Minsk surprised me. Brest disappointed me. Grodno really won me over. It started with my hotel – the Hotel Slavia, just blocks from the main square and a short walk from the bus station. Unlike the monstrous Soviet-era hotels I called home in Minsk and Brest, the Hotel Slavia felt more like a […]
Grodno: The Cutest Town in Belarus Read More »
I have never visited a place so inaccurately described in guidebooks as Brest. Everything I read indicated that Brest would be the most Western feeling of the cities I would visit in Belarus: It is is very much the case…that Western influences predominate here. (Bradt) There is a calm and relaxed side that
The One Redeeming Thing About Brest Read More »
While I have written update posts at monthly intervals of this trip, as I began my second week in Kiev, Ukraine, I realized that I hit two other milestones almost simultaneously: I spent almost exactly $10,000 while traveling almost exactly 15,000 miles. $10,002.28 and 15,167 miles to be exact. To some of you,
How $10K Has Taken Me 15,000 Miles Read More »
When we arrived at Khatyn, just outside of Minsk, I pulled out my Kindle and started to read to Yuliya and Andrei from my Bradt guidebook: Khatyn was once a small but thriving community in a picturesque wooded area, but this hamlet no longer appears on even the most detailed map today, other than as
Khatyn: The Most Moving War Memorial Yet Read More »
I have a confession: I was kind of dreading Belarus. As much as I wanted to go and experience it for myself, I was afraid Belarus would be difficult. Throughout the month of December, I got used to the relative comforts and “Western-ness” of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland and I wasn’t entirely looking forward to
Five Days in Minsk Read More »
Warsaw wasn’t initially part of the plan. And in case you were wondering, I do know Poland was never officially part of the Soviet Union. So if we want to get technical, it didn’t belong on my tour of the former Soviet republics. But it may as well have been. After “liberating” Poland from the
Warsaw: Somber and Inspiring Read More »
I first studied Russian in college, which was a long time ago. I was majoring in Russian & East European Studies and one of the requirements was to learning Russian language. The fact that the class met every single morning at 8:00 a.m. did not make it very appealing. Neither did the fact that the
So How’s My Russian? Read More »
I began my quest to get a Belarus visa back in early October. According to the website of the Belarussian Embassy in the United States, I would need a letter of invitation from a registered travel agency – similar to the invitation requirement for Russia. On the other hand, rumor had it elsewhere that nothing
How I Got My Visa to Belarus Read More »
Approaching the bridge over the River Vilnia on Uzupio gatve in Vilnius, two large signs welcome you to the Republic of Uzupis. Yes, the capital city of Lithuania is also home to its very own republic as Uzupis declared its “independence” on April 1, 1997. While it has its own president, prime minister, anthem and
Quirky Vilnius: The Republic of Uzupis Read More »
I exit my taxi and walk up a short gravel driveway in the middle of a forest outside of Vilnius, facing nothing but a two-story concrete building and a lot of trees. I cautiously enter the building, where I see several dozen people milling around, all in bulky blue jackets. Soon, a man tells me
Into a Soviet Bunker Read More »
