying in a densely packed part of Białystok.
We took the bus from Białystok to Sokole served by PKS. PKS is a great institution in Poland, being the formal national bus company before privatisiation and fragmentation. Since the changes some years ago PKS companies are still proud holders of tradition, ancient “cucumber” type buses and a very moderate pace along the road. Hey, let gravity take over on the gentle dip slopes!
Sokole lies to the east on the railway which used to take passengers to Zubki - the train that finished in the forest. Sadly the forces of progress and evil have taken over and the train is no more, despite protests from the locals. Instead a new bit of road was built, parallel to the line. Consequently the bus timetabled to stop in Sokole makes a convenient stop 3 km away! We walked along the new road which follows the railway line, and the shiny rails indicated that the line is still used by freight workings to Belarus.
Past the old station, we
passed a spanking new bus shelter, used by two buses a day at an ungodly hour of the morning only. We walked into the village to find that with the new road has come new money in the form of ostentatious and out of place housing architecture. Traditional wooden houses have been replaced by bulky high sloped tin roofed homes with “parkland”. Cars flew in, a chainsaw buzzed and dogs yelped. We carried on, past the privatised village pond, the ornate lawns and fancy fences into the forest. People have brought the city with them, deep into the forest and in so doing have turned the remaining oases of peace into some grotesque pastiche of some Disney-fied vision (Polish style) of a rural idyll. Bitter, me? Nah!
Anyroad, we were pleased to leave Sokole and enter the surrounding forest. After a while we crossed a shallow valley with open damp meadows. A look out platform (No.1) was in a meadow close to bird boxes Nos. 32 and 34. The platform provided us with a excellent stop for lunch well above ay marauding tics. The air was fresh, with a westerly breeze blowing over Podlasie - a bit chilly in the exposed open, but warm in the sheltered plantations areas. We headed on east and diverted via part of an educational trail laid out by Żednia Forest Department, explaining the various methods of forest management. There’s a lot to think about: soil types, age of forest, pests, biodiversity, fire breaks (using birch trees!). As we went along, much of what was supporting the tree growth was simply sand. Occasionally we passed where it had been dug out - a massive sand pit. In the new plantations it got almost hot and we approached Dziernakowo through bilberry plants and pines. We left the waymarked route and took a track south passing a strawberry field and the hamlet of Kopce where two dogs ran out, bent on causing us aggravation. We picked up some pebbles, as, in both of our respective traditions, this was the most appropriate course of action. In Upper Wharfedale this process is succinctly described as “leg sum cobs at t’mutts”: a preventative method to dissuade an aggressive interaction with the said canines. The dogs therefore contented themselves with barking at us from a distance, following us more slowly. Kopce, a tiny hamlet in the trees, was surrounded by small fields, and the conifers of the forest further back. Ideal, ‘cept for the mutts.
The track should have been waymarked by now so we were a bit off track - the two maps we had did not tally with the tracks on the ground. By this time, we were close to Michałowo so we knew we were in the right direction. A lad pointed us to the right track, and we approached the pleasant small town of Michałowo. There was no obvious purveyor of doughnuts in Michałowo, so we jumped on the next bus to Białystok. We went through a heavy rain shower on the bus but had missed the other showers, perhaps because we had our small sun god with us.
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