Blogs from Belarus, Europe - page 10

So here we are. Minsk. Who would have thought a place with such an amusing name could be so grey. And that goes for the people as well as the weather. We have arrived safely, if a little tired and dizzy spending 21hours cramped into a tiny cabin with the bag lady from Moscow taking up all available space and not a soul speaking English - which would have been ok if we weren't glared at by every person in the carriage every time we walked anywhere - or anyone walked passed us (aparently a glare is the same as "please excuse me I'm coming though" over here!) Not that we're bitter - we decided on this trip and the route and I'm sure the building of character will do us wonders when we encounter downright ... read more

Arriving in Minsk on a warm Monday afternoon, I half-expected the place to be set in black and white like an old war film. I expected serious, moustachioed men in beige trenchcoats and sunglasses to exchange briefcases in dark alleyways, stopping only to utter something like "Red Fox, November in Sevastopol is always clement" before scurrying off. For Belarus is technically a dictatorship, run by controversial president Aleksander Lukashenko, who encourages homophobia, xenaphobia, and has gotten away with tweaking the constitution to ensure he has stayed in power for 14 years. The KGB is still in operation out of a massive, grand yellow monstrosity in Independence Prospect (the main street) and it is one of only two remaining countries in Europe where UK citizens require a visa to enter or travel through (the other being Russia). ... read more

Again we must begin with apologies to our regular readers for the lateness of todays entry. We have made it to the Crimea, but the lack of internet facilities in the resort town of Yalta is quite astounding...more on this southern tip of the Ukraine at a later date though, as we must fill you in on one of the most interesting places we have visited thus far... Minsk, Belarus All the guidebooks (including the one that was unfortunately stolen from us) have 'warned' that Belarus, and especially its capital, is like a soviet time-warp. We can but confirm that philosophy. However, it was not so difficult to enter as the books made out, in fact the passport officers at the Lithuanian border were positively intrigued by our wish to enter and the sight of a ... read more

BELARUS; On arriving in Minsk I was pleasantly surprised by the modern central station. It had all the facilities one could ask for. I sat with my backpack in the main concourse. It was 8:10 a.m. on a sunny August morning. Studying the map of the downtown area in my guidebook, marking places of importance. I would shack-up at the Hotel Jubileynaya. Reservations had been made. The station was busy, people on the move, others waiting patiently for their train. Arrival passengers been greeted by loved ones. I glanced at the vast timetable, destinations in Cyrillic: St. Petersburg, Brest, Moscow, Odessa, Kiev. I was in no hurry. An hour had passed, an automatic teller machine near-by did not get a single customer. I wondered how many locals had bank accounts. Unsure the value of the Belarus ... read more

Day of arrival - if not without problems. It's the classical situation, almost ripe for a movie...you're almost there, but yet so far...anyways, let's start from the beginning. Waking up a last time, we go through the usual ritual: I make coffee, Hans takes down the tent, we have some breakfast, then get on our way. The road is good, but my rear tyre has lost pressure once again overnight and needs to be pumped up again. Not a good sign, but we're only about 50km from Lepel, surely it will last at least until we're there! Also, we're running pretty low on water, but we'll definitely find a shop sometime soon. With the type of road condition we're on right now, we'll be in Lepel in a few hours. Spoke too soon: soon, we arrive ... read more