New adventure!
My dream come true, I am going on a tour in Central Asia! On my way to Central Asia I will visit Belarus.
The itinerary: Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Armenia, Eastern Turkey.
Border crossing Poland
At 11:00 in the morning I am in Terespol at the Polish border with Belarus. The Polish female officer is super friendly and interested in my journey. Her eyes roll out of her sockets when I mention Kazakhstan as my main destination.
At 12:00 I’m at the Belarusian border, here my new adventure begins!
Belarus border crossing
The border crossing of Belarus takes over 5 hours;
- 30 min passport check
- 30 min buy car insurance (can be paid by debit card)
- 5 min disinfection car (can be paid by debit card)
- 2 hours waiting in line for car inspection
- 30 min vet – befor the car inspection I have to go to the vet first, oops I should have had a health certificate for the dog 2 weeks before arrival! I am allowed to go anyway and I get a form, keep it safe, important for returning to the EU.
- 30 min short car inspection
- 1 hour wait in line for scanner
In short, lots of forms, lots of waiting and then suddenly after more than 5 hours I’m done!
Costs Belarus
E sim Manet.travel 10 GB €13.50
E-vignette 15 days €20.00
Car Insurance in kiosk 10 days €18.00
Disinfect car BYN 2 (€0.60)
No visa required at the moment!
Brest city
In Brest sleeping in the guarded parking lot is not allowed, according to the guard I have to go to a hotel. The guard makes a phone call and I can get a room at the hotel around the corner together with Leo. Well okay, I’m too tired to look for something else. Across the street in the shopping center is a bank counter where I can change money. So now we can have a nice rest in the hotel room.
In my preparation I had read that (just like in Russia) you can only exchange euros and not use a debit card. But it turns out that I can use a debit card in the shop and also at an ATM. Exchanging euros also works fine. Facebook and Instagram also work in Belarus! Contrary to what I had googled. Haha don’t believe everything you read on the internet…
In Brest we walk along the Mukhavets river, I see a German camper and meet Barbara. How nice, she is also traveling alone with her dogs. We have lunch together and walk in the famous Sovetskaya Street. Then drink beer by the river and chat with the locals, I love it! Brest is lively, there is a nice vibe in the city also in the evening, great!
Brutalist Titan
Leo and I walk along the river, the weather is lovely and I decide to walk to the fortress, about 3 km. I look at the beautiful St. Nicholas church, the gigantic monument of the Brutalist Titan and other monuments. There was a 9th of May celebration in connection with the liberation of Nazi Germany, there are flowers and a fire burning.
Then I am asked very kindly to leave with the dog, dogs are not allowed on this terrain. I didn’t t see the Fortress from the inside.
Staying with locals
I drive inland to stay with the locals. A warm welcome from Valery and his son Slava, we can park in the garden. German Barbara also parks here and we order a typical White Russian dinner from Valery. Pork potatoes and coleslaw, also salad with pieces of cheese as a starter. Valery comes to chat and drinks a glass of wine with us, a great evening!
A walk in the woods in the morning and ehh are there bears here?! Yes there are bears in Belarus, but not in this forest, says Slava. We don’t have to pay for food or parking, which is really nice of Valery and his family. We take some pictures, they use a natural cellar under the ground and preserve vegetables in pots.
Mir & Nesvizh Castles
Mir Castle from the 16th century is a must see! Leo and I take a walk around the pond, the castle and the courtyard, wonderful!
Nesvizh Castle is nearby so I’m going there too, Valery’s tip. First a lovely church, then a driveway to the magnificent castle. Entrance €6 and dogs are not allowed.
Dudutki Museum
On to the Dudutki museum, there is an official parking for campers. A super quiet place in the countryside. I look out over the grassland, see cows and a wooden flour mill, it looks like the Netherlands?!
The day starts with sun, so good! The camper place costs BYN 23 (€7) for no water, no electricity, no drainage, but entrance to the museum. Well €7 for no services is a lot, so I’m going to see everything in the museum! First the tasting of homemade cheese and bread. Then the wooden church, a gem! And we walk on to the wooden flour mill with the old house next to it.
Minsk city
In Minsk city the church st Simon & Helena and the library are both closed unfortunately. On to Victory square and the big statue of Lenin, impressive. A winter shower passes over Minsk, there is much more to see here, but after a rain shower and another hail shower I call it a day. We park at a lake not far from Minsk.
It’s raining so we take a short walk in the woods in the morning. I still doubt whether there are bears and sing a song out loud. Before we go to Mound of Glory, I fill up with diesel for €0.77 per liter insanely cheap!
Mound of Glory
Mound of Glory is amazing! This monument on the hill honors the Soviet soldiers in WWII.
Countryside
We go to a campsite by a lake. But the question is, is the campsite still there? And is the campsite open? Like all parkings in Belarus, the information in the camping apps is currently not up to date.
The campsite still exists, it isn’t open but I can park, great! Have a little (Google translate) chat with 2 fishermen and they tell me that I can fill up with water at the water pump in the village. This is really the countryside! Old houses and indeed a water pump. It is now a lot warmer than in Minsk, nice!
Oldest village Polotsk
This oldest village in Belarus looks particularly modern?!
Gorgeous cathedral, village square, memorial, river Dvina, university, old houses, murals and the geographical center of Europe!
I cross the border just past Liozna, a small quiet border crossing, there is only one border and that is Russia. Check the latest developments regarding the border crossings between Belarus and Russia before departure!
Our journey to Central Asia continues in Russia, will you join us?
