On our next day in Belarus we ventured outside the capital to see some of the historic structures of the region with our guide Natasha. Our first stop was Nesvizh Castle (Нясвіжскі замак), home of the Radziwiłłs from 1533 to 1939. This family were the richest landowners in the region for centuries. Even as the land around them moved from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to the Russian Empire, the same family remained in power. This castle was their winter residence, and is surrounded by vast parklands.

The Radziwiłłs were avid hunters, and we saw a photo of a room filled with antlers and other hunting trophies. We heard a story about an elderly Radziwiłł who still insisted on hunting even though he was wheel-chair bound. His grandsons lured an old bear our for him to shoot, but the bear was not killed instantly and lunged towards the old man. His hunting dog leapt to protect him, killing the bear but losing her life in the process. The old man commissioned a statue of the dog, and now she sits overlooking the parkland, a medallion draped around her neck.

Around 2pm I asked Natasha if we were going to have lunch, and she looked surprised. Even though this was a six hour tour, no meal was scheduled. We didn’t end up eating until we got back to Minsk in the late afternoon. Our patterns of life are a little different from the Belarusians.

Next we visited the Mir Castle, which was also claimed by the Radziwiłłs in 1568, and was often used a summer house. There was a long line to get into the interior courtyard. Natasha and I tried sneaking in the exit, but Adrian hung back, and we were shoed out by a staff member. Natasha argued fervently in Russian, but the staff member stood their ground. So she took us on a tour of the exterior, and then we had a long drive through green meadows back to the capital.

We have just begun our three week vacation exploring a few ex-soviet countries. Our first stop is Belarus. I must admit, I did not know very much about Belarus before we landed. However, I was encouraged by their excellent Eurovision entry, 3+2 singing Butterflies. With costumes like this, it must be an glamorous country to visit.

Photo from eurovision.tv

After a long flight via Warsaw, I paid my 2 euro compulsory medical insurance, had my visa scrutinised by passport control, and I was permitted to enter Belarus. As we drove from the airport to the hotel, we were astonished. I had expected Minsk to be a crumbling vestige of the soviet era, but it was bright and spotless. Tall, brightly painted apartment blocks sprung out of the ground, separated by spacious boulevards and perfectly manicured gardens. Minsk was completely decimated by the Nazis in 1941, but rebuilt by Stalin in the 1950s as a model of a prosperous Soviet city.

Photo by novocortex

The USSR may have crumbled, but Minsk is thriving. Every street we walked down was perfectly maintained, the roads were wide and smooth, the parks full of flower gardens. The entrances to the Metro stations were glad in red marble, and many new apartment building were under construction. Independence Avenue is 48 meters wide including spacious pavements. The soviet aesthetic was very apparent, with the architecture a fusion of strong lines and open planes. Our hotel, Planeta, built in 1980 for the Moscow Olympic Games, has 310 rooms, and is only one of many other giant hotels situated around the capital.

Photo by Jassy-50

During our first evening we strolled through the nearby park, soaking up the warm evening sunshine. The Belarusian Rouble has quite high denominations, useful as our hotel room cost around 100,000 Roubles. Interestingly, the banknotes go all the way from 100,000 down to 1 Rouble. This means that at a wishing well, locals throw notes into the fountain.

Photo by Bogsnes

The park was full of groups of very glamorous women, while most of the only men that we saw were clustered around an outdoor screening of the World Cup. I felt so frumpy in my travel clothes. The Belarusian women displayed their tiny figures and long legs in short dresses and high heels, getting dressed up to the nines even for a stroll by the river. Maybe the butterfly wings only come for very special occassions.