Blogs from Belarus, Europe - page 7

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

I slept on-off for the duration of the journey here before the attendant shook me awake (rather aggressively, in fact) to inform me that we were approaching Vitebsk. I'd already set my alarm anyway, so I dozed back off until it sounded. I swiftly hopped into a taxi outside the station and was driven to Mariya's apartment. It was so amazing to see her again! Despite being a busy new mother, she had made me a dinner of chicken, mashed potato and salad. It went down a treat! We sat chatting for a while before tiredness overcame me and I turned in. On Sunday morning, Mariya prepared a delicious breakfast, then we set out for a walk around town with baby Nikka and Mariya's niece, Paulina. Vitebsk is situated in the north-east of Belarus, close to ... read more

As usual here in Belarus, the train left right on time, just before midnight the train started the 4 hour journey to Minsk, the night trip here are always sleepers, they did not give you a choice for just seats, which was fine, the ticket is so cheap anyway. We discovered we have the right side of the cabin, so one of us have to sleep on the upper deck, I volunteered. They provided you with pillow, mattress and blanket if you so chose to use it, but the bed/seat is cushioned already so I decided just grab a blanket and pass out. The problem is how to get up to my bed, there is only probably 3 feet of space between my bed and another bed on top of me, which is not used, I ... read more

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

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