Day 10 – Friday, May 13th – Gdansk
This morning we headed to the Archives in Pelplin to research more on my mom’s side of the family Melka.
We drove the countryside passing through the villages of Mieliczki, Osiek, and on to Skorcz to visit the church of All Saints.
We also stopped by a home that had a small shop inside which sold amber pieces and finished jewelry pieces. Of course, I bought several pieces to take home. We ended the day at another local restaurant on Sobieszewska Island near our lodge, Guesthouse Old Smokehouse.
Day 11 – Saturday, May 14th – Gdansk – Bialowieza
This morning, we drove 6 hours to Bialowieza. Our next lodging place will be the agrotourism house “Wisniowy Sad”. On the way we stopped in Tykocin to see the wetlands areas for birds and we stopped and walked around Tykocin Castle.
In Tykocin, we stopped at a small quaint restaurant called Tejsza which was very good. We headed to our final lodging place for this tour in Bialowieza.
The B&B called Wisniowy Sad was really nice. Our room was big and very comfortable with beautiful grounds. Breakfast was served on colorful polish pottery. Our host was a very delightful man.
Day 12 – Sunday, May 15th – Bialowieza
In the morning Dale met another local birder and birded in the Bialowieza Forest area. I had a restful morning and walked the neighborhood and took pictures of the area. I noticed my cell signal showed Brest, Belarus as my location. Out in the garden, the flowers were in full bloom. I noticed their dogwood blooms were gigantic.
We walked the grounds of the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas. We went to a Wildlife Watching Festival, where it was so nice to see local arts and crafts, jams and honey.
In the evening we ate at another local place, then met up with Arek Szymura, the local birder and looked for the Eurasian pygmy owl which was spotted. This owl was only 6½ inches long. After seeing the owl, Arek invited us to listen to him practice the church organ at his church Parafia Rzymskokatolicka pw. Sw. Teresy od Dzieciatka Jezus. (Roman Catholic of St. Teresa).
Day 13 – Monday, May 16th – Bialowieza – Warsaw
Today, we leave Bialowieza and it’s beautiful forests heading back to Warsaw to catch our flight back to the States. On our way we stop at the Bialowieza National Park to see the European Bison which are in the wild.
In Poland, in May in the countryside we saw many freestanding alters where the women would bring fresh flowers and pray each day.
Day 14 – Tuesday, May 17th – Flight home
Thank you PolishOrigins for this incredible customized tour you planned for us! I will never forget this once in a lifetime experience that brought me closer to my ancestors ❤
Mary