It's a long drive from Toruń to Hajnowka and Bialowieza National Park but a gorgeous fall day like yesterday was the perfect day for it. The maple trees glowed amber with a carpet of fallen gold beneath. The oaks and beech trees stood in orange contrast against the blue sky, the chestnuts fringed with brown. And all was right with the world!
Chestnuts
The 400+ kilometers to Hotel Zajard Wota Lasu seemed to speed by until we reached town. It's convenient to have booked a place to stay; you don't have to arrive early to search for a room. But the directions to the hotel didn't match the streets and it was dark when we arrived. No streetlights. No one in Hajnowka seems to speak English, either. Except for Mario, the hotel's owner. Yes, we found it and it was worth the effort. A nice room with breakfast for $35 and they will even do your laundry! The resturant is good, too, with big portions; you can share the potato pancakes. Mario and his wife bought the place a few months ago when they tired of their other life in Perth. It's a good choice if you're planning to visit nearby Bialowieza National Park.
Reintroducing the European Bison
European green woodpecker
Bialowieza the oldest national park in Poland and iis billed as the last remaining deciduous and mixed forest of the European lowlands. It is part of a World Heriage site that extends into neighboring Belarus. The forest dates back to 8000 BC and is the only remaining example of the forests that once covered much of Europe. Today the park is helping to re-introduce species like the European bison, elk, stag, lynx, wild boar and many other speicies. We spent the cold, early morning wandering among the birch, beech and oak trees on a carpet of fallen leaves. Dew fell from the branches and sunbeams pierced the morning fog as birds chirped in the trees. A perfect way to begin a day.
