Minsk

Xabier Osteikoetxea
Oct 11, 2019
4 min read

After Vilnius the next city in the trip was Minsk. The motorbike ride was relatively short but despite the rain there were beautiful views of trees turning different fall colours. During this motorbike journey to Belarus I would be leaving the EU and remaining out for the next few destinations. Interestingly, entry to Belarus is not trivial because there is still a relatively old school visa regulation to enter the country. For either Mexicans or Spanish we have to get "invited" to the country by a resident or a certified travel agency, with a very recent exemption only for those Europeans flying into the Minsk airport but this does not apply for motorbike entry. Since I wasn't able to obtain an invitation from a certified travel agency as I was making my own arrangements I had to ask Facebook acquaintances from Belarus for an invitation. Remarkably Facebook delivered in quite a convuluted manner but I really appreciate that people trusted me. Essentially all my Belarusian acquaintances are no longer living in Belarus but one of them, Katia who I met many years ago in Barcelona, was kind enough to connect me with her sister Olga who lives in Minsk and Olga trusted me enough to share her personal information and official IDs so I could obtain a VISA. Without them I think I would have skipped lovely Belarus so I owe this portion of my trip to their kindness. With the VISA being sorted a month prior the process to enter Belarus was really efficient and I was amazed by how good the immigration officer spoke English even being able to explain the subtle intricacies of Belarusian immigration law. Before clearing the border I had to also purchase insurance for the motorbike which was only about 2€ for 15 days, of course I only needed for 4 days but that was the minimum duration available. Lastly at the border I checked about the Belarusian toll road system and was happy to find out motorbikes are exempt from paying so I just carried on driving to Minsk. Upon approaching Minsk I marveled at the endless sea of Soviet style block houses. All around the city most people live in tall residential buildings that seem to have been endlessly copied and pasted by a graphic designer. I soon found out that most of the city buildings are relatively recent since much of it was destroyed during the second world war with about 80% of houses reduced to rubble and going from a population of approximately 300000 to 50000.

Example of one among the sea of endless Soviet style residential buildings.

Probably due its history Minsk architecture is heavily influenced by the Soviet or Stalinist style. The city was constructed according to a circular master layout that is reminiscent of Moscow. Most sights are clustered around the very center of this circle and residential buildings surround it. One important area with many sights is the Independence Square. Surrounding the square there are the House of Belarus Government with a large monument to Lenin, the City Executive Committee, the Belarusian State Pedagogical University named, and the Saint Simon and Saint Helena Catholic Church.

House of Belarus Government with a large monument to Lenin.

Independence Square and Saint Helena Catholic Church.

Another interesting area is around the Nemiga Metro Station where there is the Holy Spirit Orthodox Cathedral and the town hall in their original historical forms as well as a newer bar and club district around Zybitskaya Street where I spent some great evenings.

Holy Spirit Orthodox Cathedral.

Minsk Town Hall.

Having shots in Zybitskaya Street at a cool Area 51/Alien themed bar. Probably the most presentable picture I could share about this part of town.

However my favourite part of Minsk was certainly the amazing street art found around Oktyabrskaya Street. It is quite a random connection, apparently it was started by the Brazilian Embassy organising an international street art festival called Vulica Brazil (Brazil Street). After holding the festival in various years the end result was a beautiful collection fo street art which consequently attracted great bars and coffee shops. This is a fantastic part of town to try the newest microbrewery concoctions or latest coffee inventions.

Oktyabrskaya Street art.

Oktyabrskaya Street art.

Oktyabrskaya Street art.

Oktyabrskaya Street art with Lenin's statue, would he aporove of the hipster microbrewery bars appearing in this alternative part of town.

In concluding this post I can share that Minsk really impressed me as having a great vibe with cool places to go out and some of the best street art I've ever seen. Travel from Vilnius to Minsk: 186kms in 2hr30mins Total travel for the trip: 5003kms in 64hrs.