Hi!
It was a dark morning. In October, the sun comes later. At 7 something I called a taxi. Very cold. The taxi driver asked:
- Please show me that map where your bus is.
I showed. We arrived on time, even a little earlier. It was cold. There was no bus, but other people were waiting. So I knew that it was the right place.
- It was almost 8 am. Sunday people usually sleep or enjoy a slow breakfast at such an early time. So these ones are waiting for the same bus.
37 of us made a decision to visit that park in Uman. Sofiyivka Park. I have heard of it before.
- It is beautiful, - my Mom said.
- It is beautiful, - my sports coach said.
- It should be beautiful, - I thought.
It was.
Rainy. It was rainy when we arrived in Uman. I took an umbrella (but I forgot it on the bus) and a bottle of still water (I discovered that I hadn't forgotten it, an unnecessary thing on a cold and rainy day).
I left my group and decided to enjoy the park anyway. I took pictures of water drops on leaves, listened to the tiny waterfalls, and wondered who sat on those amazing benches, maybe even she? Sofia.
In 1796, her husband started building this park. Five years later, he presented it as a gift for his wife's Angel Day. He wanted to expand it to 500 hectares. But he died, and the park is (only) 180 hectares. He was one of the richest men of that time. Stanislav Potockiy, Polish count.
Sofia was considered one of the most beautiful women of that time.
It seems that it was a true love.
The park is amazing. Even on a grey, rainy day like the one I walked along it. I enjoyed the beauty and dreamed of a hot cup of coffee.
I found the coffee later. There were some coffee spots in the park, but I sincerely asked:
- Is your coffee good?
On that day, I had only terrible coffee. But beautiful emotions. Sometimes, even I am ready to sacrifice good coffee for the sake of beauty.
But I got a gift. The sun. It was so unexpected that I couldn't believe it. It was still cold, but that sun managed to warm my heart. My hands. My eyes. My emotions.
I want to show you some pictures kissed and hugged by that unexpected sun.
Even pictures love the sun.
On that day, I felt something very close to happiness. For a while, I could forget about the wars and all the evil that sometimes comes to people's hearts. For a while, I thought we could create a paradise on Earth.
Many (or all, I'm not an expert) religions teach that people should find/gain/deserve paradise. But maybe the task is harder. Maybe we should create it.
I don't know.
But I'm doing what I can. I can show you the beauty, praise the beauty, and look for beauty.
Ok. Let's finish for today. And before I go, I want to assure you that we do our best to keep that park safe. That amazing legacy of love.
Hope you will have a nice week and find some beauty in these turmoil times,
Yara (or Yaroslava)
