A Belorussian Wedding

The proceedings started in the morning at Tatsiana's place. 

in the morning

Friends and family gathered and the groom had to prove that he deserves her. Her friends and brother had several tasks for him to accomplish and then Sasha sang below her balcony. Then he went upstairs and claimed his bride. We had champagne and a little snack. At the end, the couple with both parents went three times around the table for blessing. 

first task for the groom

Next, we went to registry office where the civil wedding took place. 

Registry office

The registrar talked about love and marriage and then married them. They stepped on a ruschnik for eternal love and step off for starting their life together. 

After a first dance, the guests congratulated and handed over flowers. It was followed by more champagne and chocolates and then we went in the park for pictures. 

We did another picture round at Savetskaya Street and then headed for the restaurant. 

At the restaurant, the couple was greeted with a traditional bread by both parents and to feed each other. 

On the next floor, there was some kind of movie canvass with their names and the date where we took pictures. Then the two entertainers asked bride and groom in the middle of the hall to accept gifts. So we lined up and handed over flowers, gifts and envelopes with money that went into a special vault. Every guest got a little souvenir in exchange.

In the dining hall, the cold food & drinks were already served - salmon, caviar, meat, vegetables, water, lemonade, wine and vodka. We could not finish the first round, before the entertainers started the first of many games. 

The games included dancing to different music styles, singing a love song with „I love you“ in Belorussian, Russian, Polish and English and a quiz for husband & wife. In between they had to kiss whenever somebody screamed „Gorica“. We headed several times to the dance floor or outside for air.  

To find out if the first kid would be a boy or girl, best man and bridesmaid went around and collected money. Surprisingly, the girl side won. 

Donations for boy and girl

After that, the wedding cake was presented and Tatsiana presented her in-laws with gifts who accepted her in the family by removing the veil and covering her in a white scarf. 

The evening was finished first by fire show outside, a video of the wedding day inside and the last dance. 

Brest

Tatsiana and her future husband picked me up at the train station and drove me to Hotel Belarus. The hotel was built in Soviet style but good value for money. 

After check-in we walked down Savetskaya Street and had pizza.

I returned the next morning for breakfast at Cafe Sonet. The Panini with ham was a bit disappointing as it just means two slices of toast with ketchup, ham and cheese. I heard the cappuccino should be really great. 

Savetskaya Street

Afterwards I continued down the street and explored also the Lights Alley - Gogolya Street to left and right from Savetskaya. 

Nearly to the end is the Russian Orthodox Church of San Nikolaiv - a beautiful blue onion domed church. The interior is also nicely decorated and while I was in a couple got married. 

Church of San Nikolaiv

Rules for entering the church

Across from the church is the Simni Sad (Winter Garden) showing tropical plants, parrots and fish. I even recognized some plants. 

 Simni Sad

Inside the greenhouse it's lush green.

For lunch I went to Jules Verne restaurant- according to the Lonely Planet and Tripadvisor the classiest place in Brest. It has the atmosphere of a early 20th century fine restaurant with leather seats. There was a quite a choice from different countries and very tasty.

Restaurant Jules Verne

Steak in cream sauce with potatoes and asparagus

I enjoyed some home-made lemonade with the food and afterwards strawberry sorbet and chocolates, so the bill climbed up to half a million Belorussian roubles. But that was no problem I robbed an ATM earlier :-) and became millionaire. Like everyone else here as well. The current exchange rate is 1€ = 16,560 BYR (1$ = 15,102 BYR).

1 million Belorussian roubles

To compensate for this expenditure and the calories I walked three kilometers to the fortress which was built in the mid 19th century. A lot of it was destroyed by the Germans during the Second World War and it never returned into service.

entrance through the Soviet Star

The entrance to the vast complex is a concrete structure forming the Soviet star on some old  ruins - when passing you will hear some gloomy music. Follow the long and wide walkway that passes some tanks and leads to the ruins of the White Palace on the right of the citadel. 

tanks - no more in use

White Palace ruins

There the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed in 1918 and meant the end of Russia's participation in the First World War. 

Further is the oldest church of Brest - the newly renovated Byzantine Nikolaivsky Church. From inside the old age is more visible and a great chandelier is hanging below the dome.

Nikolaivsky Church

In the centre of the memorial complex is a soldier's head carved in rock and next to it an obelisk. 

Statue Valour

If you complete the circle, you will meet the statue of a thirsty soldier crawling towards the river water.

Thirst Statue

More information on http://www.brest-fortress.by/en.

Be sure to take some hours to walk around the area and the several museums. Best bring some water and snack and a hat in summer, shadow is rare. There are some drinks and souvenir stalls on the walkway and Cafe Citadel lingers in the park next to it, but should be only mediocre.

Train ride Minsk to Brest

At the railway station in Minsk, I boarded a business class train to Brest.

From the design it looked like a private train in Germany, definitely not the old Soviet style.

older trains

Inside you had 3+2 seating and from time to time you could sit across from each other but unlike in ICE there was no table in the middle as well no tables at the other seats.

Two women checked the tickets and when they had completed that task, passed through several times with soft drinks, chips and sweets.

In three hours, we covered 340 km to Brest non-stop passing some villages, two towns, a handful of fields and a lot of forest.

Much less adventurous than any other train ride I took in CIS.

 Brest Railway Station Building

Train timings and prices can be found on http://poezd.rw.by. 

Minsk, Belarus - first impressions

I arrived just before midnight in Minsk and was really fast through passport control, baggage claim and customs. Within an hour of touchdown I arrived at my hotel that was 45 km away from the airport.

BonHotel

BonHotel is a modern business hotel outside the city centre. Clean rooms, enough plugs, free wifi. The next metro stop is 5 min on foot.

my room

Belorussians are very helpful - giving me directions, helping me with my heavy luggage and ignoring my bad Russian.

Minsk is a typical capital - in the sense of big avenues and classical monumental buildings. After London’s Oxford Street last Sunday, Minsk felt really lonely to me. But that impression was shattered after a metro ride at rush hour. 

After dropping off my luggage at the railway station, I headed to Ploshad Nezalezhnastsi (Independence Square) which was surrounded by the monumental Belorussian Government Building and Belorussian State University.

Ploshad Nezalezhnastsi

At one side, there is the beautiful, 1910 built Church of SS Simon & Elena in red-brick.
If you go underground, you will find the Stolitsa Shopping Centre with foreign and local brand shops on three levels.

Church of SS Simon & Elena

Stolitsa Shopping Centre

I headed north on Independence Avenue and passed Hotel Minsk, the Post Office and the GUM (old shopping centre). The difference to Stolitsa was quite obvious in the offerings and clientele.

Post Office Post Office

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Hotel Minsk

GUM Shopping Centre

A bit further on the avenue opens to another big square - Oktyabrskaya Ploshad. In front of the Palats Respubliki and  Trade Unions Culture Palace, usually, opposition demonstrations take place - so far they did not have much luck.

Oktyabrskaya Ploshad

Behind the Republic Palace is the Upper Town - a lovely neighborhood to which also Ploshad Svabody belongs. There are several churches around and it’s a favorite of wedding couples for getting their pictures taken.

Concert Hall (Old Holy Spirit Church)

Church of Saint Virgin Mary

Minsk Town Hall

Holy Spirit Cathedral

Svislach River

Crossing the Svislach river, I headed to Traetskae Pradmestse - here pre-war buildings were re-created to give an old town feeling. 

After a thunderstorm just started, I used the chance and tried one of the restaurants there for lunch. I had potato pancakes filled with minced pork and mushroom sauce. Very delicious.

Getting dark - thunderstorm coming

Restaurant Korchma

Yummy!

The metro took me back to the train station for the next part of the trip.

Oktyabrskaya Metro Station