Sonia en Route

This will be my last view at a Mazury countryside for a while. I have enjoyed driving on its quiet roads, stopping at unexpected places, and  meeting people who looked at me curiously, wondering what do I find worthy of photographing in their villages. I am sure they thought that nothing ever happens there that would be interesting to others on the other side of the world. But they would be mistaken. Their villages remind me of how life used to be: unhurried, friendly to strangers, and peaceful.

Did you know that male storks come back (usually from Africa) every year to the same nests? Each spring they add a new layer of branches and twigs. A pair of storks usually has a couple of young, which is not surprising considering that by the end of the summer they will equal in size to their parents. The amount of frogs and other small reptiles they will have to catch to feed themselves and their offsprings is huge! The people consider themselves very lucky if the stork decides to build his nest on their roof or chimney. There is usually one nest in an area, but I have seen places where four or five pairs had their nests in one village. They are SO cute 🙂

Every village has a church. Here in the area they are sometimes made of stone. The stained glass windows in most of them are beautiful. If the church is open during the day, one may slip inside for a quiet moment of prayer and reflection.

That windmill was not in use, of course, but was very nicely rebuilt.