There are regions of Poland which draw in extraordinary people. They usually move there from big cities and create extraordinary communities of unique non-residents. You can find such creative heads in, among others, Beskid Niski, in the Dylewo Hills, in the Izery Mountains and right here - in the Białowieża Forest. Maybe they are tempted by the wild nature, the sounds of rutting, the sight of bison in the morning, or maybe just life tastes like a meringue cake that can be eaten with any number of toppings.

We have always dreamed of leaving the big city. We wanted to leave our Warsaw apartment blocks, set up a garden, watch peonies bloom and make preserves. The search for the yard with the well centred around Białowieża because we were always intrigued by the stuffiness of Podlasie and this is where our friends settled. Białowieża, however, turned out to be unattainable, while the unknown Suszczy Borek, on the western side of the Forest, was a revelation. A farmstead of the village of Podlewkowo with 8 farms - an ideal place for a quiet life. Not so commercial and popular, but much more of a village and quiet. Suszczy Borek charmed us with the proximity of the forest and the river, meadows as smooth as a tabletop, where deer graze, and we feel the kindness of our neighbours.

In the new reality, we finally feel in place. We have our house in the green yard, and right next to the one with guest rooms, there is a well with spring water, a place for a fire and an oven from which bread, pizza and preserves are slowly made in the kitchen with fireplaces. This is just a prelude to a culinary recital because we practice a new repertoire in the kitchen. From the nettle picked in the garden, we make soup, we turn the dandelions into syrup from God's pharmacy, we serve the cabbage rolls in the style of Podlasie because they are wrapped in sauerkraut leaves. Apparently, it is only here in Podlasie that cabbage is pickled in this way: with the whole heads. When the zucchini plays the first fiddle, we cook to the top - soup, lecsó, grill, chutney - always veg, simple, homemade.

All shades of green behind the windows, and Narewka right behind the house, across the meadow. In spring it is buzzing and the smell is wafting around, the storks move into the nest and observe our entire estate from above. Everything turns pink in the evening. Even a stork. At night we invite you to concerts outside the window: nightingales in spring, crickets all summer, and a rut in the fall. Crickets are effectively drowned out by the roars of lovebird deer, you will remember these performances for the rest of your life.

Come look for traces of wolves, for culture in the wild, for natural flavours, admiring bison and lazing around. Individually, family or group; dogs, cyclists, hikers or canoeists - we invite you in any configuration.

In a house immersed in nature, in the Podlasie village, in the Ladzka Forest, under a stork's nest. In a wooden house, designed exclusively for your needs, with a view of the garden, forest and our house on the other side of the yard. We do not accept televisions. The local nature program is broadcast 24 hours a day. In the meadow by the house, deer shine with their white tails, a stork clatters overhead, and the nearby meadows, river and forest serve up a whole cacophony of sounds and colors. The drawing of mighty trees against the background of the darkening sky is one of the most beautiful pre-evening pictures. "Framed" windows are a favorite decoration of the house, changing every evening. In summer, the terrace covered in peonies is an invitation to blissful relaxation. A bonfire burns, the forest rustles, bread browns in the oven, and the hydrangea grove hums with bees.

In the wooden house we have 5 cozy rooms with bathrooms for a total of 14 people.

Upstairs: 4 rooms - each with a double and a single bed, to live as singles, doubles or family threes.

Downstairs: 1 room - an apartment with a double bed and comfortable armchairs. In addition, there is a common area. A living room with a fireplace, wrap-around armchairs, a sofa, a sideboard with a music station and a home-made, fully equipped kitchen. Here you meet other guests, talk or not, read, cook, relax, play board games.

In the garden, there is a place for a bonfire, a pizza and barbecue oven, and a kitchen with fires.

Dogs are welcome.

You can cook, because at home you have a bright communal kitchen equipped to the ceiling. You can also eat with us. We try not to throw it away, draw from nature and traditions, buy from local suppliers and eat vegetables. You can order breakfasts and dinners, all in the vegetarian version. Our cooking is hard to put into any frame. The main thing is seasonally, freshly fresh: beetroot spinach with tzatziki, asparagus for lasagne with salmon and rhubarb for rustic tart. Then the aquamarine pre-harvest dishes: leek cream soup and pea risotto. Spring harvest. Broth vegetables end up in the basket many times, but not here. We make neat chops out of them. With the addition of cucumber salad or as a contribution to vegeburgers.

We often draw from the traditions of other countries and present them in the Podlasie edition. To warm up, Lebanese lentil soup - with native tomatoes and onions, then American "crab cakes" with smoked fish instead of crab meat (because where to get crab meat?) And Italian tiramisu with Polish mascarpone - heaven in your mouth guaranteed.

We also like simple: krupnik and lazy with sugar. Vegetables like at Grandma's: carrots with peas, fried beetroots, breaded mushrooms (instead of minced), potato, celery and carrot fries and the obligatory salad made from sauerkraut.

We also practice applied weedology, because weeds grow fastest in the garden. For example, such a ground elder - turns up the taste of potato gratin, and nettles end up in the soup.

Greenery pushes itself to the windows, birds sing, storks clatter, and deer flee in panic from the eyes of curious voyeurs. Flowers adorned with dew expose themselves to the sun, and we run barefoot to the garden for strawberries. You can still nibble on mint, because it tastes delicious with fruit. In our Podlasie village, life is peaceful. The rhythm of life is in line with the seasons, and nature provides entertainment. Ladzka Forest, Białowieża Forest, walks, observing nature, bikes, strolls, kayaks, sleepy lying, bonfires, cooking, reading and from time to time great cultural events in the area. It is like home, only a grandma's home, where time slowed down and went into slow gear.

For us, the forest is the cure for all evil. And in Ladzka Forest, right on our doorstep, we still have many undiscovered and untrodden paths. Suszczy Borek is a village located in the Narewka River valley, in a forest clearing of the Ladzka Forest, on the western side of the Białowieża Forest. One of the Green Velo bike trails runs through the village, so we recommend taking two wheels with you, because the area looks outstanding from the perspective of the saddle. Our area has not been affected by the devastating felling of trees and there is no ban on entering the forest, so you can freely enjoy the smell of damp moss, pine cones and mushrooms.

You already know a bit about the area, now it's time for specifics:

Narewka is a beautiful village located 6 km from us. You will find many wooden Podlasie houses here. There is an Orthodox church, an old church, a Jewish cemetery, shops, a post office, restaurants. However, the most important is the Narewka River flowing through the village. In the village you can rent kayaks and go rafting down the picturesque and wild river valley.

Siemianówka Reservoir (8 km) is an artificial reservoir on the Narew River, attractive for anglers, but also for recreational swimmers. There are hiking and cycling paths around the Reservoir. It is an excellent place to observe water birds during spring and autumn migrations. You must visit and pay homage to the Guardian of the Forest - the Dunin Oak, which was hailed as the European Tree of the Year 2021 (11 km). Białowieża - 25 km along the "Narewków" road through the Forest or 40 km through Hajnówka. There is more than enough to see and do there. There is a European Bison Show Reserve, Palace Park with a viewing tower, the Nature Museum, the Strict Reserve (admission only with a licensed guide). Trails: Place of Power, European Bison Ribs, Forest Landscapes. Horse-drawn carriage rides, bike rental (in the winter season - cross-country). In the Białowieża National Park (access from the Gruszki forest district or from Narewka through Janowo) the Kosy Most and Wilczy Szlak wilderness with a bison sanctuary and a viewing tower.

Despite the wilderness, thickets and reserve, there are few savages here. Mainly cultured people who like to bring to the Forest an intelligentsia, tolerance, song, joy and entertainment at the highest level. Even in the city you will not find so many interesting festivals, meetings, grassroots initiatives and world events:

- Poetry in the Forest, the Wild is Beautiful Festival in Białowieża, Wertep - International Street Theatre Festival, and apart from that fairs, harvest festivals, concerts
and many others.

Take rubber boots, binoculars, clothes that are suitable for camouflage and for the terrain. You have to tread carefully and look under your feet, because that is where the tracks are hidden. Of wolves, wild boars, roe deer, bison, cranes. Birds and frogs can be observed from a kayak while sailing along the Narewka, and the surrounding wilderness in the Białowieża Forest from the observation tower and in the bison refuge "Kosy Most".