Hang on, what’s going on here?  We’ve left Tramp in the Vilnius airport car park and we’re checking into flights to another country?  Not an island like Cuba or the Galapagos, just another neighbouring country?  What’s happened?  Well, it’s all about visas.  Visas can be a pain for travellers but these days most countries don’t require visas, especially for good old honest Aussies.  We had dramas with getting the Russian visas and we simply ran out of time to get visas to Belarus.  Belarus? Really? Yes, well, exactly, where is that and why are we going there?  In there lies the story.

Belarus is absolutely invisible to most people, even those who travel to Europe.  It is below all international radars, plays no active role in the global family of nations and never makes a worthy headline.  Maybe weightlifting at the Olympics or something similar but beyond that it’s a zero. But after Julie and I had been to Russia and the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania there was an important missing piece to this regional Soviet puzzle and it was called Belarus.  We had to check it out.

The problem is that Belarus, for better or worse, is still a close Soviet satellite nation, perhaps the last of its kind, and it follows the same difficult rules for foreign visitors.  In short, you need to conjure up an invitation from a Belarusian authority to come to their country, then apply for a visa, wait a week or so after paying outrageous fees and like magic they grant you permission to enter.  Very old fashioned, you could say a relic from the past, but that’s Belarus.  And since we didn’t have the time to go through that procedure we had to opt for the only alternative which is to follow the ‘visa-free’ option of flying in and out of Minsk airport.  And so we did.

Belarus is in a political time warp, when most former Soviet satellite countries raced for the exits as the Soviet Union broke up in the early 1990’s Belarus thought it would be a good idea to stay in the family and follow the new Russia.  Driven by their autocratic leader since the early 1990’s, Belarus still honours many of the original Soviet socialist concepts such as collective farms, government owned enterprises, rigged elections and severely controlled press.  Minsk is a fascinating study of a large city caught between two worlds.

Julie and I spent three nights in Minsk, the large Belarusian capital, and the best part of four days exploring the city and its environs.  For one night we stayed at the historic Minsk Hotel on Independence Square, a hotel perhaps best described as ‘elegantly old’ and another two nights at the Hotel Monastyrski which is in an old converted monastery in a busier part of town.

In keeping with the environs and the service in the restaurants, we slowed way down and tried to absorb the city rather than devour it.  On the first afternoon we rode the double decker sightseeing bus, a favourite of ours in many cities because it gives a good overview and lets us glimpse at areas of town we wouldn’t otherwise see.

And along the city’s extended main thoroughfare of Independence Avenue, or праспект Незалежнасці as its known by the locals, Minsk looked good.  The city seems to specialise in modern sports facilities, expansive parks and waterways, large government complexes, a few flashy shopping complexes and innumerable war memorials, all of that good.

But we also saw many older Soviet-era buildings, miles of high-rise apartment buildings built 50 years ago which are ragged and beaten and numerous desperately tired factories (one of which our audio guide said produced the first washing machines in Belarus which are still favoured far away, especially in Russia!).  Tedious bland architecture, both old and new, was the order of the day and no amount of sweet audio-guide words could change that.

But Minsk has a nice glossy side and the first night we dined at a lovely street-side restaurant on Independence Avenue with good wine and a great meal for about $40.  The beautiful people of the city were all around us and our four star Minsk Hotel applied old world special comforts.  Even though it wasn’t as good as free camping in the pine forest with Tramp it was still pretty good.

The next day we explored Independence Avenue with its eight underused lanes and footpaths that are each wide enough for another three lanes, bought some souvenirs and soaked up the atmosphere of the people of Minsk going about their business.  The buildings, the people and the pace of life all seem just a little drab, if that’s the right word, although most people dress with a sense of style and the city was clean.

In the afternoon we changed hotels to what is described as the Upper Town, an area around the rebuilt Town Hall that has been modernised to feature many outdoor bars and cafes, green parks, renovated buildings, even a stylish redone church. It was the best Minsk has to offer and not too bad at that, especially considering the city was completely levelled in WWII and had a very slow recovery.

Our night out on the town that night was special because it was a milestone wedding anniversary for us, prompting jokes about coming all the way to romantic Minsk to celebrate the occasion and reminiscing on our mutual good fortunes for having been together so long.  Hey, if you’ve got it, flaunt it.

The next day we walked up to the Great Patriotic War Museum which commemorates the allies’ victory in WWII, particularly from the Belarus and Soviet perspective.  Set in a striking building which is part monument and part museum, the displays throughout the complex are first class and provided insight into an element of the war that receives very little mention from the western perspective.

There is no doubt Belarus was right on the marching path for the Nazis on their way to Moscow and the country was flattened and then occupied for a big chunk of the war.  After unimaginable suffering they were finally liberated by their Soviet comrades and forever after have been under their liberator’s watchful wings.  Yes, the museum was partly propaganda, as you would expect, but mostly it was enlightening, informative and sometimes quite graphic.  We learned a lot about what happened on the eastern front, and let’s face it, it wasn’t pretty no matter where you stood.  So if you ever find yourself in Minsk, don’t miss the Great Patriotic War Museum.  Probably the highlight of our time in town.

That night we spent another session of people watching while enjoying very pleasant drinks and dinner around the Upper Town.  We tried the Belarusian national dishes such as potato pancakes and fried pigs’ ears, sampled the huge choice of beers, had to repeatedly endure very average, almost indifferent, service in the bars and restaurants but started to grow a little fond of the place.

Apparently all one day rental cars – which we were going to use to explore a couple more castles outside of Minsk – were fully booked (really, how can that be?) and we therefore had an extra day up our sleeve.  We used it lazily, exploring more of the Upper Town, enduring another inexplicable long lunch and then catching a taxi to the airport for our flight back to Vilnius and Tramp.

Our summary of Minsk is generally positive.  It does not have any international-standard tourist attraction (although the War Museum is excellent) and because it has all been rebuilt there is no historical character to the place.  If you like Stalin-cement architecture and painfully slow service in the shops, hotels and restaurants you’ll be in heaven but otherwise the place lacks extra appeal.  The Upper Town area is a good effort by the rebuilders and the parks and waterways are excellent.

Yes, it has a few rough edges and there are probably many social and economic issues just beneath the surface but for a city, and country, that was completely decimated less than 80 years ago and still lives under an authoritarian regime they have managed to do okay with what they’ve been given.  To Minsk: thanks for the experience and good luck!