Мінск by me

12410 Views 56 Replies 7 Participants Last post by YurasB, Aug 10, 2014

Pansori

Discussion Starter · Jul 22, 2014

4

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

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #21 · Jul 24, 2014

4

Inside residential quarter

Burger Bar. It seems to be a trendy place to have a burger

My beef cheeseburger. It was actually quite yummy

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #22 · Jul 25, 2014

4

Continued with photos

A small number of Russian Empire era buildings (late 19th century) remained in Minsk

A cluster of highrise apartments along Nemiga Street

Nemiga Street

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #23 · Jul 25, 2014

3

Internatsyanalnaya Street

Kamsamolskaya Street

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #24 · Jul 25, 2014

3

Independence Avenue

Palace of Republic

Kirava (Kirov) street. This is where my rented apartment was located. It must be one of the best locations to stay in Minsk. 5 minutes walk to the railway station and all other centrally located attractions

And this was the end of my first ever day in Belarus all of which was spent walking around central areas of Minsk trying to familiarize and get the vibe of the city. The first impression exceeded expectations that I had prior to arrival. And it didn't change much during the rest of my stay (4 days in total).

More photos from other parts of Minsk coming soon.

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #25 · Jul 26, 2014

4

Next day...

We (i.e. three of us) were not too sure what to do and see in Minsk so decided to drive around and perhaps stop over at the new National Library of Belarus.

And here we go. The gargantuan structure sits next to Independence Avenue about 6km from the downtown. The area seems to be under large-scale development with new highrises and shopping centers being built nearby

Some details on the library building
- Height: 72m
- Floors: 22
- Built year: 2006

My honest take on this building? It's impressive and actually looks like a pretty good attempt at contemporary sci-fi style architecture created by local architects (Mihail Vinogradov+Viktor Kramarenko). However if Minsk really wanted to have something world-class and something truly impressive they should have hired Zaha for this kind job

We didn't have much interest in the books stored in the library but there is one good extra to it: rooftop observation deck which at 70+ meters provides a very decent view over the city. Here is the view of the nearby multifunctional development

Existing older residential quarters nearby along Independence Avenue

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #26 · Jul 26, 2014

4

A wider angle view of the nearby development. It reminds me of sights in Shenzhen (even if not as enormous). There are more large construction sites in Minsk. It feels as if the entire city is impatient to get a facelift and expand at the same time

Ground view

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #27 · Jul 26, 2014

4

Full view of the Library

Statue of Francysk Skaryna, a humanist who was an important 16th century Belarusian public figure and contributor to the development of Belarusian language

Helicopter passing by

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #28 · Jul 26, 2014

3

A very brief introduction to Belarusian cuisine. Judging from the menu at Vasilki restaurant (a popular and inexpensive local chain of traditional food) Belarusian cuisine is more or less identical to the Lithuanian cuisine which includes a variety of potato pancakes, potato dumplings (zeppelins), cold soup and other items. It's not always very healthy but it tastes great (at least to those who are used to it

)

Here is my cold soup with fried potatoes. This is actually a pretty healthy and nutritious food which is based on yoghurt (kefir) and includes various vegetables and eggs with optional fried or cooked potatoes. It's great to have on a warm summer day and is not heavy on the stomach unlike most other foods from the same menu. This is one local food I would recommend to those who are not familiar with traditional Belarusian cuisine and are not in a mood of stuffing themselves with heavy food

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Lithuanian brand beer Svyturys was available too and in more than one variety

Potato pancakes with sour cream

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #29 · Jul 27, 2014

4

Continued. Some random photos from random places in Minsk

Beer fest in my apartment

. Notably the German beer Warsteiner is actually brewed in Belarus under a license. Locally produced beer is considerably cheaper than imports (about 2x)

IL-76 near Minsk National Airport. There is a number of aircraft sitting there for museum purposes IL-76 being biggest and most impressive of all

One of the main entry points to the city via M2 road which eventually becomes Independence Avenue

Independence Avenue

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #30 · Jul 27, 2014

4

Our bill in Coffee Inn restaurant. Quoting Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson 'I love having inches of money!' (1 EUR translates to around 13800 BYR)

. The only currency I have touched which is of lower value was Vietnam Dong (Vietnam was the place where Clarkson's phrase about inches of money comes from)

An impressive artwork on a Soviet era modern building

Old Town

GAZ truck

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #31 · Jul 27, 2014

4

Most traffic lights in Minsk have timers. I saw those widely used in various Asian cities in China, Thailand, Malaysia and elsewhere but not in Europe (with a few exceptions). A very useful feature which helps to reduce stress for both drivers and pedestrians

New building of the Great Patriotic War Museum which provides insight into WW2 from the Belarusian perspective

The exposition of the museum is pretty interesting even if not overwhelmingly imporessive. There are some weapons, tanks, aircraft, various articles, uniforms, maps and photographs

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #32 · Jul 27, 2014

4

A soviet propaganda poster which draws a parallel between military and industry

Museum souvenirs for sale. The shop attendand politely explained that it was not allowed to take photos of the items. However it was already too late

The museum is to do with WW2 but there is a room with more recent history. President of Belarus A.Lukashenka overlooking the room. He's been in office for 20 years and was able to hold a firm grip on power in the country. He clearly gained a lot of experience ever since he started as a President in 1994. It remains to be seen how he'll be reigning after current shakeups of Russia-EU/US relations due to the Ukrainian crisis. Lukashenka made some very firm statements blasting some of the Russia's actions in Ukraine despite being a firm ally of Russia. There are strong indications that at the same time Belarus is opening up for more foreign investment and trade. It will be a test to his ability to maneuver in multiple fields: political and economic

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #33 · Jul 27, 2014

4

Ice cream

Masherava Avenue. Banner reads: Day of the fire service of the Republic of Belarus

Stadler FLIRT, one of the new purchases of Belarusian Railways as part of a massive rolling stock overhaul. Other notable recent buys include Polish PESA passenger trains (we rode one back to Vilnius) and the powerful electric freight locomotives BCG-1 (derived from HXD2 which in turn is built on Alstom Prima platform) from China. Belarus is an important freight railway hub in that part of Europe

Metro station

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #34 · Jul 27, 2014

3

Minsk Metro transports around 900 000 passengers a day on two existing lines

Soviet decor

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #35 · Jul 27, 2014

4

Newly developed residential areas in the Northwestern part of Minsk

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #36 · Jul 28, 2014 (Edited)

Here we go again. Me and my two comrades were almost constantly arguing throughout our stay in Minsk what kind of women are the hottest.This time all of us came to an agreement in an instant. It was certainly a 9 if not 10.

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YurasB

· #37 · Jul 29, 2014

"what king of women are the hottest"
what kind?
And we, here, we like Viniusian girls.

Pansori

Discussion Starter · #38 · Jul 29, 2014

YurasB said:
"what king of women are the hottest"
what kind?
And we, here, we like Viniusian girls.

I came to a conclusion that women in Minsk are far hotter than in Vilnius (not that they're bad there either). They are less shy too and certainly more approachable.

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YurasB

· #39 · Jul 29, 2014

Girls in Kyiv are hotter:

In my opinion, Belarusians are (or can become) also "Nordic & Baltic" people.

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Pansori

Discussion Starter · #40 · Jul 30, 2014

YurasB said:
Girls in Kyiv are hotter:

This is precisely what I've been hearing too! I guess despite all the fighting Ukraine is going to be the next European destination for me.

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