Report on a road trip to Belarus. Traveling by car in Belarus

28.10.2019

Medieval castles You can visit Belarus on your own with a rented car. To do this, it is not at all necessary to pay for excursions and tours.

Usually I am against a quick sightseeing, but today I will change my principles and advise you not to spend the whole day on a couple of castles, as is recommended in guidebooks, but will suggest seeing 7 worthy places in 1.5 days: from the super-popular restored Mir Castle, to abandoned tomb in a village in the Brest region.

You will find a breakdown of your travel budget, a description of places, an already developed route and marks on the map.

Map of castles, palaces and tombs of Belarus

The map shows all the places we have visited or are planning to visit in the near future. As you can see, there are a lot of marks, so we highlighted them in color:

green - the coolest places, in our opinion, that are definitely worth visiting,
red - interesting places, but you can skip them if you don’t have enough time,
yellow - where we have not been yet, but are planning to go.

This, of course, is purely our opinion. Write in the comments what you recommend watching. Let's go!

Map of castles in Belarus:

This post describes only our first day; the second post will tell about less tourist attractions in Belarus.

Excursion plan to the castles of Belarus for 1.5 days:

Departure from Minsk at 9:00;
Mir Castle;
Roman Catholic Church of the Body of God;
Nesvizh Castle;
Overnight in Brest;
Brest Fortress;
Abandoned chapel-tomb of the Ozheshko family;
Puslovsky Palace (Kossovo Castle);
Abandoned palace complex Sapeg;
Return to Minsk at 21:00.

Mir Castle

Walking around and going into the courtyard is free.

Entrance to the castle itself: 10 BYN, for schoolchildren and students 5 BYN.

Location: Mir city.

Coordinates: 53.45115, 26.47291.

You can get there by bus on the Minsk-Novogrudok route. The journey takes 2 hours. By car from Minsk - 1 hour.

30 minutes for a quick inspection.

My opinion: worth a visit.

The architecture of the castle is a mix of late Gothic and Renaissance. Monumental and impregnable, the castle is listed cultural heritage UNESCO. Just look how beautiful it is!

Mir Castle was built at the beginning of the 16th century by tycoon Yuri Ilyinich.

You can stroll through the English-style park, see the defensive tiers, battle galleries, the chapel-tomb of the Svyatopolk-Mirsky family, and also look into the basement.

Opposite the attraction there is a cozy alley along which you can walk and stroll. But I was very cold and realized why there were so few people here in the fall. The wind is terrible!

There are 4 towers at the corners of the castle, the fifth tower is in the middle. The number of towers is equal to the number of men in the Ilyinich family: 4 side towers - 4 sons, 1 central tower - Yuri Ilyinich himself, after whose death the castle was owned by everyone. As a result, the landmark fell into disrepair for many decades, and only in the 21st century did the Belarusian authorities finally decide to restore it. As you will understand later, mainly from the second post of this topic, not all significant sights are restored in Belarus. Many are still abandoned. So Mir Castle is very lucky.

The courtyard, which is completely free to enter.

Mir Castle also has its own hotel:

To be honest, I didn’t expect anything special from this pop attraction, but Mir Castle pleasantly surprised me: clean, cozy, it has its own atmosphere. If you are in Belarus, be sure to visit!

Near the castle there are stalls with souvenirs and a couple of cafes where you can buy hot coffee. Very appropriate in this chilly weather. Mir Castle is only 38 km from another well-restored landmark: Nesvizh Castle. So we immediately went there!

We drove for 30 minutes through numerous villages. In the villages, by the way, there is also something to see: the houses are bright and neat. Although the roads are not ideal, we didn’t get stuck anywhere, even considering that we were driving in the rain.

Roman Catholic Church of Corpus Christi

On the way to Nesvizh Castle, we looked into the Roman Catholic Church of the Body of God, built in the 16th century and since then has never closed its doors to parishioners. Wars, persecutions, more wars and devastation, but this baroque temple doesn’t care about anything: it has been working for four and a half centuries and that’s it.

Walking around and going inside is free.

Location: Nesvizh city.

Coordinates: 53.22051, 26.68392

15 minutes for a quick inspection.

My opinion: if you don’t have time, you can skip it.

Prince Nicholas Radziwill, nicknamed the Orphan, met in Europe the architect Bernardoni, whom he invited to Nesvizh to build a church in the European style. The young architect agreed, but arrived in Nesvizh only 15 years later. No, he wasn’t so late on purpose; being a Jesuit, he stopped along the way not in hotels, as is now customary, but in monasteries. And everywhere he stepped on the same rake: the Jesuits, having learned that he was an architect, would not let him go until he built a church for them. So it turned out that on the way from Rome to Nesvizh, Bernardoni built several attractions that still exist today. Having mastered his hand, the architect quickly erected the Roman Catholic Church of the Body of God and left for Krakow, where he died.

Nesvizh Castle

Enter the courtyard - 3 BYN.

Entrance to the castle itself: 14 BYN, for schoolchildren and students 7 BYN.

Opening hours: in summer from 10:00 to 19:00 (tickets sold until 18:00), from October 1 from 9:00 to 18:00 (tickets sold until 17:00).

Location: Nesvizh city.

Coordinates: 53.222631, 26.691949.

30 minutes for a quick inspection.

My opinion: worth a visit.

Nesvizh Castle in Belarus is located in a very popular tourist city Nesvizh, so if you have a lot of time, in addition to the castle itself, you can visit the city hall, the complex of the former monastery, the Roman Catholic Church of the Body of God (mentioned above) and much more. See the cost of weekend tickets on the website niasvizh.by.

We walked around Nesvizh a little, it’s cozy here. There is no discrepancy in architecture and it is noticeable that the buildings are built in the same style, which gives the town a certain charm.

But let's return to the castle itself. It was built at the end of the 16th century and served as the residence of the richest family of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - the Radziwills. At one time, Nesvizh Castle was the most powerful and perfect fortification in Belarus and withstood many attacks.

The official price list does not include prices for visiting the courtyard, but the cunning security guards charged us 3 BYN for two and allowed us to visit the courtyard. The transfer of money was reminiscent of a crime detective story with a secret transfer of drugs - “Pass it, pass it on,” the guards whispered, “Only so that no one sees!”))

A little more about the shenanigans: the castle's treasury once housed a priceless collection of 12 apostles made of pure gold, studded precious stones. One group of robbers tried to steal the golden apostles, so the real statues were hidden in the dungeons, and wax copies decorated with fake stones were displayed in the castle itself. Over time, next to the apostles they placed wax figures those robbers who tried to steal them. This is how the world's first collection of wax figures appeared!

Just a minute, mi-mi-mi: on the warm hatch of the castle courtyard there was such an affectionate handsome man warming himself. Well, why not stroke it?

After visiting Nesvizh Castle, we headed to Brest for the night. The road is long, 273 km. We traveled by car for 2.5 hours. What to do on the road? Learn the names of passing villages! Appendages, New Popina, New Mouse, Derevnaya village and my favorite - the village of Dreams.

Overnight in Brest + 4 more attractions

We stayed for the night in a cozy apartment in the center of Brest:

In general, there are a lot of places where you can stay in Brest:

The next day we visited the Brest Fortress, the abandoned chapel of the Ozheshko family, the Puslovsky Palace (Kossovo Castle) and the abandoned Sapega palace complex. But more on that in the next post

Cost of traveling by rented car

Gasoline prices: 1.15 BYN for 92 gasoline, 1.25 BYN for 95 gasoline.

Car rental (Chevrolet 2014):

72 BYN per 1 day for the basic tariff (no more than 350 km per day);
80 BYN for 1 day, if you take the option with unlimited mileage.

We chose the unlimited mileage option. From Minsk to Brest and back, stopping at 7 attractions, we covered 1000 km. In total, we paid 190 BYN for renting a car for 1.5 days + for gasoline.

Meals in cafes cost us 60 BYN for two. Plus, we also bought all sorts of goodies for the holiday table (we celebrated our 5th anniversary of marriage).

Entrance to the castle grounds is free (except 3 BYN for Nesvizh Castle).

Travel Features

You can drive with a Russian license.
Roads and highways are only partially illuminated after sunset.
It’s better not to leave sights for the evening: it’s worse to see, and the photos turn out so-so.
Some attractions are located right next to the highway - very easy to get to.
The roads are good; cars are officially allowed to travel up to 120 km/h on the highways.
In mid-October there are few people. They say that there is a crowd of people here in the summer. So choose the off-season and you will be happy!
There are private guides on duty at the castles (but in fact they are just local residents who are looking for their clients, unobtrusively offering to tell the history of the attraction).

This article will be useful for those who are planning to visit the Republic of Belarus with their own vehicles. I will share my experience of traveling to this wonderful country to save you from unpleasant surprises that may take you by surprise.

First, I’ll tell you a little about Belarus. Having arrived here, it seems that this fraternal republic has retained all the best that was in the USSR. When you find yourself here for the first time, you get the feeling that you are watching some good Soviet film. Everywhere is clean and orderly, there is no corruption, all the fields along the roads are used for agriculture, there are good-natured people on the streets and everyone is doing something useful, etc. and so on. Many Belarusians may disagree with this, but I repeat, these are the feelings of a tourist.

Belarus is also famous for its lakes and historical monuments, and tourists will have something to see here, but more on that another time...

What you need to know before traveling to Belarus by car

You need to have a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation, a driver's license and Green Card insurance with you. You can apply for it in Moscow, or just before the border. There will be many tents along the road where you can buy it. As of spring 2015, its cost cost us 750 rubles. No more documents are needed. There is virtually no border, as if you are driving from one area to another.

Exchange Russian rubles for Belarusian rubles in advance. Since it will be very problematic to change money at a gas station or from people, everyone is afraid. This is strict in Belarus! Previously, it was possible to refuel for rubles, but from March 1, 2015, this opportunity was canceled.

Which road is better to go to Belarus?

You can get from Moscow to Belarus along the Kyiv or Minsk highway. It is definitely better to drive along the M1 Belarus highway (Minskoe highway). Unlike Kievka, the road surface on the M1 is in good condition + at least two lanes in each direction.

There are many rest and catering points along the route. Be careful when driving through the Smolensk region, the route passes through populated areas and the speed is limited to 60 km/h. There are many cameras and valiant traffic police officers everywhere.

Gasoline in Belarus is much more expensive than in Russia, so I advise you to fill up a full tank before the border.

The distance from Moscow to the border is about 450 kilometers, and to Minsk about 700.

Passing the border

Since 2011, in connection with the creation of the Customs Union, crossing the border by passenger transport has become a formality. There are no customs or border guards at the border. Only the Russian transport inspectorate functions, controlling heavy vehicles. Therefore, most likely, no one will stop you.

Report on a trip around Belarus by car in the spring of 2017. A walk around Vitebsk and Minsk, the “Island of Tears”, the WWII Museum, the national library in the shape of a rhombicuboctahedron and the “Stalin Line”.

Preface

My husband is a big fan of traveling by car. When we began to decide where we would go on our next vacation, there could be no objections - wherever our faithful four-wheeled friend would go. We chose Belarus because we always wanted to visit this country. The fact of hassle-free entry and exit into the country was also important.

Before the trip, of course, we read other reports from “experienced” tourists about trips to Belarus:

We started our journey on May 17, 2017. We left our relatives in Bryansk, dropped in to see friends in Moscow, spent the night in Smolensk, and on May 18 crossed the border in a place called Rudnya.

Border between Russia and Belarus near Rudnya

Crossing the border Russia - Belarus

Before entering Belarus, you must buy a Green Card - insurance that is issued for a short period. This document cost us 750 rubles, but we entered the country for only four days. There is no border as such between Russia and Belarus: we simply drove through the border area, on one side of which there were Russian border guards, and on the other, Belarusian ones. No one stopped us or checked us, and we, having already entered the country, calmly headed towards Vitebsk.

We read the information on the Internet and knew that Belarus is very strict with traffic violations. Here, traffic police representatives do not take money, and if you exceed the speed limit, depending on the circumstances, everything can go as far as deprivation of your license. Looking ahead, I will say that we observed the speed limit, we hardly saw any traffic inspectors, and during the entire trip we were not stopped even once.

Day 1. Vitebsk

The first on our plan was Vitebsk, but we did not intend to stay here for a long time, but only wanted to see the main attractions of the city (this can be done in a few hours).

But first, we changed money at the large Euroopt hypermarket at the entrance to Vitebsk and bought a local SIM card. When choosing a mobile operator, our preferences were obvious: we were only interested in the Internet, we didn’t need calls (why, if you can call via WhatsApp, Skype or Viber). We bought a SIM card from MTS for 438 Russian rubles.

By the way, the exchange rate at the end of May 2017 was as follows: for 100 of our rubles they gave 3.22 Belarusian rubles (that is, 1 Belarusian ruble is approximately 30 Russian rubles).

We liked Vitebsk, and this is what we saw:

River embankment Western Dvina in Vitebsk

Stairs leading to the embankment from the side of the Holy Assumption Cathedral

Cozy and pretty Vitebsk

There is a museum on Victory Square in Vitebsk military equipment, where you can look at installed helicopters, tanks and guns. There are also several other parks, monuments and squares in the city, but we did not have time to see all the sights.

As a result, we spent 4 hours in Vitebsk, visiting the most tourist places. After stopping at the store for groceries, we headed to the capital. The journey to Minsk took about 3.5 hours. Many of us have probably heard about the wonderful Belarusian roads. I don’t argue that the roads are generally good, but often the same “patches”, small holes and irregularities were encountered on the highway. An undoubted advantage of road travel in Belarus is the maximum permitted speed - in some sections you can drive up to 120 km/h.

Day 2. Minsk

We arrived in Minsk late in the evening, having booked a hostel on Booking on the way. I must say that we always chose budget places to spend the night, since we did not intend to spend much time in the room. This time, having chosen a hostel and arrived at the address, we were very surprised that there was an error on the website, and this room was now occupied. But the owner of this hostel agreed to help, and within 20 minutes we were driving in a different direction to check into a comfortable one-room apartment in an elite multi-story building.

The apartment had everything you need for have a nice rest after long journey. For 2 nights in Minsk we paid 100 Belarusian rubles - this is very profitable for such a cozy apartment. We decided to devote the entire next day to Minsk, walking around the city on foot.

The capital of Belarus has a metro system consisting of two lines. The fare for this metro costs only 60 Belarusian kopecks (about 20 our rubles), and the stations are quite clean and beautiful. We started our walk by visiting the Nemiga station, where the so-called " Old city" - an atmospheric place with town halls and cathedrals.

View of Minsk from the town hall

"Old Town" on Nemiga

Then we went for a walk around the city and saw the following places:

The entire central part of Minsk is filled with beautiful buildings

Well-groomed square in Minsk

Prices in the capital of Belarus are approximately the same as in our regions of Russia, and an order of magnitude lower than in Moscow. We had lunch in a small cafe in the center of Minsk, paying only 22 Belarusian rubles for two servings of soup, a second (side dish and meat) and coffee.

We really liked the well-groomed, neat sidewalks of the capital of Belarus, and their roads are quite wide. Lf;t one gets the feeling that there are no traffic jams here at all. Maybe the truth is not, since the population of the entire country is only 9.5 million people - this is almost 3 million less than in Moscow. In general, we enjoyed walking around the capital, trying not to rush anywhere and enjoy our vacation:

Walking along the embankment of the Svisloch River

A beautiful fountain in front of the Opera and Ballet Theater

View of the "Island of Tears"

Crying boy on the "Island of Tears"

"Island of Tears" - a monument to the soldiers of the Afghan War

We were amazed by the huge number of monuments to the Great Patriotic War in Belarus. In every city we were able to visit, there are always memorial complexes in memory of those who fell in 1941-1945. And these monuments are quite well-groomed, neat, clean - it is clear that the city administration maintains their condition and does not allow vandalism and neglect.

There are many places in Belarus that preserve the memory of victory in World War II

City view

Of course, we couldn’t help but go to the Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Minsk: about 2.5 million Belarusians died in 1941-1945. The museum has 10 halls and presents a huge number of exhibits: from newspaper clippings of those times, documents of famous Belarusian officers and war heroes, fragments of their belongings and utensils, awards, clothing and other significant items to samples of military equipment (some machines were in working condition) . Entrance to the museum costs 8 Belarusian rubles per person, and another 2 rubles must be paid for the opportunity to take photographs.

At the WWII Museum

We left the museum late, around 6 pm, already quite tired from constant walking, but we had one more must-see place - the National Library of Belarus, or rather, observation deck on her. And we went to the metro to get to Vostok station.

The National Library of Belarus is designed in the shape of a rhombicuboctahedron

The open observation deck is located on the 23rd floor (there is also a closed one on the 22nd with a cafe and an art gallery, but the view from there is not very good). Entrance costs only 3 Belarusian rubles.

View from the observation deck

The day was coming to an end, so we, tired and happy, went home. Of course, we didn’t see all the sights of Minsk, but we were still satisfied with how our day went.

Day 3. Stalin Line and Mir Castle. On the way to Brest

The next day we were going to immediately go towards Brest, stopping at the Mir Castle along the way, but we changed our minds and decided to see the “Stalin Line” - a historical and cultural complex located not far from Minsk. It takes no more than 45 minutes to get there from the city, and we paid about 700 Russian rubles for entry and parking the car.

“Stalin Line” is a kind of museum on the street: there you can walk around the dugouts, go into the pillboxes where machine gunners used to sit, spin everything that spins, climb on tanks, boats, planes and helicopters. The museum's territory is large; sometimes restorations of some military events are carried out there.

Inside a pillbox on the "Stalin Line"

Dugout and strengthening complexes

We were limited in time, so after a couple of hours we left towards Brest. After about 2 hours we took the exit to the Mir castle complex. This castle, first mentioned in the 14th century, played the role of defensive structures. The owners of the castle were representatives of different families, and after 1940 it became the property of the state.

Now there is a museum in the castle, entrance costs 12 Belarusian rubles. Unfortunately, we were not able to get inside, but appearance We were very impressed with the castle.

Then we rushed to Brest - the final destination of our journey. From Mir Castle the journey took a little over 3 hours. By the way, we were surprised that in Belarus the price for gasoline is the same, regardless of the type of gas station. We bought our 92nd for 1.17 Belarusian rubles per liter in any city or on the highway from different dealers. Other types of gasoline had the same price.

At about 7 pm we arrived in Brest. The city surprised us a little - it looked much more modest and abandoned than Minsk and Vitebsk. But our main goal was the Brest Fortress - that’s where we headed.

Login museum complex"Brest Fortress"

On the territory of the Brest Fortress

The famous gates of the Brest Fortress

The purpose of our trip was fulfilled - we drove all along Belarus (and will pass it again on the way home), saw a lot amazing places. On our last night in the country, we spent the night in a normal Brest hostel for 800 Russian rubles (we booked a few hours before entry).

Day 4. Brest and the way home

The next morning we walked along the central streets of Brest, once again dropped in to look at the Brest Fortress (the most the best option- this means renting bicycles and driving through the entire territory of the complex) and went towards Bryansk.

Another entrance to the territory of the Brest Fortress

The journey to Gomel took about 9 hours; we really wanted to see this city, but we no longer had time. At the border we showed our passports to the Russian border guards and entered the country. It was a wonderful and amazing trip, and we are sure that we will come to Belarus again.

From all countries former USSR The easiest way to get to Belarus is by car. Although the path from Moscow to Minsk is not short, 720 kilometers, it can be covered very quickly, in just eight hours, if you fully adhere to the speed limit.

Even at five in the morning, at the exit from Moscow there was already a slight traffic jam for 10 minutes due to road repairs. Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov

There are many photo and video cameras along the entire route, both from the Russian and Belarusian sides. The local traffic police does not forgive violators. Exceeding the speed limit by more than 30 km/h can cost up to 7,000 rubles. And this is not the harshest punishment. For a repeated violation, you will have to part with your rights for up to a year.

Roads in Belarus are of better quality than in Russia and are not as congested. Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov

Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov

There is no need to prepare to cross the border, because, by and large, there is none. All preparation consists only of purchasing a “Green Card” - a compulsory car insurance policy for traveling abroad. If you travel only within Belarus, the cost of the document will be only about 900 rubles. It is almost impossible to forget about this nuance - along the road, starting from Smolensk, there are always kiosks with huge “Green Card” signs. In order not to waste time on the road, it is better to arrange everything in advance.

Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov Directly at the border, customs officers can selectively stop cars to check documents, but this, in any case, does not take up time. You shouldn’t wait for gigantic traffic jams and queues even in holidays. The quality of the road is excellent almost the entire route, with the exception of a couple of sections under repair with two lanes for traffic in each direction. The Belarusian part of the route is better in every sense and not only in terms of the quality of the surface. Firstly, the speed limit is higher here - 120 versus the Russian 90 km/h. Secondly, the highway never passes through populated areas, so you can drive all the way from the border to Minsk without changing your speed at all.

However, on long holiday weekends it is better to leave Moscow in advance. Although leaving at five in the morning on a weekend or on the night from Friday to Saturday can make few people happy, even half an hour of delay will affect the total time on the road. In addition to the traditional traffic from summer residents and other vacationers, the situation is aggravated by repairs in the Minsk direction in the Kubinka area. At 7-11 in the morning on the way from Moscow and at 19-22 when returning back, you can lose more than an hour here. As an option, go around via Novorizhskoye Highway and Ruza.

If you want to visit Brest, you can spend the night in one of the park hotels with private parking near the city. Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov It’s better to refuel up to the border “to capacity”, because in Belarus gasoline is on average 3-4 rubles per liter more expensive. The savings are completely insignificant, but still. Taking into account the trip to Brest and the outskirts of Minsk, with an average fuel consumption on our Suzuki Vitara of 7.8 liters per hundred, 7,500 rubles were spent on gasoline. Even if you travel not with a group, but at least with two people, it will be significantly cheaper than with any other type of transport.

It is worth taking care of the local currency immediately upon entering Belarus. There are a couple of exchange offices literally a few kilometers after the border. If you miss them, there will be nowhere to change money all the way to Minsk. However, there is still no problem. In Belarus, even in the most shabby roadside cafes, where it’s scary to just be there, they accept bank cards.

Mir Castle. Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov

Nesvizh Castle. Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov

You can see a lot in three days. Mir and Nesvizh castles with picturesque parks and the Dudutki museum complex are located very close to the capital; the journey will take no more than an hour. In Minsk itself, getting around by car is not difficult. The avenues are wide, the junctions are simple, and there are few cars. And the main attractions are concentrated in the city center. You can leave your car and take a taxi - given the small area of Minsk, almost any trip will cost no more than 500 rubles.

There are many hotels in the center of Minsk with free guarded parking. Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov

Single rooms in three-star hotels on holidays cost an average of 2.5 thousand rubles. It’s convenient to rent an apartment for a company – it’s even cheaper for one person. And, of course, there is no limit to perfection.

In cafes and restaurants, Russians will feel like millionaires. True, you still have to try to dine for more than a million Belarusian rubles. Food in Minsk is inexpensive even during the influx of tourists. Without denying yourself anything, you most likely won’t spend more than 2,500 rubles a day in restaurants.

Brest Fortress. Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov

As for the upcoming Victory Day, events in Minsk at the Stalin Line complex will last from May 7 to May 9. You will be able to see a reconstruction of the Battle of Berlin. Fireworks will take place on the day of the holiday at 22:00. The concert program, also ending with fireworks, will also take place in the Brest Fortress. However, only residents of neighboring regions will be able to stay for the celebrations in Brest and return to work. The return journey to Moscow is more than 1000 kilometers, which, despite good road, will take a lot of time and effort.

I have long dreamed of visiting Belarus. There are legends about its extraordinary cleanliness and ideal roads, the friendliness of the people and the amazing taste of local products. Belarus is a foreign country, but you don’t need a visa to visit it. And so, one friendly September morning, my family (me, my husband and my 6-year-old daughter) got into the car and set off on a trip.

We left on Tuesday at 3 o'clock in the morning. The distance from Kovrov to Minsk is 1,100 km, the estimated travel time is about 14 hours.

A few general questions:

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The local currency is Belarusian rubles. Even before the trip, I read a lot about how it is unprofitable to change money in Russia. But I always feel uncomfortable traveling without local currency in my pocket, so I changed 1,000,000 BYN at Sberbank. rubles So, I confirm from my own experience that you need to change money in Belarus. Exchange offices is in everyone shopping centers Minsk, the rate is much more favorable than in Russian banks.
Registration of “Green Card” - an international car insurance policy. Everywhere they write that it must be mandatory. During the entire trip, no one asked us for insurance, but this is not an indicator, of course. You can apply for it either at home at the insurance company or along the highway, starting from Smolensk and beyond. There are a great many insurance options, the price is approximately the same everywhere.
Petrol. It is better to fill up with gasoline as much as possible in Russia; in Belarus it is more expensive. But the price at all gas stations is identical, which is very convenient.
Toll roads. There are many “Toll Road” signs near Minsk. We still don’t understand how and where they pay for travel on these roads. There are no booths, barriers - nothing. Having driven through many toll roads, we have never paid. Mystery.
The driving culture in Belarus is very high. They follow the rules and disciplinedly let people pass at pedestrian crossings.

Well, that seems to be all. I'll move on to the journey. So, having left Kovrov at 03.00 in the morning, at 16.00 we were already in Minsk.(

We only stopped at gas stations for coffee/snack/toilet/a short rest for the driver.

I read a lot before the trip and had a rough idea of what to expect from the country. But still, the first thing you notice as soon as you cross the border is the extraordinary cleanliness. The grass, as if combed with a comb, is smooth and beautiful. And, by the way, not only on the main roads. We also had to travel through small villages - everything was identical. There are freshly harvested fields all around, I had already forgotten how beautiful it is - well-groomed land.

There are many parking spots along the route, equipped with everything you need. There is a fine for using the forest as a free toilet/garbage container. In general, Belarus is not at all similar to Russia in appearance. On European countries, where I've been too. Belarus is original, and this makes it unique.

The first impression of Minsk is a cozy, calm city. There are no rushing crowds of people. No traffic jams either!

Day 1. Victory Park – Museum of the Great Patriotic War

Guest house "Comfort-House" in Minsk

Having arrived, we went to the guest house “Comfort-House” on the street. Novinkovskaya, pre-booked on the website booking.com. We were attracted by the relative cheapness of the room - about 2000 rubles. for three per night and plenty positive feedback(average rating guest house very high - 9.3 points).

So, all the praises that are sung to this small hotel are completely true. I have only enthusiastic exclamations and superlatives. "Comfort-House" consists of several small houses, each of which accommodates two rooms.
Our house had a swimming pool (use included in the price), barbecue, and sauna (for an additional fee). A huge kitchen with everything you need, the room has a TV, a sofa, air conditioning, and an air bed. The territory is well-groomed, with an abundance of vegetation, all sorts of figurines, grottoes, fountains, gazebos. Honestly, I don’t even want to leave. My child was absolutely delighted and still remembers “Comfortable Home” with great tenderness.

A tiny fly in the ointment in this ocean of honey is a very friendly owner. Very very. He came three times a night to see if everything was okay with us. Edited our plans for the day, etc. and so on. But these are just my problems; I don’t really like intense communication with unfamiliar people.
I recommend this hotel to everyone. Perhaps, the best place, where we have ever stayed.

But let's get back to the journey. Having settled in, we went for a walk around the city. Stopped near Victory Park on Pobediteley Avenue. Excellent panorama, well-kept park with fountains, bridges, picturesque alleys.

The landscape is crowned by a majestic building - the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. That's where we went. In general, it is necessary to note the enormous respect with which Belarusians treat the memory of the war. Numerous steles and monuments - all in excellent condition. During the war, every third Belarusian died (it’s scary to even think about this figure), and this tragedy will forever remain in the people’s consciousness.

The Minsk Museum of the Great Patriotic War consists of exhibitions dedicated to the course of the war, the partisan movement and various installations. Several halls are dedicated to the demonstration of military equipment. I was especially touched by the halls of the fascist occupation of Belarus. My heart bleeds just to imagine what the people who took upon themselves all the oppression and atrocities of the war went through.

After wandering around the museum, we went to dinner. By the way, I’ll tell you about our food in Belarus.

Food in Belarus

Without further ado, we went to the Lido all the time. A lot has already been written and said about this establishment, I won’t repeat it. There are two Lidos in Minsk, and we visited both of them during our stay in the city. Inexpensive, varied, tasty. Very atmospheric. It’s a pity, of course, that I didn’t have to visit other places - Anna Sadovskaya talks about it very tasty in her reviews. But it’s okay, we’ll catch up another time.
Just in case Lido addresses in Belarus:

Independence Ave., 49, room 1
st. Kulman, 5A

Second day. Mir Castle - Nyasvizh Castle - National Library of Minsk

World

After waking up and having breakfast at the hotel, we went to. Distance from Minsk to settlement World of Korelichi district, Grodno region 98 km. Excellent road, very picturesque surroundings.

The castle itself looks monumental. When you enter the gate and see it in front of you, it takes your breath away, as if you were in a fairy tale..

Inside, everything is no less fabulous. It seems that you are in the Middle Ages, in a second knights and beautiful ladies in crinolines will appear, and maids will scurry around the kitchen with boar heads on trays and onion soup. There is no feeling of a remake, as in many similar places.
A very interesting tour of the castle and its surroundings. In particular, the tragic legend about the lake, which was dug up after cutting down a beautiful forest. The spirits of the forest cursed the race of the man who gave the order. Fiction or not, the daughter of the owner of the castle, Prince Svyatopolk-Mirsky, Sonechka, drowned in this lake, and then he himself.

The Mir Castle is full of stairs and catacombs. The stairs are very steep and uncomfortable; I almost fell off the steps several times.

In the courtyard of the castle there is a very good souvenir shop and a small museum dedicated to the years of fascist occupation of Mirskaya land. There was also a Jewish ghetto on the castle grounds. The ancient walls became a prison for hundreds of people.
It’s not only the architecture that’s beautiful in Mir – the wonderful landscape, bridges, and the picturesque chapel-tomb of the princes Svyatopolk-Mirsky.

An amazing place that I really want to return to.

Nesvizh

From Mir we went to the cultural capital of Belarus. This is what is written on one of the buildings in this city. Distance – 31 km.
When we arrived, we left the car near the ancient church and went to the Castle.
A rather long path runs along the shore of a beautiful pond. The castle itself takes your breath away. Literally, he is so beautiful.

But the inside of the castle did not make much of an impression. It seems beautiful and rich, but it’s a remake and doesn’t smell of history at all. We walked around, looked, listened, but weren’t particularly impressed by anything. According to my feelings, Nesvizh is elegant, modern, very similar to the palaces of St. Petersburg. Castle Mir is more exotic; you won’t see anything like it in Russia.

The surrounding area was also disappointing. With such a majestic castle, the landscape is dull and faded. There are souvenirs and food stalls all around; there is a real lack of a well-kept park with alleys where you can walk and admire the views.
From Nesvizh we went to have lunch at the Lido, and then visited the pride of Minsk residents -National Library. A very interesting and unusual building made of blue glass.

We were there in the evening, it was already dark and we turned on the lights. The view is, of course, fantastic.

We took the high-speed elevator up to observation deck– we saw Minsk at night from above. Once again we were convinced what a beautiful city it is.

Without arms/without legs we went to the hotel - have dinner, swim in the pool, steam in the sauna and sleep, sleep, sleep.

Day 3. Khatyn - “Ozertso” - Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of the Republic of Belarus - Komarovsky Market, Minsk.

Early in the morning of the third day we went to. This is how we got there: at the 54th kilometer of the Vitebsk highway there is a sign “Khatyn”. We turn left and after a few kilometers the memorial complex is visible.

I won’t talk much about the Khatyn tragedy - everyone knows about it. One of the most tragic pages of our general history. On March 22, 1943, the residents of a small Belarusian village were herded into a wooden barn by the Nazis and set on fire. Old people, women, infants. They had no weapons and did not harm anyone. And this case is not isolated. During the years of occupation, more than a hundred such tragedies occurred on Belarusian soil.

I heard a lot about Khatyn, read a lot, but when I found myself in this place... Morning, fog, bells ringing on the skeletons of burnt houses, a huge statue of the “Unconquered” - a burned old man with a dead son in his arms. Gloomy, unsettling atmosphere. Every person should visit here, in my opinion. But I would not dare to return here.

From Khatyn we went to the Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of the Republic of Belarus "Ozertso".

And I fell in love with this place forever. "Ozertso" belongs to the museums under open air or museum scansen. That is, one where historical and cultural monuments are displayed in their natural environment.

First of all, it is famous for its interesting sculptures in front of the entrance. Well, and of course, the assortment. Everything that Belarus is rich in is presented on the market. And sausages, and cheeses, and dairy products, and products from confectionery factories. For every taste. We stocked up on condensed cream - the taste is amazing and the price for our money is about 50 rubles per jar, Belarusian lard and sweets. I wanted to buy everything at once. But since we, like Winnie the Pooh, love condensed milk most of all, that’s what we mostly bought. Yes, more. :) We also bought several cans of stew there. By the way, you can very rarely find the word GOST on Belarusian stew. But the fact is that in Belarus this word is not an empty phrase. The slightest discrepancy can be punished very severely.

I would also like to mention the dairy products - everything is very tasty. For example, if you take a milkshake (my daughter loves them very much), it will be a real cocktail, and not a mess with a lot of E, which is sold in our stores. Sausages are like sausages. I didn’t notice any particular difference with the Russian ones.

The products of Belarusian cosmetic companies - Biovita and Vitex - are sold everywhere. Shampoos and creams are not bad. But again, no better than “Clean Line” and “Granny Agafya”, in my opinion.

After spending the night at the hotel again, we headed home in the morning. The trip to Belarus by car was ending... It was a pity to leave, we liked this one so much hospitable country. So many interesting things remained unknown - Brest, Grodno, Lida and many, many more. There is a reason to come back!