The young woman walked up to me, and, without a word, began rearranging the coins on my hand…. *** References to the Pripyat Marshes, near the border of Belarus and Ukraine, keep popping up in books as the area where the Slavic languages appeared. I have no idea where this idea lies on the spectrum… Continue reading A Postcard from the Pripyat, Belarus
Tag: Belarus
Belarus – and that ‘Registration Thing’
The passport control officer at Minsk Airport seemed genuinely shocked to see me (well, OK, I can have that effect on people). For so long, Belarus had seemed to be the hardest country in Europe to visit. This changed suddenly for citizens of many countries, and caught me off-guard. For New Zealanders at least, the… Continue reading Belarus – and that ‘Registration Thing’
Excuse me, I’m looking for the bog – Yelnya, Belarus
This all started in Minsk with my CouchSurfing host Alex’s Mum, Olga. Alex wasn’t home from his tutoring work, so Olga thought she would show me some photos of Belarus on the internet. Among a slew of truly stunning landscape shots, a few reached out ad grabbed me. They were of a wetland/bog called Yelnya… Continue reading Excuse me, I’m looking for the bog – Yelnya, Belarus