Last time I went to Hajnówka was probably about a “100 years ago”. It must have been 1994 or 1995 on a school trip. I don’t remember too much about it: singing Edyta Górniak’s “To nie ja byłam Ewą” song on the bus, a funny saying Kładka Żebra Żubra (a Polish tongue twister) and buying cheesy souvenirs at stands next to the bison reserve or around the entrance to the national park. I also remember my mother’s “joy” when she saw a plaster bison figure painted brown that appeared on our bookshelf suddenly. It was very stylish. At least for a 10-year-old girl 🙂

For years Białowieża was far from our travelling tracks, even though Łukasz kept talking about going there and tempted me with sweet haluski with cream. He knew what he was doing! 🙂 Right now, I’ll try to tempt you a little bit with the place itself and I’ll leave the haluski, varenyky and soljanka for “dessert”!

Last weekend, we left for Białowieża with our friends. 6 adults + 3 kids. When you travel with children, one of the first things you think about is obviously accommodation. I wrote about it numerous times, here for instance: we like to travel with our friends, put the kids to sleep and sit together, drink beer or wine and still know that the kids are safely asleep in their beds and if they start crying/screaming/ shouting “Mommyyy!” we’ll hear them.

So again, we need a house, an apartment or anything else with a big common room… We managed to find something like that in quite a magical area. Sioło Budy. Colourful houses designed to look old, a vast glade, Puszcza Białowieska nearby, delicious Belarusian meals in Karczma Osocznika and an open-air museum depicting an old Podlasie village on the spot. Let’s go!

Białowieża, Sioło Budy
our small house!
Sioło Budy, Białowieża
fairy-tale-like huts, only the weather is not too encouraging. But we’re doing good 🙂

Sioło Budy is located 10 kilometres from Białowieża, in the village of Budy. The complex offers 80 beds – wow, I didn’t notice that!

Our little house in Sioło Budy consisted of three bedrooms and one living room. We used the two rooms upstairs and the apartment downstairs. Fortunately there were no more people in the house! 🙂 Consider this lucky you travel with a company, especially with children. The rooms are spacious but there’s not much space to sit and talk when the kids are asleep.

There’s a separate living room in the apartment, separated from the bedroom with a curtain. That’s where we spent our evenings – quite loudly and with lots of laughs and stormy discussions 🙂 Fortunately Maks sleeps really hard and he didn’t mind us being loud. Other kids (2.5 years old and 1 year old) slept upstairs. Therefore it’s crucial, that the apartment is taken by a family with a child that can’t be woken up even with a grenade explosion 🙂 The rooms were cosy and old-school style, decorated with wood with some basketwork hung above the bed. There were modern and clean bathrooms in every room, sometimes even with a hairdryer. One other great advantage is the possibility to book 3 children’s beds at the time (maybe even more, I have to check that). The beds were waiting when we arrived, each of it inhabited by a teddy bear. Maks gave his a hug 🙂

Biggest disadvantage for us? Lack of small fridges in rooms or at least one in the common room. The fridge becomes useful during hot weather (not this time :)) and also if you travel with a kid and need to store yoghurt, Monte, wieners, juices and other things somewhere. What did we do? We kept all the stuff outside the window. Our friends, who took more supplies (they’re known camel packing style :)) kept it in the pots outside. Salami and other delicacies became a food for dogs overnight… or maybe for bisons 🙂

Sioło Budy, Białowieża, nocleg
a double room upstairs and a teddy sleeping in child’s bed 🙂

There’s quite a lot to do round the resort. There’s an inn called Karczma Osocznika serving haluski, varenyky and soljanka – specialties from the Borderlands. I write what’s worth trying in the next entry. The meals deserve it 🙂 Sioło Budy also offers The Arbour of the Master Hunter that’s used for barbecues and bonfires but the best thing around is the open-air museum. Or, when it comes to Maks’s opinion – the scarecrow. 🙂

Białowieża, Sioło Budy, Karczma Osocznika
a glade, a barbecue arbour and the open-air museum in the background
Białowieża, Sioło Budy
picturesque Sioło
na obiad do Karczmy Osocznika
going for lunch to Karczma Osocznika

We managed to eat 3 times at Karczma Osocznika! – two lunches and one dinner. We’re very glad that we did it 🙂 We love local food and always try to have a taste. Babka ziemniaczana at Karczma Osocznika was probably the best one I have ever tried!! And haluski turned out to be a simple yet delicious dessert. Check this out before our next culinary entry 🙂

haluszki, Sioło Budy, Białowieża, Karczma Osocznika
haluski (deep fried kopytka) — you must try them!

We visited the open-air museum on Sunday morning. You can see a genuine eastern household from the first half of 19th century there.

Włodzimierz Muśko is a guide here and he talks passionately and engagingly about the place. It’s hard to find a guide like this nowadays! He knows a lot, is a great storyteller, knows various anecdotes and stories. A visit in the open-air museum lasts about 1.5 hour, even though the place is quite small. We recommend it and if you’re travelling with a child, maybe draw lots to decide who’s going sightseeing and who’s going to run on the glade with a little one 🙂 Our little one was interested in three things: a scarecrow, a well and a “cradlesong” (a cradle for little ones from the 19th century :)) Other important things to do included throwing stones, climbing walls and benches (preferably ones wet after the rain), running into puddles of water (best way to do it is soaking your trousers while wearing wellingtons) and other things that are not necessarily desired while travelling in a company. Maks’s energy prevented him (and me) from listening to the story till the end.

Sioło Budy, Skansen, Włodzimierz Muśko
a hut from the 19th century
Skansen, Sioło Budy, Białowieża
in the open-air museum
Sioło Budy, BIałowieża, wieś podlaska, skansen
it’s worth looking inside!
Sioło Budy, Białowieża, skansen
tools
Sioło Budy, Białowieża, skansen, Włodzimierz Muśko
the guide, Włodzimierz Muśko, who really takes us back in time to 19th century Podlasie with his stories
Sioło Budy, Białowieża, skansen
inside the hut – “cradlesong”
Sioło Budy, BIałowieża, skansen
an icon decorated with an eastern Slavic embroidered towel

Despite the looks of our houses and the open-air museum nearby, the Sioło Budy complex was established in 2000 and some of the rooms are brand new –finished in 2010. Apart from the colourful houses with interesting names – each honours an important local figure – i.e. Bolesław the Blacksmith, the Tailor and the Weaver – you’ll find a Big House with a dining room and smaller rooms.

It’s also worth talking with Sergiusz Niczyporuk, a senior in the family that runs the resort. He’s a real guardian of tradition who tries to keep the it alive among young people from the area. He’s very happy that he managed to recreate the wooden structures as he is fascinated by wooden building style. The houses are decorated with unique woodcarvings that appeared in Podlasie during partitions. Supposedly Paul I of Russia wanted to spread the idea in Russia and in other lands that were under his command. His soldiers admired the decorations of wooden houses in the Alps in Tirol and Innsbruck, told him about it, and he decided to “give it a go” 🙂

Sioło Budy, Białowieża, Sergiusz Niczyporuk
tradition advocate Sergiusz Niczyporuk telling us about the past and present times

Sioło Budy is a great place to taste the tradition, try some local specialties in Karczma Osocznika (we’ll write about that tomorrow:)) and treat it as starting point for further tours. What tours? Soon you’ll know! 🙂 It’s also a great spot for a family trip with a child (fridges please!) because as you can imagine, the kids liked bisons…

If it only wasn’t for the weather. Maks didn’t care though 🙂 !!

Sioło Budy, podrózowanie z dzieckiem
happy Maks making a happy “face”

I wish the same high spirits to you, regardless of the weather 🙂 And Sioło Budy operates all year long, it looks great in the autumn and probably even more fairy-tale-like in the winter! 🙂 I already want to get back!

Practical info:

Sioło Budy

Budy 41

17-230 Białowieża Polska

T: +48 85 681 29 78

Booking and marketing cell. 660 681 274

rezerwacja@siolobudy.pl

PRICES OF THE HOUSES:

other prices: availavle at Sioło Budy website or on their Facebook fanpage

Prices for a double room:

Fri – Sat. PLN 199 breakfast included

Sun – Thu. PLN 169 breakfast included

Price for a room for 3: PLN 255 / PLN 239 respectively

Price for an apartment: PLN 300 / PLN 270 respectively