I called by last weekend and again today, to approach it from different angles and get a feel for the spirit of the place.
Below: if this were England, the building at the top of the lane would be a pub - the Royal Oak, the Fox and Hounds, the Crown - something like that; a place to rest my legs and sup back a frothy pint of ale before continuing my journey. A tin of insipid beer from a village shop isn't something I'd pause for - even if there were a shop here. Which there isn't, but then everyone has a car. I even spotted some electric cars!
Left: looking north from the edge of Hipolitów, towards the settlement's furthest-flung house. I am getting a strong vibe around here, that rural-USA-1940's feel.
Below: a small farm in Hipolitów, as seen from the road running into Sułkowice, ulica Ogrodowa ('garden street').
Below: track running through the significant tracts of forest to the west of Hipolitów; sandy soil - birch, aspen and fir predominate. These are state-owned forests - Lasy Państwowe. Here and there, patches of heathland, where no trees grow, only low scrub.
Below: track running through the significant tracts of forest to the west of Hipolitów; sandy soil - birch, aspen and fir predominate. These are state-owned forests - Lasy Państwowe. Here and there, patches of heathland, where no trees grow, only low scrub.
Below: a homage to Ansel Adams' Aspens.
Below: descending from the forest into Hipolitów from the west. Unlike my local forest above Jakubowizna, there's no sign of recent tree-felling activity around here. Lasy Państwowe has felled as much timber in 2022 as in the past five preceding years.
Below: houses begin to appear, new ones at that - it's quite likely that the population has grown since 2018, with newcomers' cars bearing Warsaw or Piaseczno plates. The current online map of the local authority shows 24 individual plots - a mixture of brand new energy-efficient houses and tumbledown wooden cottages.
Below: altared states. Traditional wayside chapel, Hipolitów. Most villages around here will have one.
Below: view from the bridge, looking down the road towards Sułkowice. Note the yellow post by the side of the road, indicating the presence of a recently laid gas pipeline to Hipolitów.
Below: view from the bridge II - looking south towards Chynów beyond the treeline. The river Czarna flows north, eventually reaching the Vistula near Czersk.
Below: just across the bridge, around the corner, the border.
Left: looking north from the edge of Hipolitów, towards the settlement's furthest-flung house. I am getting a strong vibe around here, that rural-USA-1940's feel.
Below: a bit more of that same vibe... a row of medium-tension pylons bringing electrical power to rural communities. The police-dog training school is behind the trees to the right of this picture.
Below: hard to believe that this is a river valley - the Czarna is down there somewhere... well before the treeline... Such flat lands flood easily.
Below: blink and you'll miss it - the roadsign to Hipolitów from ulica Ogrodowa. The one way in by car.
One by one, I am visiting all settlements surrounding Jakubowizna to a radius of 5km on foot; still a few to go. Quiet, peaceful and pleasant.
This time two years ago:
Your life: a miracle - or just something that happened?
Your life: a miracle - or just something that happened?
This time five years ago:
The evolution of the biosphere cannot be predicted
This time six years ago:
Jeziorki meltdown in the fog
This time seven years ago:
Health, happiness and wholeness
This time eight years ago:
Kicking off Lent again
This time nine years ago:
Improving the procurement of Poland's infrastructure
This time ten years ago:
Wait to spend or save lives now? An infrastructure quandary
This time 14 years ago:
It's not rich countries that build roads, its roads that build rich countries
This time 15 years ago:
Snow that was doomed to melt
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