Białystok runs!

As you remember, I have come to Białystok to take part in a special event - a series of street runs, called "Białystok biega" or "Białystok runs".

The main part of the event was localised next to the Puppet Theater.

The final stretch was between the theater and the new Opera house in Białystok that houses the regional Opera and Filharmonic.

The Opera house is maybe not very impressive from the outside ...

... but the main entrance promises nice design of the interior.

When I arrived, the ground floor was full of people getting ready for the run. There were special runs for different age categories, starting from those three years old.

Let's climb up the stairs.

The concert hall was obviously closed. So I could admire the musicians only on pictures. They seem to enjoy what they do.

And a look back (and down).

There is one more surprising feature about this building. Let's go outside again and look for some stairs. They should be somewhere at the end of this corridor.

Well, the opera house has on its roof a garden and an observation deck! A bit like the Library of the Warsaw University.

In the back you can see the open air stage.

The rooftop offers also a nice panorama of the city.

And this is what the dome over the main entrance looks like in details.

Alright, time to go down again. Here is the finish line, the runners will arrive soon.

* * * 

I am proud to tell you that my human family has brought home two medals. Next time I hope they will have a race for horses too.

Park of the Branicki Family

Hello everybody! My cousin Ralph has entertained you for the last three weeks but now I am back, ready to present you some of my recent trips. I need a moment to put together all the memories from my last trip with Aleksandra. One reason for this is that I keep on being busy all the time. Like last weekend - I went to Białystok for a special event. I will describe it to you next time. Before that, I want to show you a special place in Białystok that I did not show you last time we were there. My schedule was busy again so I only had half an hour just before this special event. As a result, you will be able to admire the Park of the Branicki family in the morning mist. So take your scarves and let' run - the area is pretty big.

Braniccy were an aristocratic family that ruled this part of Poland (called Podlasie) for many years. The palace in which they lived and the surrounding park are known as Versailles of Podlasie. Let's enter by the main gate.

The park and the palace are embraced by a wall. After passing the main gate we can spot the lawns and a little lake with a fountain.

Let's approach the palace. It is one of the best preserved aristocratic palaces in Poland. It was built in late seventeenth century in baroque style.

Nowadays, the palace houses the Medical University of Białystok. Therefore, you can find here the Museum of the History of Medicine and Pharmacy. Unfortunately it was closed on a Sunday early morning.

On top of the main building you can see Atlas, the titan from the Greek mythology, who is supposed to carry the Earth on his shoulders.

I also liked these armoured figures on the right - they reminded me of the ones that I have seen at Les Invalides in Paris.

Let's now pass these columns. In between, you can already spot the park.

Those of you who know a bit more about European parks from the seventeenth and eigtheenth century know that they can be widely divided into two major types. English landscape gardens pretend to be more or less wild so embracing nature as it is (or would have been) without human presence. On the other hand French formal gardens are living sculptures, demonstrating the power of man over nature.

Well, the Branicki park has it all. It is located on two levels. The lower one is an English garden.

We will find there a little river, trees and some benches.

The upper part, located in the direct neighborhood of the palace, is a French garden. Let's climb the stairs then.

I have not yet been to Versailles but it definitely looks a lot like Tuileries, with many sculptures, perpendicular lanes and ...

... wonderful flower carpets.

The view from this part of the palace must have been fantastic.

I am sure that you have noticed that the upper part of the garden does not have benches. Well this is because it has another nice place to rest.

Let's have a last look at the lower part of the garden, as seen from the upper level.

There I see one of the many gates. I suggest we take it. Actually we have to speed up a bit to make sure we are on time for the main event that has brought us to Białystok.

So - let's run!

Białystok

Białystok is a city in the North-East of Poland. In this part of the country you can feel better then anywhere what "cold" means. Still, if you put a warm coat on (and a warm hat too), you can see some interesting buildings there.

In the first place you can have a look at the Market Square of Kościuszko. Actually it is more a street than a square.

It starts with the roman catholic cathedral devoted to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

Then, you can see the historical museum. In front of it you will see the statue of Marchal Piłsudski, similar to the one that I have shown you in Warsaw, near Belweder.

Finally, you will arrive at a square, with the Town Hall in the middle. Actually, the Town Hall has never been the seat of any local government. Before World War II it used to be a trading place, a kind of old-fashioned shopping mall. Nowadays it houses the museum of the Podlasie region.

The Town Hall is surrounded by some nice residential houses, who used to belong to rich merchants.

What I liked best was however the fountain.

Besides the Market Square, you should also see the Lipowa Street.

The tall building at its end is the church of st. Roch.

And yes, there are quite many churches in Białystok, like in many other Polish cities. The peculiarity of Białystok is that there are many orthodox living there. So besides the catholic cathedral they also have an orthodox cathedral, devoted to St. Nicolas.

Białystok used to belong to the aristocratic family Branicki. They had a beautiful palace, surrounded by a wonderful park. They are both open to the public now. But to go there in winter is even more absurd than to have a market square that is not square or a town hall without the mayor. So I will take you there on some other occasion.