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Bielowieza Forest

Posted 14/5/2019

Primeval forests...or at least forests that are as close to primeval forests as European forests can get.

This is how Renata, our guide into the restricted area of the Bialowieza forest, put it.  It was interesting to hear how the hunting interests (of the Russian Tsars, before them: of the Polish-Lithuanian kings, after them: of the occupying German Nazis) led to the protection of this forest. She also confirmed that the political climate in Poland is currently rather difficult for nature protection, and stressed how important pressure from abroad is...

 

We had cycled - again mostly on the Greenvelo route - from Biala Podlaska to Bialowieza (a stretch which coincides with EuroVelo route 2, but no indication found), crossing the river Bug which, in this corner of Poland, ceases to be the border between Poland and Belarus.

Encouraged by our experience with the visa-waivers (see previous blog entry), we also did a day trip on our tandem into the Belarussian part (much calmer) of this UNESCO biosphere reserve. The border checkpoint just a few km south-east of Bialowieza is exclusively reserved for pedestrians/hikers and cyclists.