Hi guys!
Autumn was incredibly generous to us Ukrainians this year. Its latest marvelous gift was a really summer-line warm day, on Saturday 14th. The day I visited Landscape Park "Buky" located a little more than 100 km from Kyiv.
While I was visiting Krakow on the occasion of HiveBeeCon, my hubby got a nasty flu (hopefully it wasn't covid but we'll never know). On that day, he was still not fully recovered but I convinced him that it was a good idea to spend such a beautiful day outside the city, walking in nature and traveling in a car.
We didn't have air raid alerts here in Kyiv for 2 weeks and that day was totally normal. You know what I mean.馃檪 It was so warm that I was wearing a T-shirt (although Nick was wearing a fleece jacket over the basic layer thermal shirt 馃槼). 2 days later, on Monday the temperature went down from +22 to +10, accompanied by strong winds and rainy clouds. But I am not complaining because I had a perfect day indeed and made the most of it.
During our one-day trip around the Kyiv region, we visited a landscape park and one unusual place I recently learned about, but this post is totally dedicated to the park.
Buky Park
The park is named after the village Buky where it is situated. It stands on a small and beautiful river Rostavytsia. These hills and picturesque boulders were described in his works by the famous Ukrainian writer Ivan Nechuy-Levytskyi, and not only him. Looking at this beauty, I would like to be a poet and write poems...
But not on that day. We were not the only ones who decided to take advantage of the good combination of great weather and a day off. There were a lot of people here, groups of schoolchildren, nervous couples, older people and even a whole wedding. That's why we didn't stay here for long.
Anyway, back to the place. In the early 90s, when the USSR collapsed and Ukraine became poor but independent, there was a garbage dump here. It is hard to believe that in those difficult times, there was a man whose name Ivan Suslov, a local entrepreneur and philanthropist who bought 2.7 hectares of land and turned this place into a picturesque park. He also built an estate for his family here. Everything we saw was made with a lot of love and creativity.
The park is divided into two parts. Entrance to the first part is free. The first thing you can see is a large fountain in the center of a small square, followed by a church and a tall bell tower. Nick immediately spotted this huge fountain, and he was right. This is the fountain that stood in Kyiv on Maidan Nezalezhnosti square before its reconstruction, which most of my friends consider ugly (and so do I). This fountain was purchased, decorated with lightning, and placed here. It's still unclear why it is called "Roulette".
There was a lovely photo zone arranged here. But there wasn't a tiny chance that I could sit there for a few moments (which was not enough for Nick to take even a single picture of me). So... here are some "fragments".
The second part was supposed to have an entrance fee, but on that "happy day" it was free of charge but ... some parts were closed such as a small zoo and the Alley of Fairy Tales. Or at least for individual visitors who didn't buy a tour. Lucky unlucky.
There is a hotel, restaurant and summer cafe on the territory.
The Maison on the hill is probably the family estate of I. Suslov.
The combination of plants, trees and wild grapes, red brick walls and white columns and statues, all is especially beautiful now, in October. Therefore, it is not surprising that there are so many visitors.
By the way, the large bridge that leads to the estate is made in such a way that when the water rises (perhaps on purpose), the pedestrian part of the bridge is almost entirely underwater, except for special elevations along the railings. Thanks to Nick, I wouldn't have guessed it.
"The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold..."
Would you believe I took all the following pictures with my smartphone? I was greatly surprised too.
In the graceful openwork gazebo in the photo on the right, there is a statue of an angel holding a stone in his hands. I overheard a conversation about how this stone was brought from Israel, namely from Cana of Galilee, where Jesus turned water into wine. By touching this stone, you will receive blessings, love and prosperity. This is another reason why this park is so popular as a place for wedding ceremonies.
I also heard a conversation about "you should re-photograph me because the double chin is visible in these photos." Probably not for this post.
That's it. I think I can come here again, maybe in spring, and maybe on a day that is not so crowded, and take a tour of the closed part. As you can see, it is a very nice idea for a family weekend.
I took more pictures on the way back. I was a driver and no one could stop me from stopping whenever I saw a lovely view. 馃榿
An interesting observation. As we were walking around the landscape park I heard a young girl say "So, is this the last warm day today". Quite innocent phrase that I would ignore 2 years ago. But now her "the last day" ...
She didn't mean it literally, of course. And I was thinking about it. In the Ukrainian language, we have the same word for "the latest" as for "the last". Many Ukrainians started using (misusing actually) another word to avoid ambiguity that might hurt someone mentally. What I am getting at, Ukrainian language is very rich lexicographically but I found the case when Egnlish is more precise.
Well, time to say Good Buy! See you around!
馃枻 