Boli goes Belarus: My first day in Belarus

Well, I have to state that I was a bit nervous before this trip - no time to prepare this just reserved some hotels over booking.com and just arrived from Poland on Friday night - started packing after this - so it is kind of a "hope this will all work out some how" mission - and the first day did - sipping on my beer waiting for my food and looking at the sunset of upper Minsk town....but there where some steps inbetween.

The trip started nice from Vienna -plane not delayed - 1:30 flight from Vienna always reminds me that Helsinki takes 2:10 how close Minsk is actually - touchdown on time - boarder controls....

I filled in this nice little - actually too little immigration form - name did not fit even - I handed both documents to the nice and strict lady of the immigration over and she started to examine those - she scanned the visa and my passport and then pulled out out a magnifying glass and started to investigate the holograms both of passport and visa to see if they were not fake - keep clam and relaxe was the right way - I was though happy when I got my passport back - the language was the easy part and I was already relaxing when a nice customs control asked my that he wants to examine my bags in the green channel of the customs control - okay now worries - nothing to hide I thought - he x-rayed my bags and then told me that I have medicin with we - yes off course I replied all for personal use - he then examined every piece of pills and then said he need to check my nose pills - he came back after 5 min and told me that they are narkotiks and I should not have them - I told him that these are needed if my nose closes up and are no drugs ....

He then gave me them back under the permission that next time I come to Belarus I leave them at hope - for sure I said ...

Okay after that I was in - great - got a taxi to my crash hotel i found belonging to the defence ministers - great flair with lots of means in uniform moving in and out and definitely the safest place here - smile

Minsk is shiny and cleaned and I started my walk on this great sunny day - in the end it was 23 km - here are some impressions

The Gorki Park - with his master is a great playground on Sundays

The victory square with the eternal flame in the middle and the red letters that the heroic acts of the people will stay for eternity - what else - smile

Below the document the magic continues

This is an interesting house with a balcony - that is where Lee Harvey Oswald lived - yes you are right the guy that was supposed to have JFK - he was communist and went to Moskva and was offered a workes place in Minsk heavily observed by the KGB - the interesting thing is that according to the records his ability to shoot where minor - he even could not shoot a rabbit on a hunting trip and nearly insured a friend .... wondering how increased his assassination abilities till he went back to US....