Blogs from Minsk Voblast, Belarus, Europe - page 6

May 8, 2009 Flight: Kaliningrad (KGD) to Riga (RIX), Air Baltic, F50, economy Flight: Riga (RIX) to Minsk (MSQ), Air Baltic, F50, economy Hotel: Hotel Yubileiny, Minsk, $67 I 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 left from the gate right next to where we arrived.. it was a sterile area but no restaurants, just a vending machine that luckily took a 2E coin for a candybar. I had a 2hr wait before the flight to Minsk.. with nothing else to do there but sit I was able to recharge my phone and laptop. Soon it was time to board the flight ... 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

12/02-1/03 This 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 time with my friend Radek and to arrange a visa for Belarus. I spent the next 8 days in Minsk, Europe's only dictatorship. Since the town was almost destroyed completely after WW2, the Communists were able to start from scratch when rebuilding Minsk. They certainly left a mark. Wide boulevards and gigantic government buildings along with drab apartment blocks, define this city. ... read more

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 T-Shirt 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 but there is something really cold about the air here, I suppose it must be to do with the humidity or something, but even when it was 8C my face felt like it was about to fall off after 30mins outside. Anyway, apart from that I guess I should make an effort of update. Well I ended ... read more