Belarus – part 2

Visited: July 2024

Duration of visit: 4 days (part 2)

Capital city: Minsk

Population: 9.2 million (2024)

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

• Cosmopolitan Minsk with a mix of Soviet architecture, extended parks, cultural events and vivid nightlife.
• Meeting a local couchsurfer in Minsk, who showed me the places where locals fill up with energy and relax.
• Almost finished homeless after the night party in Minsk.
• Long way home – crossing the border to Lithuania.

Despite the fact that Belarus was included in the red list of countries designated as no-travel destinations in 2024 due to the war in Ukraine, it turned out to be a fascinating and secure place, where the locals greeted me warmly.

In this article I describe the following topics of my trip to Belarus – part 2: Minsk landmarks, The Great Patriotic War Museum, food tasting and free wandering around Minsk with as a couchsurfer, the long way home.

More articles about my adventures in Belarus are available here:

I took a comfortable, inexpensive train from Grodno to Minsk. I shared a sleeper coupe with three passengers, air condition was cooling the area reasonable, full service of food and drinks was at my disposal.

Minsk-Pasažyrski railway station is enormous, well-organized, clean and offers all amenities, which are adequately signalized.

I deposited my small backpack in a cloakroom and walked out through the main entrance to face imposing Vorota Minska towers in front of me.  A long walk along the Babrujskaja street lead me to some of the main landmarks in downtown: The Independence Square with The National Assembly of Belarus and Minsk City Hall.

The Independence Square was designed to host the important events, such as parades, political leaders’ speeches’, celebration of national holidays and reception of foreign rulers.

During the World War II most buildings around the square were destroyed by the Nazis. Later many pro-Communist rallies as well as anti-Lukashenko rally in 2020 took place here.

Lenin monument stands in front of Supreme Soviet building, where the functioning parliament for Belarus holds its sessions. Church of Saints Simon and Helena, also known as the Red Church, survived all possible purposes and occupiers more or less immaculately. From the attack of the Red Army to Hitler’s soldiers’ offensive to the pressure of the existing authorities to pay taxes.

I hadn’t seen any international visitors, beside some Russian couples until I was approached by a Turkish guy Mohamed, when we wanted to take a good photo in front of the fountain at Plošča Niezaliežnasci. He was facing the same problem as me, when searching for the inexpensive accommodation in Minsk, but ended in an upscale, expensive hotel.

Victory Park on the banks of Komsomolsk Lake is the largest park in Minsk. 200 hectares park is a major tourist spot, inviting visitors with footpaths, playgrounds and a site, used for concerts and shows. Especially popular are the man-made beach and the Bird Island, a wildlife reserve that is home to a variety of birds, including some rare species.

I really enjoyed walking from Minsk arena along State Flag Square, Independence Palace, observing The Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus from a distance, and culminating long stroll at Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War.

The Great Patriotic War Museum was the world’s first museum to tell the story of World War II, and the only one in Belarus created during the years of Nazi occupation.

Since 1942, when the museum was opened in Vitebsk, the exhibition moved from place to place until in 2014 the final location in a new building with the total area of 15,600m² was erected in in The Heroes Square. The composition represents four main blocks to match the number of years of the war.

An interesting, detailed exhibition with a combination of original objects, combat weapons, tanks, military vehicles and videos shows the fighting that took place on the territory of Belarus during the Second World War. With the help of the audio guide, I learned more about the main events from that period, which Belarus still considers to be decisive in its history.

The front facade looks like a festive salute: 11 sparkling rays made of stainless steel to symbolize the Great Victory and at the same time 1,100 tragic days and nights of Minsk’s occupation.

The Palace of the Republic is a government building used for official state events, including forums, meetings, conventions, multi-genre concerts, symphony orchestras and New Year events.

On the other side of Oktyabrskaya Square stands an architectural masterpiece of the Soviet period, the Republican Palace of Trade Union Culture. Built in 1954, the Palace of Trade Unions is monumental, yet elegant and functions as one of the main cultural centers of Minsk.

I was not able to enter any of these buildings apart from The Great Patriotic War Museum, but I appreciated them as perfectly constructed and maintained historical buildings of the Soviet architectural style that make Minsk such a unique place.

Igor was waiting for me in his apartment in Malinauka region of Minsk, approximately 35 minutes by metro and bus from downtown. A similar residential apartment as in Grodno, was my home for the next four days. From a distance all apartment buildings look the same, but in reality, the comfort varies a lot from. The quality of material used for construction and the age of each building can make a big difference.

Igor’s apartment was located on the higher floor of an old building. The heat in the flat was unbearable. Hardly any furniture, with the empty fridge made me worry, what kind of host did I choose.

“I had some problems with money, but I am fine now!”, Igor informed me openly.

I run to the nearby grocery store immediately and purchased fruits, vegetables, bread, pickled fish dishes, chips and, of course, vodka.

“Buy some vodka with the sign of a big, beautiful bird!”, were the unprecise instructions of Igor, when I asked him, what we needed for dinner.

Apparently, an easy task, if there was not a wide selection of vodkas with bird’s motive among dozens of other vodkas, exhibited in fully loaded liqueur section of the local grocery store.

Eating slowly, talking about Belarus, women, Slovenia, travelling and sport, I started to figure out more about my host. If Victoria in Grodno was against the Lukashenko’s politics, Igor hates everything that has to do with the current government.

He had been imprisoned due to his protest activities and even his ex-wife and daughters are listed as persona non grata in Belarus. He doesn’t care much, because he works for private sector, where usually knowledge is more appreciated than political persuasion.

“Let’s go out for a walk to get some fresh air!”, was a surprising Igor’s suggestion at 1:00am.

We took a bottle of vodka with us and walked around the residential blocks for the next two hours.

In Belarus I have not seen anybody ran a red light at a pedestrian crossing.

Even in the most remote areas at the time, where no vehicles were around, people would wait patiently for the traffic light to turn green. It is part of education and respect, but more often the fear of penalties for breaking the rules.

“Let be rebels tonight and show our disapproval of running a red light.”, was another alternative suggestion by Igor.

I was hesitating. It was an odd hour, nobody around, but traffic lights were still working.

“Let’s have another shot of vodka and then we will break the rules and show who we are!”

And we did it.

On the last day of my stay in Minsk, Igor decided to skip from work and take me around to some less visited areas. We crossed the city to north eastern area of Zialiony Luh. Wide green area with forest and a lake surrounding an island provides a peaceful retreat to walk, run, cycle or swim and sunbath at Cnyanka Beach.

Igor purchased a bottle of so called чернила (ink), semi strong alcoholic drink that is extremely cheap and used mostly by poor alcoholics who cannot afford the cheapest vodka. Approximately 15% of alcohol and sweet taste create a pleasant taste that wasn’t bad at all.

When later mentioning my drinking experience to new Belarussian friends, they only laughed and suspiciously shrugged, what was going on with me to drink this bizarre liquor.

We walked around without a plan, visited a beautiful orthodox church and stopped for lunch in a simple canteen, where traditional Belarusian dishes are served in the form of self-service bar. The so-called столовая (canteen) is an inexpensive alternative to restaurants, where people can get a quick and good meal for a few US$ during a midday break from work.

I tasted some traditional Belorussian dishes that are well known internationally: draniki (thick potato pancakes), kletski (dumplings), mushroom soup and borsht.

There are many meat-based dishes, stews and sausages, that I haven’t tried, since I don’t eat meat. Additionally, fish is also standardly on the menu, even though I didn’t find it particularly inspiring.

Historically Belarusian cuisine was influenced by active farming and extensive use of local produce, as well as influences from neighboring countries and migrant settlers. Locally grown fruits and vegetables are tasteful, full of flavor and of strong colors. Some imported fruits from neighboring Soviets republics also taste delicious, as if they were organic according to European standards.

We finished our wandering at one of the most beautiful orthodox temples in Minsk – The Church of All Saints. A modern, 74 meters high building, opened in 2008, can host 1,200 worshipers and took 12 years to be built. Officially the Church of All Saints became the main spiritual national monument to the memory of the millions of Belarusians who died or were scattered around the world due to revolutions, wars, forced displacements and repressions.

From my perspective, the most beautiful church in Belarus, is featuring wide marbled verandahs, heavily designed timber and metal doors, a crypt and large fountain of Moses. The five domes commemorate the dead of soldiers, prisoners and children, among others.

Next to it stands also impressive wooden Holy Trinity Church, which was a place of baptism, at the time I visited it.

In the evening, I was meeting some people from the Couchsurfing group, who invited me to a concert of rock music in a nicely reverted socialist factory, that serves as a venue for cultural events these days.

Good food, inexpensive drinks, live rock music in Russian and growing group of friends created a great atmosphere. We decided to continue our night rally to Zybitskaya Street, famous party area with over 30 bars and night clubs.

Our group of fifteen people was decreasing each time we switched the venue. After a visit to karaoke bar, most of the friends was tired and ready to go home. It was after 2:00am and my three friends wanted to drink the last coffee before going home.

My host Igor was still not answering phone calls and since I didn’t have the keys to enter the apartment, I didn’t dare to go home. I explained the situation to the only man in our group. He offered me to spend the night in his apartment, if my host wouldn’t answer the call until we finished the coffee.

I tried to call home for the last time and finally Igor picked up the phone. He was at home, so I would be able to enter the apartment if I hurry up and arrive before he falls asleep again.

I took a taxi immediately and when I arrived, Igor explained that he had been so drunk that he lost the keys of the apartment and fell asleep. The fridge was completely empty again. He managed to drink all vodka. I was a little bit worried, but quickly fell asleep.

Usually travelling home is the easiest part of every travel, but not from Belarus.

Since flying from Minsk was extremely expensive due to international sanctions, I had previously decided to fly out of Vilnius, the capital of neighboring Lithuania. It was hard to estimate how much time the border crossing procedure would last; therefore, I took a bus at 5:00pm from Minsk. My flight was scheduled from Vilnius at 9:10am on the following day.

We arrived at the border after three hours of smooth riding on a perfect road. Several kilometers long lines of trucks, which were queuing for a week to pass rigorous custom control and up to 10 days in the opposite direction.

We were lucky.

All 3 buses in front of us advanced within the next two hours. Apparently, when it was our turn, the driver was informed that we would need to wait until next morning to be inspected. Terrified looks of the passengers and many pleas pushed the driver into a situation where he used all his negotiating skills to convince the officials to let us through to the other side. We eventually finished with border formalities at midnight.

A mix of waiting, duty free shopping, inspection of our luggage and questioning was done in a polite, but very slow way.

When we reached Vilnius airport at 1:00am, I decided to sleep on comfortable benches until my morning flight would be ready for departure. Unfortunately, when I woke up, I was informed that my flight was delayed.

Consequently, I lost the connection in Riga, being redirected to Frankfurt, where I was obliged to spent the night in a hotel on airBaltic account. I finally landed at Ljubljana airport in Slovenia with 23 hours delay, exclusively due to the airline bad managements of flight connections. At least I received a substantial compensation that covered a considerable part of my trip expenses to Belarus.