Blogs from Minsk Voblast, Belarus, Europe - page 4

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Europe » Belarus » Minsk Voblast » Minsk July 30th 2014

Belarus is arguably Europes last great unknown, I don't personally know anyone who has been here and considering the difficulties and the expense I can understand why. After the dramas of arrival yesterday was easy I went out on a tour to a couple of local sights, Mir and Nyasvizh castles both were well worth while, both have been extensively renovated and the Belarussians are very well organised so I had no problems. On my return to Minsk I met Misha and Olla for dinner before they showed me around the older part of town, I checked out the KGB building (the KGB still exists here), followed by the palace of the proletariat, the palace of soldiers and the palace of sport. We then wandered down to the river and checked out the memorial to Afghanistan ... read more
Barbaric and deadly
Horse helms
Mir Castle

Europe » Belarus » Minsk Voblast » Minsk May 10th 2014

Vykopanie z postele uz o 8/30, pomalicky som sa pobalil, dopisal dennik a zrazu bolo 10/00. Vtedy vstali uz aj moji hostitelia. Obchod, kupa ranajok. V mhd uz cvakam listok, predsa uz neni sviatok tak nebudem riskovat. Vyskakujem na moskovskej zastavke. odtialto kludny krokom idem k narodnej kniznici. Zaujimava stavba. Pred nou si v mini parciku davam ranajky. Salat s velkym rozkom. Klasicke rozky ako u nas su tu neni. Vsetko len zabalene vo folie a dost velke. Obdalec si sadli opilci. Pri kniznici si sadam do parku blizko fontany a relaxujem. Na druhej strany vozovky oproti kniznici je zaujimavo vyzdobene sidlisko. Na cinziakoch su pomalovane velke svate ornamenty. Ku kniznici sa zbiehalo dost turistov tak som sa pomalicky pobral na metro a smer bus stanica. V metre mensi sok, policajt po mne chcel aby som ... read more

Europe » Belarus » Minsk Voblast » Minsk May 9th 2014

Z rozkladacej postele som sa vykopal okolo 9/00. Navsteva obchodu, kupa vody v supermarkete a smer oslava 9/5. Stas hovoril,ze voda co som vcera vylial bola dobra, len to bola specialna mineralna voda. Odteraz uz kupujem len klasicku vodu. Z vodovou je vraj pitna voda ale zatial som nikoho nevidel zeby ju pil. V Hrodne mali domaci dokonca este specialnu filtracnu nadobu na vodu. CS ma nepotesil, bo ziadna vojenska technika v uliciach nebude, iba par dzipov. Vojenska prehliadka byva niekedy v juni/juli. Mensi zadrhel pri kupe listkov na mhd, kuoval som v trafike, tam ma odporucili aby som siel asi o 2m kde specialna budka na listky. V elektricke dost ludi, skoro vsetci vystupili pri victory square. Este z elektricky som videl vojenske dzipi. Slavnost uz koncila ale i tak tu bola este kopa ludi ... read more

Europe » Belarus » Minsk Voblast » Minsk May 8th 2014

Rano sa mi moc veru nechcelo. Rozlucka s CS a smer MHD. Bus prisiel cca o 5.min. Inak vcera som uz isiel modernejsim busom, uz nebolo treba trieskat dlanou do oznacovaca, uz tam bola klasicka packa:) Samozrejme, ze som nakoniec vystupil na inej zastavke ako som povodne chcel ale rozdiel od bus stanice zhruba len 5.min. Konecne sa zacina oteplievat, uz mi staci len bunda a kratke tricko. Bus bol stara vykopavka, nepohodlne sedacky, vobec sa tam nedalo spat. Pred odchodom busu nabehla do busu tetula, pokontrolovala listky a mohlo sa vyrazit. Celu cestu som pocuval mp3. mam mensi problem doma som zabudol kabel na nabijacku,tak pocitam,ze este dva-tri dni a skape. Do Navahrudaka sme mali jednu zastavku, cesta nezaujimava, lesy, polia a mini dedinky. Zaujimave bolo, ze len ja v kratkom tricku, ostatny naobliekany. Po ... read more

Europe » Belarus » Minsk Voblast » Minsk September 29th 2013

Night train from Warsaw to Minsk...in a Belarussian train....the fun is starting. The great news is that they have compartment of 3 berths...perfect for us...even including a small sink. I would simply call it comfortable and clean. In the middle of the night, at the border, they change the wheels as we are entering the former USSR rail system. The kids were deeply asleep and I didn't bother waking them up, as I had already lived the experience between Romania and Moldova just a month ago. Border crossing was also pretty smooth...two kids and a Dad...that brings a lot of smiles! We spent a good 24 hours on our way to the East in Minsk, Belarus. One more country and one more capital for me. Minsk, not much is written about the city when it comes ... read more
Night train from Warsaw to Minsk
Minsk
Main Street downtown

Europe » Belarus » Minsk Voblast » Minsk May 30th 2013

Arriving in Minsk from Vitebsk, I hopped straight in a taxi to King Hostel, hoping and praying it would be better than the last one. I'd specifically booked my own room for a whopping £27 per night, so I was keeping everything crossed. The room was amazing! I had a double bed, a widescreen TV, surround sound, a balcony, a sofa and an armchair. Loving the room so much, I spent the whole afternoon in there, Skyping and catching up with friends. In the evening, I took a leisurely stroll around the lake and grabbed a few supplies from the supermarket for my bus ride the next evening. On my way through the Trinity area, I passed by the Isle of Tears, a memorial commemorating the Soviet soldiers from Belarus that died during the war with ... read more
The chapel on the Isle of Tears
The Isle of Tears' chapel

Europe » Belarus » Minsk Voblast » Minsk May 25th 2013

So, the bus ride was pretty uneventful, and for once, there was an English-speaking attendant, so I didn't have the usual awkward sign-language crap when trying to decipher what was being said to me. The scenery was beautiful; striking green fields as far the eye could see, broken up by the odd little town or village. Border control was pretty strict but disorganised, and other than the fact that I wasn't sweating like a whore in church, I could've sworn I was back in Asia. There was a lot of waiting around with my heavy-arse backpack on (not that I'm complaining - I'm glad to have it back!), and even though I could've put it down, leaving it on was better than lifting it every time we moved a few steps. Note: anyone planning to visit ... read more
Minsk Central

Europe » Belarus » Minsk Voblast March 26th 2013

Woke up with the sun poking through a gap in the curtains of the dorm room, looks like it is going to be a nice day, Mindas and I got ready to start the day, we decided to visit the little town of Mir, where they have a castle sitting atop a small hill, we saw the fotos from a book in the hostel, looked nice. But then Andrew(the cuckoo) invited himself and his girlfriend! But at least he was the one who figured out the schedule and which bus to take etc, so we all got ready, the girlfriend Tania arrived on a taxi and we came down to meet her at the front of the hostel, but aside from Andrew, me and Mindas, Andrei from Gomel who is also staying in the hostel wants ... read more
Mir
Minsk
Minsk

Europe » Belarus » Minsk Voblast March 24th 2013

Snow started to fall as I wait at Logan airport for my flight, luckily we left on time, 6 hours I was in cloudy Paris, still in a daze I followed directions towards my connecting flight and eventually ended up in a long queue of people at the Immigration,I got stamped in no time and off I go. I found the gate where AirBaltic is leaving from but it was delayed by half hour, I don't mind as I dozed off at the waiting area, eventually making it to Riga, grabbed my backpack, bought my fare to Bus #22 at a kiosk just before leaving the arrivals hall, soon as I got out I can feel the crisp Arctic air, it's about 15 F with wind chills, crap, I thought it's supposed to be spring already... ... read more
Minsk
Minsk
Minsk

Europe » Belarus » Minsk Voblast » Minsk January 1st 2013

Такси прибыло ровно в 11 как и договаривались. Все же некоторые умудрились остаться после новогодней ночи способными на дальние поездки за рулем. Скажу спасибо таксисту за сдержанное слово и пожелаю удачи в новом году. В аэропорту было совершенно нечем занятся и соответственно скучно. Хорошо что хоть выехали не очень рано а то заплесневели бы в ожидании рейса. Минский аэропорт весьма мал и поэтому прохождение всех формальностей не затянулось. 15 минут и мы оказались в крохотном зале ожидания с пластиковыми стульями. После добрых минут 40 ожидания, наконец-то обьявили посадку. А Белавия все таки молодцы. Новенькие, просторные и уютные самолеты и приветливый экипаж оставил желание возвращаться. Пилот не только отлично справлялся со своими прямыми обязанностями а также подрабатывал гидом-экскурсоводом что приятно удивило. Комментарии вроде: " Слева от нас остался город порт Кали... read more




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