We spent a week in Belarus, starting with a couple of days in the capital, Minsk. Then, we picked up a hire car and drove to to Brest and back via the beautiful Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park and a couple of equally beautiful castles.
| Day 1 | Flight to Minsk Accommodation – Hotel Minsk |
| Day 2 | Minsk Svabody Square Holy Spirit Cathedral Bolshoi Theatre Island of Tears KFC Hero City Museum of the Great Patriotic War Dinner at Marco Polo |
| Day 3 | Minsk City Gates Independence Square Dinamo Stadium National Art Museum Dinner at Troitsa |
| Day 4 | Mir Castle Bison Sculpture Accommodation – Gostiny Dvor Nekhachevo Hotel |
| Day 5 | Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park Accommodation – Hotel Complex Kamenyuki Cycling round Belazkaya Plushcha National Park |
| Day 6 | Brest Brest Fortress The Defence of Brest Fortress Museum The Museum of War, Territory and Peace Railway Engineering Museum Gogol Street Sovestskaya Street Lamplighter Dinner at Caffe Italia River Mukhavets Accommodation – Hotel Vesta |
| Day 7 | Brest to Minsk Nesvizh Castle Accommodation – Gostinitsa “Sytyy Putnik” |
Belarus Day 1 – Flight to Minsk
It’s time for a little trip. We usually go away in October and in recent years have been to Mexico, Cuba, Israel, Greece and Turkey – all places which delay the inevitability of having to deal with the cold, wet British Autumn. This year, as the old man attempts to notch up 100 countries and our destinations become more obscure, we are heading for Belarus. The weather forecast is for minus 3 degrees and snow.
We’re flying with Belavia Belarusian Airline, which isn’t bad, apart from the in flight meal – chicken sausages which taste as bad as they look. We arrive in Minsk on time, immigration and baggage reclaim are quick and we are soon in a taxi into town.
Accommodation – Hotel Minsk
We are staying at the Hotel Minsk, the hotel of choice back in the day; built in 1959 in Stalinist classical style. It’s a bit jaded, but clean and friendly and festooned with old photos – it’s like staying in a museum.
It’s already dark by the time we check in, so we don’t venture far. We planned to go in search of a bar, but discover that the hotel is built on top of an underground shopping centre, which is useful. So, we buy some beer and return to the hotel. Further exploration of Minsk can wait until daylight.
Belarus Day 2 – Minsk
I had worried that with temperatures below zero, I would get cold in Minsk, so last week I purchased the world’s thickest (well, Primark’s thickest) pyjamas. But the Hotel Minsk isn’t skimping on the heating – last night was like one long hot flush.
Svabody Square
We get up and set off for some sightseeing – first stop Svabody Square. One of the first things you notice about Belarus – jaywalking is not a thing. You stand and wait for the light to go green, even if this means waiting for hours when there isn’t a car in sight. Then, when the light finally does go green, still nobody moves. This is either because they’ve been there for so long they’ve forgotten where they’ve going, or because they’ve frozen to the spot and can no longer move. We finally make it across the road and into the pretty square decorated with flowers and silver sculptures.
Holy Spirit Cathedral
The focal point of the square is the Holy Spirit Cathedral. There aren’t many buildings of age in Minsk – the city was pretty much destroyed during WW2 and rebuilt according to Stalin’s taste in the 1950s. The white 17th Century cathedral is one of very few old buildings to have survived.
Bolshoi Theatre
We pass some interesting buildings, all very similar in style before entering the grounds of the grand National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Belarus, aka the Bolshoi Theatre.
Island of Tears
Onwards to the Island of Tears; an Afghan War Memorial on a small island. It depicts the sorrowful mothers and sisters of Belarusian soldiers who died in the war.
KFC
My absolute favourite of all the buildings we pass is KFC, which has a spectacularly carved communist façade – ironic juxtaposition at its finest.
I stop to take a photo of an old Russian Fiat. I ask a Belarusian man if he will take a photo of me, but my phone has died. Undeterred, the Belarusian takes a photo on his own phone and promises to email it to me, which is very kind.
Hero City
Our ultimate destination today is Hero City. The focal point of this complex, home to the war museum, is a 45 metre tall obelisk guarded by a trumpet wielding angel. Socialist realist art at its finest.
Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War
The succinctly named Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War documents World War II from a Belarusian perspective. It’s a fascinating place with plenty of original artifacts. It tells the story not only of the war in general, but with more personal stories – like a tank crewed by 3 Belarusian brothers who were all killed together.
You follow the exhibits up several floors until you reach a huge glass dome at the top; The Dome of Victory is designed to replicate the dome of Reichstag and remembers the almost 3 million Belarusians (a third of the population) who died during the war.
Dinner at Marco Polo
In the evening we go for dinner in a nearby restaurant – Gostiny Dvor (now Marco Polo). The food is nice; the old man has borscht, potato pancakes and beer and I have mushrooms in cream, potato pancakes and wine. The restaurant is completely empty. We wonder vaguely why there are neither locals nor other tourists there. The bill arrives – it’s a lot more than expected. I have drunk 2 glasses of wine and been charged for 8 wines. When I query it, the waiter points out that the price on the menu is per 50 ml and he put 200 ml in each glass. The old man, being very British, tops this chicanery up with a good tip and then spends the rest of the evening telling anyone who’ll listen that his wife just drank 8 glasses of wine.
Belarus Day 3 – Minsk
The morning is filled with complicated simple things. First, I want to find a supermarket and buy a bottle of Diet Coke. According to Google Maps, the nearest supermarket is 43 feet away, but it refuses to give directions. At first, I think this must mean that it’s in the underground shopping centre, but a full search of all 3 levels proves unsuccessful. An overground search is equally unsuccessful. I’m about to give up, when I finally spot the supermarket. It’s inside the hotel.
Once I have my shopping, all I have to do is return to my room via the main hotel door. This is large and heavy and opens outwards. There is a doorman, but he’s buggered if he’s going to leave the warmth of the hotel. So when you approach, he swings the door open and you have to try and get through before it closes. Go too soon and you crash into his shoulder. Leave it too late and you get your foot crushed by the door. I have managed both of these so far. To my relief, the doorman is engaged in conversation and doesn’t see me coming. I manage a pain free personal door opening and return to the room to see if the old man has finally surfaced.
Today, we are taking a walk along Independence Avenue; the wide Stalinist boulevard (obviously during Stalin’s time it wasn’t called Independence Avenue) which runs the length of the city and contains most of Minsk’s key buildings.
City Gates
We start at the very bottom (and strictly speaking, round the corner) at the City Gates. They’re not really gates, rather, identical tower blocks either side of the road. The only difference to their structure is that one houses a clock and the other a Coat of Arms. Also, one of them is now a KFC. Another of Stalin’s iconic buildings now home to a American fast food outlet – he must be turning in his grave!
Independence Square
Back round the corner, we start at the bottom of Independence Avenue at Independence Square, with its enormous Lenin statue, and work our way up
Dinamo Stadium
Just off Independence Avenue is the home of football team Dinamo Minsk, Dinamo Stadium. The stadium is a strange building, which looks like someone dropped a spaceship on top of an amphitheatre.
National Art Museum
Next, a visit to the National Art Museum.
It’s not the best art I’ve ever seen. To be honest, it reminds me of the art display put on at school each summer ready for the GCSE examiner – and not all those kids passed!
Dinner at Troitsa
We round off our visit to Minsk with dinner at a nearby restaurant called Troitsa (Trinity) – the trinity bring Belarusian, Jewish and Tartar. The old man surpasses himself with a trinity of his own and orders 3 courses; a meat platter, soup and potato pancakes. I opt for for just potato pancakes. I love the Belarusian potato pancakes; patties of grated potato and onion, fried and served with onions and sour cream and at Troitsa they are particularly good!
Belarus Day 4 – Mir Castle
Today, we pick up our hire car (a very lengthy administrative process) and head further afield. Red tape completed and snacks purchased, we drive out of Minsk in the pouring rain towards Mir, a village 60 miles south west of Minsk renowned for its castle.
Mir Castle
Mir Castle was built in the 16th Century and has had a colourful history; more recently it was a field hospital during WW1 and a Jewish Ghetto during WW2.
The castle has the steepest steps I’ve ever encountered. Following the visit route is a cross between tourism and mountaineering. And deviation from the route is not an option; it is heavily guarded by scary Belarusian ladies. At one point, we miss an exhibit and the old man tries to go back. The scary Belarusian lady throws herself in front of him. There will be no going back on her watch!
After a very energetic castle visit and a more sedate tour of the grounds, we set off for tonight’s accommodation.
Bison Sculpture
We stop en route, parking on the hard shoulder and clambering up the bank of the motorway to take a photo of an enormous steel Bison Sculpture on the hillside. All totally legal, I’m sure.
Accommodation – Gostiny Dvor Neckachevo Hotel
Tonight, we are staying in a hotel just off the Minsk-Brest highway called Gostiny Dvor Neckachevo Hotel. I saw it recommended by another blogger and it doesn’t disappoint. We are staying in the converted stables of an old coach house.
We round the evening off with dinner at the hotel restaurant – proof you can have too much of a good thing. I order a large potato pancake. It’s enormous and basically a huge blob of soggy, gloopy starch. After a 3 day streak, my penchant for potato pancakes is waning.
Belarus Day 5 – Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park
After a bad night’s sleep (a combination of the potato pancakes and sleeping next to the main railway line from Moscow to Europe, with freight trains thundering by every few minutes) we get up and go for breakfast. Surprise, surprise it’s potato pancakes. Add some jam – call it breakfast. I google potato consumption and am not surprised to see that Belarus has the highest per capita consumption in the world.
After breakfast, we set off for Belazkaya Plushcha National Park. It’s only 80 miles, but Google Maps takes us on an interesting cross country route which involves less tarmac than is ideal.
On the plus side, this enables us to see plenty of rural Belarus.
Belazkaya Plushcha National Park
We reach Belazkaya Plushcha National Park around midday. Outside of Minsk, very few people speak English, but I get by with my few words of Russian combined with plenty of mime. The old man gets very embarrassed when I go into mime mode.
Accommodation – Hotel Complex Kamenyuki
Cars aren’t allowed inside the National Park, so we must park at the entrance and walk with our luggage to the Hotel Complex Kamenyuki.
Cycling round Belazkaya Plushcha National Park
Once we have checked in, we hire some bikes for a cycle round the park; security, reception and bike hire – that’s three mime conversations successfully concluded.
I have been on a bike twice in the past 30 years, so today is a bit daunting. Especially when I realise that the hire bikes are very basic and don’t actually have any brakes. The bike hire lady sees my fear, disappears inside and returns with two very nice mountain bikes.
We start our tour at the animal cages. The park is the only place in Europe when bison roam free. We don’t fancy our chances of spotting them naturally. At least in the cages we get to see some. Then we cycle in a 11 mile loop through the forest. We have to stop short of Santa’s grotto (yes, the real Santa lives in the forest in Belarus) because the old man is diabetic and his blood sugars have dropped. So, we return to the hotel restaurant to refuel with potato pancakes.
In the afternoon, we go for a walk in the forest. The amount of wildlife we’ve seen on our visit is zero, but the trees are very pretty in their autumnal colours and we do find a tree trunk with a knot which (allegedly) resembles a bison.
Belarus Day 6 – Brest
We get up early and go for a run in the forest. The park isn’t open to day trippers yet, so I have the road to myself (the old man runs separately because apparently I’m too slow) apart from being passed by a bus containing Santa and his helpers heading to the grotto to start work.
This morning, I actually spot a wild bison, much to my excitement a baby runs across the road in front of me! Unfortunately it’s way too quick for me to fish my camera out of my pocket…
It’s 9.30 by the time we go for breakfast. It’s a set menu, including pancakes (obviously) but the man at the next table goes off piste and orders a beer.
Brest
We check out and drive 35 miles south towards the city of Brest, stopping on the outskirts of town to visit on of Belarus’ top tourist attractions.
Brest Fortress
It is at Brest Fortress that, in 1941, Soviet troops held out against advancing German troops for a month. The site is now a memorial, which you enter through a huge Communist star. On this large site you will find several museums, sculptures and a church.
Courage
I love a bit of Soviet sculpture and it doesn’t get much bigger and better than here. Pride of place is an enormous carved soldier’s head entitled Courage, which honours the soldiers who courageously attempted to defend Brest from Nazi invasion.
Thirst
But my favourite is a sculpture, entitled Thirst, of a soldier dispatched from the besieged fortress to collect water from the moat.
The Defence of Brest Fortress Museum
There are two museums charting the history the war; first, The Defence of Brest Fortress Museum, which tells the story of the fortress itself and its role in World War II.
The Museum of War, Territory and Peace
Next, The Museum of War, Territory and Peace, which has more general content. It is quite interesting, but there is a lack of English signage and an excess of scary lady attendants. The only English is a summary of the room’s contents on a sign in each doorway. In order to read it, you must stand in the doorway, thus blocking entry/exit to the room and suffering the wrath of the scary ladies.
Railway Engineering Museum
Close to Brest Fortress, you will find the Railway Engineering Museum. This large open air museum contains around 50, mainly Soviet era, trains. There is also a small indoor section with railway memorabilia.
We continue into the centre of Brest. It’s a warm day and I try in vain to find a shop selling cold drinks. Here, one does not waste precious fridge space on water or soft drinks. Fridges are purely for beer and vodka. According to Google, Belarus has the highest per capita alcohol consumption in the world.
Gogol Street
In the afternoon, we walk along Gogol Street. Nikolai Gogol was a writer and the street in lined with sculptures, which are lampposts based on the characters in his books. There is also a statue of the man himself.
Sovestskaya Street
The pedestrian Sovetskaya Street is lined with shops, restaurants and ornate street lights. There’s plenty to see including flower beds, sculptures and numerous street entertainers.
Lamplighter
As evening approaches, we encounter the lamplighter lighting the street’s gas lamps. It’s quite an attraction; a large group follows him from lamp to lamp and even waiting outside the bar when he stops for a quick beer. On the way back, we spot him again, relighting the lamps which have gone out whilst he was in the pub!
Dinner at Caffe Italia
We head for a restaurant recommended on Trip Advisor. We accidentally stop one door too soon and end up in Caffe Italia; a pizzeria with no English menu. We opt for the Belarusian pizza, with no idea what this entails. It turns out to be a pizza base, topped with tomato, cheese and ham topped with another pizza base. Quite a carb fest!
River Mukhavets
After a veritable bread overdose, washed down with beer, of course, we take a walk along the banks of the River Mukhavets to enjoy the sunset.
Accommodation – Hotel Vesta
We continue to our hotel in Brest; Hotel Vesta. The room is enormous; it has a separate living room and two bathrooms.
We spend the rest of the evening listening (involuntarily) to a very loud Belarusian folk concert taking place next door. Every time the music stops, we hope it’s over but it’s just a the band taking a cigarette break. According to Google, Belarus has the third highest consumption of cigarettes in the world.
Belarus Day 7 – Brest to Minsk
Our time in Belarus is almost over. It’s time to make our way towards the airport in Minsk. We check out of our Soviet era hotel with one last journey in the terrifyingly jolty lift.
The drive to Minsk is basically 240 miles along one long, straight, flat road through mile after mile of flat fields with occasional flat woodlands. It’s so dull I find myself longing for hills.
Nesvizh Castle
After three hours, we break the journey at Nesvizh Castle, a picturesque 16th Century castle surrounded by a moat.
Inside is a museum charting the castle’s history. The floors are a mixture of polished wood, marble, tiles and silk rugs, which all need to be negotiated whilst wearing plastic bags on your feet. Health & safety isn’t really a thing in Belarus.
Afterwards, we continue on the long, straight road to Minsk. The tedium is broken firstly by trying to buy petrol through the medium of mime, and secondly by failing to slow down through a village, thus triggering a speed camera. Who knew the old man could drive fast enough to get a speeding ticket?
Accommodation – Gostinitsa “Sytyy Putnik”
Tonight’s accommodation is a motorway truck stop near the airport; Gostinitsa “Sytyy Putnik“. We have stayed in some dire hotels which looked OK in the photos. This place looks dire in the photos, so we check in with trepidation. It’s actually not too bad, even if the last time I saw anything quite like it was in a Gdansk museum replica of an 1970s dock worker’s house. But it’s clean and comfortable.
My relief is short lived when we go downstairs for food. I order a hash brown stuffed with mushrooms and onions. It’s literally the worse thing I’ve ever tasted; it’s a rather alarming shade of grey and has the taste and consistency of a doormat soaked in chip fat. But it’s convenient for the airport…
- Trip Taken: October 2019
- Updated: January 2025
I hope you found the above information useful. For guides to more destinations in the 50+ countries we have visited, check out my full list of Independent Travel Itineraries here.
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