http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Belarus , Minsk Voblast , Minsk en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:09:09 +0000 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:09:09 +0000 Just a couple of photos of the preparations for the July 3 Independence Day in Minsk.Where to trip in Belarus Check it here. Panoramic photos of Belarusian nature will be available soonSo far have a look at this pictures.You're always welcomed with comments or whatever on the TripBY sharing impressions blog. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-414061.html May 8 2009Flight Kaliningrad KGD to Riga RIX Air Baltic F50 economyFlight Riga RIX to Minsk MSQ Air Baltic F50 economyHotel Hotel Yubileiny Minsk 67I boarded the airBaltic Fokker 50 flight to Riga the flight was about an hour and otherwise uneventful. By the time the flight arrived in Riga I was starving and hoped I could find a restaurant. However the next flight to Minsk l http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-398146.html 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 pe http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-325890.html Arriving in Minsk on a warm Monday afternoon I halfexpected 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 c http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-322083.html It was a short train journey from the Polish border to Brest and the train was crammed with lots of bulky women but possibly more packed with their even bulkier bags. It seems this border is a major smuggling and trade route with goods unobtainable in Belarus being bought in Poland then sold on. However this is soon set to stop with Poland entering the Schengen area making the visa process f http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-320233.html 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 inc http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-312471.html I'm listing this as Belarus since I'll have plenty of time to list for Poland again since today is my first day of that two week vacation. Our trip was fantastic. It started out in Krakow with some typical large group drama. We had about a million walking tours and went to Aushwitz as well. After 3 days there we flew back to Warszawa to take another flight to Minsk. Both the Minsk airport and Krak http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-285727.html 1202103This 3 week trip had two purposes to visit some of my Eastern European friends and to finally go to Belarus. I was successful on both counts. I flew to Budapest but immediately went Kosice in Slovakia to visit some friends there. I went back to Budapest after that to spend New Year's with Attila my friendfrom when I was studying in Prague. I then took a train north to Warsaw to spent t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-176047.html Accommodation descriptionAddress Bogdanovicha Street 66This is a onebedroom apartment situated in the center of Minsk.The apartment is newly renovated to European standards and very comfortable.It has one bedroom a modern kitchen separated bathroom and toilet corridor and a balcony.The bedroom is furnished with a new double bed can be easily transferred into the sofa TV and DVD player. N http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-136316.html I must admit when the idea of going to Belarus first cropped up my initial thoughts were ldquoummhellipno wayhellipitrsquos too dangeroushellipitrsquos too communistic.rdquo Strangely enough the longer I mulled it over the more excited I became and decided that this was just too good of an adventure to pass up. Well fast forward two weeks laterhellip train tickets purchased an http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-101546.html I know now how easy it was for the Germans to get stuck going shit it's fucking freezing all of a sudden and we forgot our jackets. A week ago I was going out with a TShirt on although this did get some funny looks and Marina's Dad thinking I was insane because at 12C it really wasn't all that cold especially without wind. A week or so later and it's 1 at 11am this morning. Not only that b http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-96002.html Yep I made it. Actually I'm kind of glad I ended up having to fork out the dough for the flights. Everything I read about the train trip to Belarus talked of problems people had. I just flew in got my passport stamped and got out Easy peasy. No difficult visa questions no nothing. Marina came with a friend of hers to pick me up it was really great to see her again. As if I wasn't attracting e http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-92323.html Long relaxing day as the train chuntered through the rest of Poland and then reached the border with Belarus 1st stop in the former USSR. An amazing experience with changing the bogies the track width is different in Russia and Europe so the whole train is lifted up the undercarriage removed and replaced takes many hours but is incredible to watch. Only downside being the lack of toilets http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-79277.html Thank you Gidget and our Warsaw hostsWe loved collaborative gardening and the view.Geraniums red and a box of herbsAre happily blooming on your porch anew.This dance M gave for your orange treeWas full of zest and citrus zip...The city winked its dark sunset songTo carry us through on our train journey so hip. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-64640.html After a most wonderful night sleep in Warsaw I had breakfeast with the Ambassador and his wife overlooking the garden and then prepared to go to the station to get my train to Moscow going through Minsk. As I went down something happened to me which most horrible people fear with great apprehension having to meet again face to face the people I traumatised in Warsaw during my turbulent youth http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-23298.html I visited Minsk as well as Breast Belarus. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-6008.html Friday 7th September 1990I awoke fretting no pun intended about the chords to Yesterday.When we got to the school hall for the concert there were hundredsof people there. The enormous hall was jam packed with pupils.First surprise was a presentation to Trystan to mark his eighteenthbirthday tomorrow. He was given some flowers a medal and aplastic concrete mixer to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-79.html About This DocumentWhere it Came FromIn Summer 1990 I went on a school exchange trip to Minsk. I kept ahandwritten diary throughout the trip. When we got back I typed thediary up on the family BBC Microcomputer editing and sanitising it foran audience of family teachers and friends to whom I gave printedcopies.This year 2002 my parents gave me the floppy disk it was on. Isearched long and h http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belarus/Minsk-Voblast/Minsk/blog-78.html