In and around Gomel

I started off with a morning tour through Gomlen -  but before that I needed a coffee - and I found my favourite place here  Iguess - perfect espresso and fresh made crepe filled with the chocolate from the local Spartak chocolate factory - what more to dream of .... well after the second morning espresso I had to wake up and explore the city .....

Started with the park close to the Dnepr and worked myself along the vul. Saveckaja towards the Spartak chocolate factory 

In the park of the palace - the admininistrative building of the Orthodox Church 

The grave chapel of Paskevic

The St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in the park of the palace

The palace viewed from the riverfront 

Lenin square with the local concert hall

The hunting manor in the park

The nice buildings on the vul. Saveckaja 

Close to the puppet Theater 

Tank rampart for crushing parked cars

What Minsk to choose from for the next trip?

The chocolate Fabrik Spartak - what a smell up in the air

At the factory I had the best dark chocolate ever in the local factory shop - that saved my day.....

I continued towards the Gomel railway station still with Lenin to wave good bye .....

Bach to the river I climbed the view tower to get an brida view of the area

The afternoon was reserved for a trip to Vetka and Cacersk both in the heavy radioactive affected area.

Vetka has as Moscow a red square, which is protected by Mr. Lenin, who else and was the centre of the "old Beliefers" that flew from the Russian troupes to Vetka - once over 4000 where again found by the Russian and pushed into the undergournd movement.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Believers

The town once hosted 25000 people but most of them were moved after the accident and how the population is back to 5000 people.

The red square - not as impressive as in Moskow but still

The local museum with the documentation of the old beliefers 

Local houses with nice details 

I continued towards Cacersk on an strange drive - the road leads directly through the heavy affected zone - all roads to the former villages show no entry signs but still there seems to be forestry work ongoing and fields can be found beside the forest that is marked as radioactive affected - as well as villages can be found just 1 km outside this zone - really wondering if this is all that safe and well planned .....

I was driving the road right through this area ...

Roads to the evacuate villages with no entry sign 

The former bus stop aside the road - radioactivity is invisible - no matter how blue the sky is ...

I finally came to Cacersk - with its nice wooden town hall and the aeroplane beside - that served as a cinema once - cool so I saw the first cinema plane in my live ...on the exit of the town the memorial for the piepte died because of Tschernobyl can be found.....

So nice view but the sign - radioactivity - do not enter right beside this ....

The wooden town hall 

Not sure if i really like to eat the great apples that are produced here - better not....

The memorial at the eve of town about the catastrophe 

Now happy to be back in Gomel wondering still of the impressions from today - radioactivity can really turn you live upside down and stay without that you know it and realise it - would like to invite people here that still propose this technology as fail safe - bet they would rethink ....