Summer tourists
by malwina_ielts7 on October 3, 2007
in students
Have you ever thought about places in Białystok which can attract foreign tourists? If you were to name a few you would surely mention the Branicki Palace, park, cathedral and maybe some museum. Nothing more misleading. I faced that problem while I was expecting guests from Germany at the beginning of August. I planned a bit of sightseeing during the day, ending with watching the colourful fountains as the major attraction for the evening. But when they finally arrived, things went slightly different from what I had planned. The thing that amazed them the most was Bar Podlasie - always overcrowded, with dozens of dishes to choose from, and all quite cheap. It was really funny wach my guests taking EVERY dish on their plates and eating with great enthusiasm. And I still wonder what else could have impressed them in Białystok more than food. Maybe you know such places?
I feel for you. I often host guests from the US and I never know what to show them. This is what I’ve come up with so far:
* Supraśl – a great collection of Orthodox icons at the monastery;
* Tykocin – the synagogue, even better when your guests are Jewish;
* Jurowce – the musuem of Polish rural heritage
* Kurowo – The Narew National Park, you stroll along the river listening to the sounds of nature and admiring breathtaking views;
* Białowieża – make sure your guests bring back the bison grass from that trip;
* Augustów – self explanatory;
* the Branicki Palace – not so nice as it’s being redone now, but still worth seeing;
* Bar Podlasie – haven’t tried that one yet ;)
This may sound a bit like another boring tourist atraction of Białystok but one of my favourite spots in this city are the walls around Kościół Św. Rocha. Particurally, the front of it, by the statue of Jesus the Good Shepherd. This is how to explore the place. Go there preferably in the evening (although it’s nice both during day and night). As you approach the statue try to look up (not to spoil the view). Climb the church walls and stand by the statue – (careful – this requires some amount of courage). Now look down the Lipowa St. You can see it all the way down to the gates of the Branicki’s Palace. Feel the wind blowing in your face. Enjoy the view.
Hmm it sounds interesting but I think that there is another way to ” feel the wind blowing in your face “:) I don’t want to write about atractions of Białystok because everything I could say have been just mentioned above. What I want to say is that there is very nice and exciting activity you can do near Białystok on Great Mazuria Lakes (I don’t think it is named correctly, so correct if you know how). I LOVE sailing and if I had guests from another country, I would be very happy to show them how big pleasure is to spend time with fantastic people playing guitar, singing, laughing and just doing nothing. And night port-life is also electrifying:) Some discos in villages like Wilkasy can make much more pleasure than discos in our city…So If you only have opportunity to try this amazing sport, don’t think even for a while, just do it and encourage your friends(or guests) too:)
I faced that problem too. It was two years ago. I had a school change with Germany. When they had came we took them to Białowieża and Augustów. They were really fascinated about this wild and pristine forest. But if we’re talking about Białystok only, it could be a problem to find an interesting and not popular place which can really attract them. I thought about orthodox church on Antoniukowska and Lipowa street. It seems to me that there is no such temples. You can show them also Jewish Cementary and tell something about multicultural history of our city. What is more? I think Białystok is not only some relics. Białystok is calm, cosy atmosphere, friendly people and great good. It would be nice if they felt it. They should also taste pierogi with berries and cream. That’s my favourite polish dish.