part one of my story here.
9th of May
in Belarus is a special day. Victory Day over the fascists. It is celebrated
with a huge military parade, together with a variety of events for young and
old as a follow-up. One of our goals for this trip, was to see this parade, as
it is quite an extraordinary experience. Unfortunately, in order to make it for
the start, we had to leave Grodno at 5 in the morning, as the parade had to
begin at 9 a.m. and to last only for 4 hours. We decided to skip this
possibility, as it would influence our further plans. So around 11 a.m., we
headed to the bus station, and were lucky to be offered a place to go in a
private mini-van, for a cheaper price (120 000 Belarussian rubles), together
with a possibility to arrive to Minsk a bit as faster. There were 5 passengers
all together with us. The quality of the road was good, we drove quite fast,
and again, the surroundings looked very clean and ...green. On our way we also
noticed, so-called agro-villages, those specially focusing on the
production of groceries. I think super-eco-natural as well.
Having
arrived to Minsk, we had to meet Roman, an owner of the flat, where we had to
stay. Actually before our trip, we encountered real problem with finding an
accommodation in Minsk. The issue was not only with a price (as it went up at
least three times higher to the previous level), but also with availability
(almost everything was reserved, and those options left were hotels for the
price bigger than budget of our trip). Luckily we managed to find place for a
crash, using a service called "airbnb". It is based on the concept of couchsurfing, but
is...paid. Though for relatively small money. All the couchsurfings requests we
made, were not successful, so we decided to try this "airbnb". And
actually it was a good choice, as we met this amazing family.
Another
issue to think over, is a popular thought that after this major tournament,
those hotels and other buildings built for the purposes of the event, later on,
will not be profitable, unless the state will imply more tourist friendly
atmosphere together actually with creating recreation complexes around Belarus
(which believe me, has lots of potential to do so). Otherwise, they should be
used as dorms or apartments for young families for a lower rate. Time will
show.
After Roman
met us, and gave us a brief introductory info we needed to know, we headed to
his flat. On our way there we also decided to visit the famous library, as it
was not far away from the suburb district we were living. Indeed it looks
wonderful, and surely brings a desire to read books and study...at least I
wanted.
What I
actually studied, were my first impressions about Minsk - nice train station,
good architecture in the center and typical soviet blocks, as we moved further
to the suburbs. To our surprise we were living in a newly built building. And
as it turns out, it’s not easy to get a place here, unless you work in
IT-Service sphere. So does Roman, and as he explained us, there is a state
program, aimed on developing and expending this sector, and which provides some
benefits for the young families. Good move Lukashenko!
After
arriving on the spot, we gathered ourselves together, and headed to explore
Minsk before the match. We didn't had too much time though, so after grabbing
some food on our way, we went closer to the stadium, as later it could be some
issue with getting inside. As we moved closer to the arena, we met lots of
Slovak and Czech fans, who were in an amazing mood, and tried to share it with
local fans and other those who decided to visit the game.
The matches
of the championship were held on Minsk and Chyzovka Arenas, and the latter
being the place where we had ours. It is a newly build beauty, which however on
the first game, was not that crowded. Though the atmosphere which was in the
air was amazing. Well, also alcohol was in the air...One of the biggest
nation-consumers of beer and other strong beverages came to visit, and Belarus
with its cheaper prices, was a perfect place for that. I think the revenues
received in May, could cover at least half of the regular year expected
income. The merchandise and its distribution was visible, with lots of
flags, caps, etc., positively influencing great atmosphere.
So moment
left, and here we go. The game started with a strong pressure from Czech team,
showing they wanted to play the first role here. Slovaks unfortunately didn't
look to unite and their attacks were quite chaotic. These eventually ended in
them conceding a goal. However to our excitement it didn't break them down.
Moreover, they started to play really good, and managed to score two goals.
Czechs were definitely not settling with such score, and turned their speed and
aggression on. That meant only more emotionally match. And the game was heading
to the end, and Slovaks were really close to claiming victory, but on almost
last moments, Czech superstar, Jaromir Jagr scored a goal, thus giving us
additional time. Maybe it crashed Slovak team, as soon after the overtime
started, another goal was scored, and ended the game. 3-2 for Czechs, a truly fascinating
game, with Slovak goalkeeper being a real hero in preventing the score to be
bigger and embarrassing.
Due to
closeness and let’s say brotherhood between these nations, Slovak fans were not
too disappointed with the result, as yes, it was only the first game of the
tournament, and many more chances to change the situation to the better side.
Another important matter to mention was, as I was told, that their playing
roster was quite young and new, as nearly 15 players couldn't participate in the
championship due to a variety of reasons.
Game ended.
So it was time to get home. Two hours before the game, we decided to order
a taxi to arrive just after the finish of the game, in order to get home fast.
Nonetheless to our big surprise and wondering for 20 minutes around the stadium
we found no sign of our taxi, and after another call, we were told that
taxi....left cause there was too much people and cars. That was super weird.
And as it looked, in our opinion, the taxi driver was just lucky to find some
drunk foreigners who could offer him more for the service. Anyway, we lost some
time, and we had to use the public transport to get to our suburbs. Though
travelling in night also was fun. For example, after getting to tram and
wanting to buy a ticket for the ride, driver said, that...tickets are over, so
you can ride for free. Seems like not a problem or us.
After
getting to the flat, we finally met Natalya, the wife of Roman. They were tired
as well, but an opportunity to speak with each other made us talk until 3 a.m.,
as we really bonded and found out about our cultures, and got answers and
questions we had. For example, answering the question about, why the money
value is so low, Roman explained to us, that devaluation of the currency is a
subject to the low export rate. This means that the currency is not backed up
on external market. Things are being produced, even without fulfilling demand,
and later on they can just keep covering with a dust in meantime.
I also took
a chance to ask what they think about Customs Union, as it is a hot subject in
the post-soviet area. Organization which is planned as an alternative for the
European Union, and in future ought to be evolved into Eurasian Union (sounds
like a modern name for USSR), currently consist of Russia, Belarus and
Kazakhstan. Nonetheless the work on its expanding is boiling, as this
organization doesn't want to lose possible member states and markets of
influence. The reply was that the benefits or some failures are not yet too visible.
However some time ago, I heard, that recently Belarus was struck by increased
"import" of drugs, possibly coming from far east. It has increased
the level of addicted in the country, but also is prosecuted with severe
sanctions, to those who were caught using them.
Our acquaintance with Minsk also continued the next day. We wondered around parks and huge squares, enjoyed views of nice buildings, seen happy people with atmosphere of celebration in their minds and hearts. Even after we were attacked by a weather, we remained with positive thoughts. For me this city looked very much like Kyiv, with signs in Belarussian strengthening the feeling (we have some letters and lots of words which are the same). People usually use Russian language as the communicative one, as only two times during whole the trip, I have heard Belarussian in use. Not an issue I think, just a fact.
Having
lived in European country for a while, I could also hear different stereotypes
about Belarus - "everything is prohibited there", "they have no
free access to social networks", "there are no products from
west", "no major foreign companies have offices there". Well, this is
not true. And it was not a journey back to USSR. It was an experience of slightly different lifestyle. Checkmate.
What made me a bit surprised, was that particular restaurants or bars, have some sort of
"state regulated tariff" to take affect there. It can mean that
prices on a particular dish, in a specific place cannot go higher then
prescribed. Also if you want to change your currency for the local one, and are
afraid that the rates in the exchange offices at the station would be much
lower...then don't be. It is regulated by government, and thus helps with avoiding manipulations and cheating with rates.
And everything really good comes to the
One thing
is sure. It is not our last visit to Belarus. Same I recommend to You. Give up
one vacation to somewhere west, and explore this country. Our trip was
sunny, full of emotions and impressions. So I wish to You. Karma is working.
Explore! and keep Road Trippin’!
Money spent
on the trip (per person)
Route - Krakow - (Kielce, Warsaw) Bialystok - Grodno - Minsk - Grodno - Bialystok - Krakow
Days - 4
Road
- 50 euros
Accommodation
- 60 euros
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