Podlasian countryside

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Rajsk

- one of the least famous places in Poland, not in your Rough Guides, and therefore worthy of my blog. For some time we had wanted to go to Rajsk, to visit where the family on Kasia's Dad used to live. Rajsk's recent history (as happens in Eastern Poland) is pretty stark.

We took the train to Rajsk on the surviving line to Bielsk Podlaski and Czeremcha. The train travels at a sedate 30km/h due to the condition of the track, the big SU45 locomtive somewhat under utilised. The story behind this is *huge* under investment into the railways in Poland over recent years, and it is a miracle this line has survived closure.

We ambled along in bright sunshine, southwards into the Podlasian countryside. It truly is Podlasie ("by the forest") as the fields are interspersed by large tracts of woodland.

Rajsk station is outside the village. We followed the sandy track to Kasia's relative's old house. The skylarks were in full song there was a cool breeze and strong sunshine. Space at last!

Kasia practised some karate kata in the garden, we scoffed some sandwiches and proceeded around to Stołowach. The roadside trees here were cut, and the evidence of the cuplrit seemed to be in someone's back yard! We passed a sinister red patch on the next track where some poor beast must have met its demise for the cooking pot. We passed through very pretty woodlands but what is not pictured are the occasional heaps of rubbish dumped in ponds on amongst the trees. Sadly, this is an all too common site in villages across Poland.

Across the fields to the right, Rajsk's striking blue Orthodox church appearted. The area to the south and east of Białystok is predominantly Orthodoxwith Belorussian and Ukrainian influences in the dialect.

We went into the village and up to the memorial to the inhabitants who were massacred during World War Two by Nazi soldiers. Kasia’s Dad only escaped by having a house 3 km away - but even that was burned to the ground by the Nazis. Rajsk village was rebuilt, and today was failry peaceful save for the Easter (Orthodox Easter was much later in 2005) traffic. We then went south, and by now the day was getting really warm, through some spruce woods. We stopped off at a fire look-out for a fine view. On our return the spruce trees were too densely planted, so the plantation resembled some overgrown thicket. We got the train back again to ride through the rolling plain, over the Narew river and back to Białystok.

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Photos

Rajsk Kolonia
The house from Kasia's family - rebuilt after being burnt down by the Nazis and also lightning.

Stołowach Woods
Woodland between Stołowach and Rajsk villages.

Rajsk station
The train back to Bialystok approaches.

Stołowach meadow
meadow in the woods, near Stołowach, on the way to Rajsk

Rajsk memorial
The memorial to and mass grave of the 140 odd murdered villagers of Rajsk by Nazi troops in apparent "revenge" for the killing of German soldiers by partisans. There are stories of survivors climbing out of the grave, hence the outstretched hands coming from the ground.