Hi to all Belarusian forumers. Hope it's ok to post in English. I can't write in Russian or Belarusian but I can read both so I would appreciate any remarks or feedback in any language.
It was my first time in Minsk and those are the general observations I have made:
- It's a very clean, tidy and orderly city.
- Easy to navigate, walk and drive at all times
- Feels very safe
- People are nice, polite and helpful in most situations
- I was extremely impressed by street network and transport infrastructure. Driving in or around Minsk is pure pleasure (we rented a car)
- There seem to be quite a few new trendy nightlife spots. Most seem to be nice (especially Cherdak). However prices of alcoholic drinks seem to be more comparable to London or Paris than to Vilnius or Riga
- Girls. I knew that girls in Minsk should be pretty nice but I didn't know they were THAT hot. I have never seen so many beautiful and sexy girls in one city before (except Macau and Bangkok).
- Public transport is fast, efficient and very cheap
- While Stalin era (or Interwar) architecture is impressive the post 2000 architecture, in my view, needs to get better
- Overall planning of Minsk is very systematic, consistent and effective. Something that most European cities are struggling with these days
Anyway, here are the photos
The sights right outside the Central railway station. While railway station areas in many European cities are often a matter of concern it doesn't seem to be the case in Minsk. It seems to be clean and safe with some impressive Stalin era buildings along with newly built developments
Iconic Stalinist buildings facing the Railway Station square
Government House which contrary to what I thought is not a post-WW2 structure. It's built in 1934. Designed by Iosif Langbard
Area around
Independence Square. By now you might have noticed that Minsk looks very clean and tidy. It doesn't apply only to main central areas but very much so to the entire city. In fact it must be one of the cleanest and tidiest cities I have ever been to. In this respect I would compare it to places like Singapore or Helsinki
