BUREAUCRACY IN BELARUS

We exit Russia a day before our visas expire. No dramas, just a tad slow as they make us go through the truck queue. Then on to Latvia in the EU where we join the car queue and of course it’s the slow queue this time.  We need to purchase car insurance & road toll even though we only plan to be here a day or two. Still it is pretty cheap. A few hours later we are free.  We find a nice spot beside a lake in the Razna National Park for the night before we tackle our next border.

Today it is to be “Welcome to Belarus Day”. Fingers crossed. Leaving Latvia is pretty smooth – it always amazes me why they need to see insurance etc etc when we are leaving. Then we hit the Belarus side. Soooooo slow. They even take a magnifying glass out to examine every page of our passports. Border control, customs, insurance…. all move slowly. Finally, we are in and they assure us we can free camp, but if we stay more than 5 days we need to register with the police. Sounds pretty easy – right!

Time to start exploring, and we love seeing tidy villages overflowing with flowers, heavily laden apple trees & smiling people. The roads are great & the drivers polite. We are falling in love with Belarus. Our first big town is Polatsk and we stop to admire the church & monastery. The day is too lovely to stop early so we keep exploring eventually pulling over in a hay paddock for the night.

Today we are planning to explore the city of Vicebsk. It is much bigger than we had expected, but we still find a car park in the city and head off. Most of the buildings in this entire country were destroyed in WW2 so there only pockets of old stuff left, & a lot of reconstructions. Still it is a pretty place and we manage to get cash & a Sim card. We decide to try and register while we are here – but after an hour with the Police we come away empty handed. They tell us to do it after 5 days. Our last chore is to get a Beltoll (a transponder for the toll roads) – it takes John over an hour.  By the end of the day we find a pretty spot with lake & cemetery views. Not bad in this flat country.

On the way south, we pass Khatyn Massacre Memorial - a WW2 war Memorial. It is incredibly stark & moving. There is an eternal flame beside 3 birches that symbolise the 1 in 4 people in Belarus that died in WW2. There are simple graves symbolising villages razed and bells tolling every 30 seconds showing the rates at which lives were lost during the war.  Very moving.

 As usual our plan is to hit the city (in this case Minsk) on Sunday so we head around the ring road to Dudukti where we can camp free - this includes water & electricity.  A perfect opportunity to do heaps of washing – sheets & towels included. Time to explore this touristy complex – sample the cheese & moonshine made here.  To round off a perfect day we meet some truly lovely people. Alex & his lovely friend invite us to explore some castles with them tomorrow & another couple give us a great guide book about Belarus in English.

So instead of heading to the city on Sunday morning we tour 2 amazing castles – Mir & Nesvizh. Both are set on water, one even has a full moat, and both have some very lovely restored rooms to explore. A truly lovely day. Thank you so much. Finally, at dusk we head to the city, and find that the I-Overlander spot is barriered off. As usual I have been keeping an eye out for a backup spot – so we head back there. Still in the city centre but it will be perfect for the night. At 7am the next morning we head to the Ukraine Embassy to get a parking spot. In the end we stay there all day & the next night.

More chores. First up registration as it is day 5. Three police stations later we discover the Immigration Police are closed for the day. Back to the Embassy. Visas applications are at 2pm so we set off to explore this lovely city. The best way to see it is by foot and we walk for miles. After lunch in the city it is time to get to that Embassy – but we are rather stunned to discover that the visas will cost $100US each & be ready to collect in 10 days or cost $200US each to collect tomorrow. Phew. We back out very quickly and in GR2 go online for the application form (as they said we needed to do). We see that we can apply online and collect them in Brest on our way south. A much better idea, we hope.

John has an interview to do with a reporter (as usual I find something to do in the truck). Then they take us to the library!  I am expecting books, but it is a crazy hexagonal building with great city views. We finish our day sitting in the park with Alex. It rains all night. Time to get out of here, but first stop is the Immigration Police. And a very unsuccessful visit that is. No, she will NOT give us our paperwork as we have no address. It is on to plan B as arranged by last night’s photographer (more later). But before we leave the city we must visit The Belarusian Museum of the Great Patriotic War (WW2) – and a fantastic display this is with plenty of explanations in English. An awful lot of very depressing information, and a rather different take on events than we see in our history books. I hadn’t realised that Russia & China between them won the war!

Time to head north to the tiny village of Zabrodie to stay in their camp ground and finally get this registration sorted. But as we pass “The Stalin Line” park we simply must stop to explore.  More war stuff – trenches, tanks, rockets, weapons etc etc. Brilliantly done (but I am getting seriously depressed). All you war crazy people can come & shoot guns, drive tanks, watch war games….

Head north to the very tiny village of Zabrodie where we stay in their camping ground, explore the museum, look at all their old cars & most importantly get registered. Yay we are now legal. Wake to another grey cold morning – it is officially Autumn & leaves are already turning. We had planned to explore the lake district, but grey weather is not conducive to looking at lakes so instead we head towards the fort at Lida and on to Hrodna.  The Lida fortress has been extensively rebuilt so we hadn’t planned on touring it, but we meet a local guide who gives us our own English tour (free) – Thank you.

Then on to the city of Grodna. It is rush hour when we arrive but we snare a riverside parking spot and head off to wander the streets. Some lovely buildings, gorgeous Polish Cathedral, Opera House & the new & old castles. Over the other side of the river I spy a much better carpark below the Cathedral. It has magic views, so we head over. John pulls out the awning and we enjoy the view.

Today we wake to sunshine. John has been checking online & found some old bunkers to explore. They are not far away – just near the border of Poland. Amazing to explore this massive concrete fortification from WW1. Then on to look at a few castles. The first is Ruzhany Castle - Most of it is in a crumbling state making it fun to climb around. The next is Pushosky Castle at Kosava & this one has had the exterior fully restored – and it is truly magical. Inside there is a detailed history of the building all in English. We finish our day camped beside the little lake with views back over the castle.

Today we must reach Brest to go for our interview for our requested Ukraine visas so not too many detours on the way. We arrive late morning giving us time to explore the gorgeous pedestrian mall, have lunch & look at the odd church or two before heading to the Consulate. Bad news I am afraid!! I should have done a bit more research. The lady is really very helpful, but we simply cannot get a visa in time or we could try paying megabucks to possibly get one by tomorrow. Change of plans…we will skirt around Ukraine. We will head to Poland & to give us extra time for the longer drive we will miss the south eastern corner of Belarus & cross the border tomorrow.

Later we meet Stan for yet another interview before heading to the amazing Brest Fortress. Surely the jewel in the crown. It is enormous with some very poignant war memorials. We end our day camped inside the grounds.

Goodbye Belarus & hello Poland.  But first the border………unbelievable queues, which is apparently very normal. In total we were there 6 hours – most of the time queueing with 100’s of cars. No trucks – that will give you a clue to one of our dramas. A Belarus official told us we couldn’t take out the 2 tyres that have been strapped to our roof since Turkey. “Apparently” you cannot take out used tyres not on rims. We would have to go back & either get rid of them or put them on to the extra rims we carry & tie the new ones currently on the rims up on the roof! Fortunately, Johns grovelling & suggesting “that was a little crazy” saved the day. After all the drama getting registered they didn’t even check? But on to Poland – fast and efficient EU! Not. Here the drama is that we are a “truck” and this border is for cars & buses only. As there is no way back they reluctantly process us. Maybe a sign would be helpful. Phew no more borders for a while (we hope). Romania here we come……..

BELARUS PHOTOS

Camping in Latvia on our way to Belarus

Just a normal village scene

The Monastery in Polatsk

The moving Khatyn Massacre Memorial

John & Alex heading in to Mir Catle

Inside Nesvizh Castle

The moated Nesvizh Castle

The windmill at Dudutki near where we camped

Exploring Minsck

Another amazing memorial on The Island of Tears in Minsck

The Library!!!

The Belarusian Museum of the Great Patriotic War

Inside The Stalin Line

Us at the Stalin Line

Trying out a gyn (this one is not loaded - that costs extra!)

John exploring at Zabrodie

Hands on with our guide at Lida Castle

Lida Castle

Our camp spot overlooking Hrodna

Inside WW1 bunkers

And outside

The Maldives in Belarus - a man made lake

Hay bale competition time

Runied castle at Ruzhany

Outside the restored gatehouse

Camping overlooking Castle Pushosky

One of the quirky statues in Brest

Central Brest

Heading in to the amazing Brest Fortress

Wow

Shelled gate at the Brest Fortress

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

We have no desire to stay in the workshop another night so at 7pm we head out towards Divnogorsk along the river and of course this route takes us right through the city with stop start traffic. By the time we reach the river it is nearly dusk & we stop at the first spot we find. It is right in town beside the river but proves pretty quiet. Naturally in the morning we spy quite a few awesome spots only 10 minutes down the road.   

And so, the drive continues. By lunchtime we reach the pretty town of Majinhsk where there is a quaint main drag surrounded by streets of old wooden houses. We stop for some fruit & water from yet another roadside pump. Then on to the city of Tomsk via the back road. Fortunately, it is Saturday so we head straight to the centre of the old city & find a great spot on the River Tom. Perfect to head out to explore tonight & yet again the next morning. This city would have to be the friendliest we have been to so far in Russia (even gifts of a no plate with note left on GR2 & boxes of chocolates) So many people stop to chat & many have a smattering of English. The restaurant a local guy books for us is amazing (especially as it my birthday dinner) and the lovely lace covered mansions are superb.

Now we are doubling up on roads by driving from Novosibirsk to Omsk. We have no choice so we blast through. But this time there are heaps more wildflowers out, hay has been cut, more road has been resurfaced and best of all fewer mozzies are out and about. Two big driving days before we reach the city of Tyumen. Here we are to visit Nikolay & his family at his home. We met them on the road yesterday & Nikolay said “Come to my house - just follow me” The next time he stops we realise his house is over 400km away, and it is already late, so we arrange to visit the next day. And what an awesome day it is. Lunch is waiting when we arrive. John decides he should sack me and take Nicolay’s Mum with him as cook. Then we get a guided tour of the city which includes a huge storm (like the ones we get at home). The 2-hour tour became 4 hours. We stay for dinner. Lots of “toasts” and talking before sleeping outside in the carpark. Thank you, Nicolay & your lovely family.

From Tyumen we head north to Tobolsk as it sounds fascinating. We are amazed how much traffic is heading this way – directly north. Finally arrive and park right outside the Kremlin walls & head off to explore. The cathedral is gorgeous – I just love all those shiny domes. We even visit the museum & explore the old town. Then on to another Monastery while we are out here. It is getting late and we have found a spot on I-Overlander at a geyser like pool. Hmmm sounds good, so that is where we head. It really is strange to see hot water spurting out of a pipe near the river, but it makes a great camp spot and is not bad for a hot, muddy soak.

Then the drive back to Tyumen and on to the city of Ekaterinburg (named after Catherine the Great & Catherine the patron saint of mining). It is late by the time we arrive so we crawl through the ring road traffic until we reach our planned camp spot at Ganina Yama – the site where the Romanov corpses were found. Since been executed they have managed to achieve sainthood status and there is a Monastery here in their honour. We explore the wooden churches – made without nails, before making use of their carpark for the night.  

We hadn’t planned on visiting the city but change our minds & head to the centre – somehow managing to drive in rush hour yet again. Find a park easily right beside the magnificent Church of the Spilled Blood where the Romanovs were executed. A fantabulous building- no photo could do that amazing interior justice. Then we wander town before heading off, well pleased with our stop. From here we had planned to head directly north to Perm 36 – a GULAG museum, but I see there are Ice Caves at Guntur and so we head there first arriving by 4pm. Fortunately there is a tour at 5pm. The first section is amazing with draping ice & carved   shapes, but then it goes downhill as we trot from rock area to rock area with a long commentary in Russian. We stay overnight in the carpark – perfect.

So today we head north to Perm 36. And a great visit that is. This Gulag was only closed in 1987 so is pretty much intact. What a truly brutal place these Gulags were. We leave counting our blessings that we were not born in Russia. From here we carry on through the Ural Mountains (really not very mountainous, but lovely, lush & green… no doubt because of all the rain, and where we leave Siberia & enter Europe) on to the city of Perm. Here we stop at an Armament museum after noticing all the guns & tanks as we drive past, & then the city zoo. A bit of a tiny squashed place but it has the advantage of having one of those Amur Tigers we had missed seeing over in Vladivostok.  The tiger is here pacing his cage, and we enjoy seeing a very chubby polar bear, a happy Asian bear munching watermelon & my highlight – a Snow Leopard & her cubs. No camp spots beside the river so we head out of town finding a lovely spot at the ferry port on the River Kama. Yet another magic spot.

In the morning we board the ferry in huge swirls of mist. As it clears we drive & drive. Another huge driving day to the city of Kazan – capital of the Tartar Republic. Courtesy of I-Overlander we camp right on the Volga River on a sandy beach right in the centre of the city. Lovely after a long day. Hopefully the local disco will stop earlier on a Sunday night. It doesn’t, but we still sleep well. Time to explore the city. So, after a morning of chores we head to the city & park right beside the amazing white walled Kremlin. Inside there are so many buildings to gawp at. The new mosque is eye-catching, the leaning tower on a par with Pisa, & the Annunciation Cathedral sumptuous. Best of all are the views of the city. It has had a huge makeover to ready it for the World Cup held here a few months ago. Then down the main pedestrian mall before dinner out. Back to our beach for the night.

Time to leave this lovely city after a not so quick stop to top up our Sim card. As we head across the Volga River we spy a beach & head down for a late morning tea/early lunch. We don’t leave. Just stay all day. Chat to some lovely people, put in our boat for a spin & swim. Such beautiful weather makes beach chilling time awesome.

Wake to a cold grey day. There was even it bit of rain in the night. Weather is so changeable here. Time to get back amongst all those trucks heading towards Moscow. You would expect a double laned highway all the way. Right! But no. They are still working on it and it is bumper to bumper trucks. I find a back road – a ferry crossing the river to a Monastery & then back road all the way to Nizhny Novgorad. But the ferry has broken down, so it is back to join the trucks.

We reach Nizhny Novgorod late afternoon so decide to check out the beach for a camp spot, but this proves a definite no go, so we head along the riverfront in town. We find a park and head off to explore the very renovated Kremlin. It is massive with some rather lovely red brick towers and uninspiring buildings. We round of our night with the local specialty – dumplings. Then over the river to camp beside the Nevsky Cathedral. One of our better spots – riverfront views, huge quiet carpark & yet another Cathedral to admire. In fact, it is so good we stay the next night after spending another day exploring town. Try to locate a river cruise, but no success, so we head off to yet another Monastery & then cross the Volga River in a Gondolier. A lovely touristy day!

We are now entering The Golden Ring area – we visited here in 2008 with some Overland friends, so it is going to be hard not to “double” up. We are also trying to avoid the busy main road & have found some suggestions in the ever-helpful Lonely Planet. So, our first visit is to Murom dubbed “one of the prettiest towns in Russia” – hmmmm!!! Overrated, but we do manage to visit a few Monasteries. John skips the second one by filling up with water at a street side pump. We head on to Vladimir, but as we have been here we merely pass through & on to a riverside camp spot near Suzdal.

We remember Suzdal from our last visit. Even see our previous camp spot, but time has changed this town. It as pretty as ever – chock full of churches, monasteries & cute old houses, but now it is popping with tourists. It is Saturday & a perfect distance from Moscow for day or weekend trips.  One more LP gem to pop in to see – and this one is very cute. The little town of Yurlev-Polsky where we can wander along an earth embankment that totally surrounds the Kremlin. A great way to peek inside. Totally Monasteried out we head to Moscow for our assault on the city. The plan is to arrive tonight & camp at a spot John has located & drive right to the centre early Sunday morning.

The plan is successful. Despite lots of traffic we find our camp spot a mere 8km from the centre of the city. It is in the grounds of the very new & very Disney like Izmailovsky Kremlin. In the morning we reach Red Square & St Basils by 7am. It is easy to get photos of GR2 outside these iconic structures and then park on a back street. There are police everywhere – we cannot park on a main drag & they are in the process of closing the streets. We don’t quite know why but think it may have something to do with the Kremlin Tattoo taking place in Red Square. The Square is all barriered off with full security and there is a huge grandstand all set up. Anyway, we head out to explore. The riverfront has been given a marvellous make over for the World Cup & there is a great walkway over the water. By the time we finish a late breakfast (pancakes of course) Red Square is chock full of tourists. To round off our day we do the hop on- hop off bus & a 2-hour boat cruise. Phew, being tourists is exhausting. Finally, back at GR2 we head to our Kremlin for the night. I am hoping for more fireworks – last night they were a few metres from GR2, and we simply opened our window & watched while debris rained down on & beside us! But not tonight.

We are now on our last few days in Russia. What about St Petersburg you think…Two reasons. Firstly, we have been to this amazing city twice before, and secondly our visas are due to expire in a few days. Our original plan was to drive to Smolensk & on to Belarus, but annoyingly we do not think we can cross the border there. The border is a free one, meaning no customs are in place so we cannot get our Russian visas stamped out, or our Belarus ones stamped in so we will have to transit through Latvia. So, a few more days driving through lots of trees in rather dull grey weather. Both nights we find great spots beside lakes. Perfect for a fire – even if we sit underneath umbrellas when it starts to drizzle. Finally, we reach the border to Latvia…. Goodbye Russia – we have loved our visit. 

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE - PHOTOS

The Museum in Majinhsk

Our camp spot on the River Tom in Tomsck

Lovely lacework houses in Tomsck

Nicolay's family

Exploring Tyumen

Tobolsk Kremlin

A bit corny - at Tobolsk

Abalak Monastery

Hot shower at our camp spot

Ganina Yama

Church of the Spilled Blood at Eakaterinburg

My favorite building in Eakaterburg

Parking outside the Cathedral of Spilled Blood

Ice caves

Arriving in Perm

Smile

Kazan Kremlin

Camping at Locomotion Beach Kazan

On the Volga River

Exploring Nizhy Novgorod

Another Monastery

Crossing the Volga

View from our camp spot

We are beside the Nevsky Cathedral

Monastery at Murum

Exploring Suzdal

More of Suzdal

Yurlev-Polsky Kremlin

Camping at Izmailovsky Kremlin right in Moscow City

GR2 beside St Basil's, Red Square & the Kremlin

A very crowded Red Square

The new skywalk in Moscow