Travel to Belarus – Episode 379

Hear about travel to Belarus as the Amateur Traveler talks to Velvet Dallesandro about her trip to this former member state of the Soviet Union.

Belarus is very close to Poland and the Baltic states but does not get as much western tourism as those countries. Velvet is on a quest to see all the former Soviet countries. She has traveled to 8 so far, starting with Kazakhstan, and some of the countries in Central Asia.

Velvet found a country that is not yet ready for tourism on the same standards as Western Europe. “That’s an attraction for a lot of people who are kind of tired of the crowds and the higher prices in some of the other Eastern European countries. You have to be patient and just don’t expect things to go like clockwork. If you take a minute and realize they are just getting their feet wet in the tourism industry I think it is possible to have a great time there.”

Velvet found the people to be very friendly. “I had taken a trip to one city on a bus and a young lady that was on the bus when I got off and I was trying to get oriented with my map, she didn’t speak much English but she called her friend who spoke English and her friend said ‘oh you can stay with my friend. She has an apartment here and if you want to stay there that’s fine.’ So I wound up staying there for 3 days.”

Velvet started in the capital of Minsk. She also visited Brest near the Polish border where some very important battles were fought in WWII or as they call it in Belarus, the Great Patriotic War. She ended her visit in the charming little town of Grodno.

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Show Notes

Belarus (Official Website)
Minsk
Map of Minsk
Museum of the Great Patriotic War
Tours of Minsk
Destination Experts
Hostel Viva, Minsk
Svislach River
Brest
Museum of Confiscated Art
Bia?owie?a Forest
Grodno
Mound of Glory
Kvass
Belarus: Bradt Travel Guide

Community

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