Up at 5, breakfast didn’t start until 6 but they said we could go in early because our taxi to the airport was arriving at 6. Just had time for toast and yoghurt, then the 30 minutes drive to the airport.
The flight to Vilnius was only 30 minutes; we wanted to take a train but Belarus has a weird requirement that you can come into the country without a visa and stay for 30 days but you have to fly in and out of Minsk. So we did that.
Very quick through security and border control, then a wait of an hour to get on the plane.
The plane was one of the smallest we’ve ever been on – a CRJ 100/200 and felt more like a bus.
Out of the airport quickly, then a 30 minute wait for the train to the city that took 5 minutes.
It was a lot colder than Minsk, despite not being that far away, about 12c.
Walked 10 minutes from the station to the hotel but we couldn’t check in till 3 so dropped the bags and headed out. Got as far as the supermarket across the road, popped in to get a couple of things, then carried on to the old town. It was overcast, grey and a bit cold.
The buildings here were what we expected Minsk to be like – large and grand, but with peeling paint, crumbling bricks and rusty balconies. Not as bad as Tbilisi, but nowhere near as good as Minsk.
Pretty soon we arrived at the old town, and it was like a different place – high end shops, lots of cafes and restaurants and the buildings in good condition.
There were also lots of tourists which was unexpected. We went to sit down in a cafe but they only had tables outside so we declined. Wandered up the road and found another Cafe, busy but we got a table. I had eggs Benedict, a coffee and an apple pie with ice cream, Song had toast with smoked salmon and avocado and a juice. Came to 20.6 euro (33 AUD).
Left the Cafe and went into one of the numerous churches for a peek. Took lots of photos of the area then walked down the main street getting buzzed by people on electric scooters – they are pretty popular here and I expect they’ll be in Melbourne before long.
Almost every second shop sold amber jewellery so Song was happy, then we came across a market selling craft stuff so had a nose about.
Carried on to another square, then kept going to yet another one with a bell tower and the Cathedral. It was Sunday so all the churches (mostly catholic I think) were conducting services, but we poked our heads in to have a look.
Walked around the corner to the tower which was perched high on a hill, and took the funicular to the top.
Climbed up the stairs in the tower around a tight spiral staircase trying to squeeze past people coming down.
The view from the top gave a panoramic vista of the city. Took more photos then back down and back along the main street. We were passed by loads of people in traditional dress, just like Minsk, and saw a poster about a festival, but we’d just missed it.
Sat down for a coffee (4 AUD for a large) and relaxed before heading back to the hotel to check in.
Stopped off at the supermarket again and got a bread roll, cheese and ham for dinner – we weren’t particularly hungry.
Tomorrow we might go back to the old town and poke about, or maybe take a trip out of the city to a castle.
