Day 3 (July 8, 2019): Up, Down and All Around Minsk!
Despite a six-hour time-change, we were so exhausted that we slept a regular night and were up by 8AM. Today was a 12-hour day that encompassed 27,000 steps, according to my watch, and nine Metro or bus rides all over Minsk.
While the day's sights are shown below, we have to mention a true highlight: stumbling on a ballet performance at the impressive Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus. Many European stages are dark, come July and August, so it is a bit of a rarity to find a live performance.
Lunch was in a wonderful cafe overlooking the stark Soviet war memorial in Victory Square, while dinner was a traditional Belarusian meat pie (rabbit and spinach) in the restored Upper Town.
By the way, those nine transit rides (18 tickets between us) cost $8 Canadian. Try traveling all over New York or Toronto for $8! And those ballet tickets - for a production that was every bit on par with something you'd see at the Bolshoi in Moscow - cost $8 for two tickets! Minsk is a travel steal.
It'll be an early rise to get a bus about 100km south of Minsk to see a key sight of Belarus. G'night from Minsk.
While it looks like "rYM" in Russian, it actually says "GUM", as in the famous (to the former USSR) "GUM Department Store". In Communist times across the USSR, GUM was the Macy's behind the Iron Curtain -- just with a tiny fraction of the consumer choice. Today, GUM is trying to emulate European and North American department stores, but it still feels very Soviet. We bought a fridge magnet!
Cathedral of the Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary, built in the Baroque style in the 18th century. We have been stumped as to why / how an aethiestic regime maintained and restored so many churches in Minsk after the War. Well, our visit to this church explained alot! The Communist government closed it down in 1947, destroyed the bell towers, and turned it into the home of a theatre troupe, and later a children's sport club. And such was the fate of most churches under Soviet rule. After the fall of Communism, the church was reestablished and renovated to its former glory, being reconsecrated in 1997.
Minsk City Hall, originally built in 1591, but ordered destroyed by Russian Csar, Nicolas I. It was rebuilt in 2004.
Minsk gained self-government in 1499 and began a rapid development in the areas of crafts and trade. The European metric system of weights and measures was soon introduced. Public scales were installed at City Hall.
St. Spirit Orthodox Cathedral in Minsk. A traditional mid-day service was being sung as we visited.
The modern riverbank area of the Svislach River, just west of the city center, stands in great contrast to the Soviet-style dominating much of Minsk.
We have seen many massive apartment complexes built under Communism throughout Eastern Europe, but this has to be one of the biggest single complexes!
The Island of Tears and Courage, in the middle of the Svislach River, pays homage to Belarusians who have dies performing peacekeeping missions.
Minsk is filled with excellent coffee shops that provide much-needed resting grounds for weary visitors!
We needed that cappucino above prior to taking in the impressive collection at the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus.
There are two paintings I want to highlight. First, this scene of the liberation of Minsk by the Russians on July 3, 1944. Minsk was completely destroyed in the War, as the Russians pushed out the Nazis. Little did the desperate people of Minsk know on that day how their liberators would impact their lives for at least the next 45 years.
The second painting to highlight is this 1892 painting of Niagara Falls by Russian painter, Ivan Aivazovsky. Niagara Falls would have been quite unknown to Europeans at that time in history.
Minsk has three important squares: October Square (see yesterday's photos), Independence Square (which we will see tomorrow), and Victory Square, which contains an eternal flame and a great obelisk to commemorate the war dead of Belarus. In the Metro station under the Square is a large memorial to the war dead...
...while, in the Square itself, the expansive memorial area and obelisk demonstrate the Soviet glory of war success.
The relief carvings on all four side of the obelisk show larger-than-life aviators, generals, factory workers, etc. who made the supreme sacrifice for Belarus and the USSR.
A block from Victory Square, we came across the oddest vehcile in the city...
... complete with a rubber chicken gear-shift cover!
After he finished his military service in the USA, Lee Harvey Oswald defected to the USSR, moved to Minsk, took an apartment in this building, married a Minsk woman, got a factory job, and then went back to the USA where he supposedly assassinated JFK.
The National Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus. What an amazing building! It was truly special to take in a ballet production, written by a Belarusian.
North of the center of Minsk is a huge Soviet-era apartment development. One of the buildings sports this graphic of a Soviet comsonaut, proof of the strong ties with Russia. (Notice the "CCCP" on the cosmonaut's helmet.)
This is the oddly-shaped but still impressive National Library of Belarus, completed in 2006. At 23-storeys, it can accommodate 2000 readers (we saw just a handful of people there!). The Library's main architectural component has the shape of a rhombicuboctahedron. You think that's hard to say? Try typing it! ;-)
While we had scouted out the National Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus earlier in the afternoon, we returned for the 7PM ballet. We were surprised at how lavishly the utilitarian Soviets decorated the theatre, including the most impressive chandelier we have ever seen.
Pam, along with six greats of theatre history!
When we walked out of the Bolshoi, we were greeted by this full rainbow!
Dark rainclouds were creeping towards Minsk as we headed for dinner, and they dropped their contents as we were eating. Twas a showery day that didn't get past 17 Celsuis.
While the day's sights are shown below, we have to mention a true highlight: stumbling on a ballet performance at the impressive Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus. Many European stages are dark, come July and August, so it is a bit of a rarity to find a live performance.
Lunch was in a wonderful cafe overlooking the stark Soviet war memorial in Victory Square, while dinner was a traditional Belarusian meat pie (rabbit and spinach) in the restored Upper Town.
By the way, those nine transit rides (18 tickets between us) cost $8 Canadian. Try traveling all over New York or Toronto for $8! And those ballet tickets - for a production that was every bit on par with something you'd see at the Bolshoi in Moscow - cost $8 for two tickets! Minsk is a travel steal.
It'll be an early rise to get a bus about 100km south of Minsk to see a key sight of Belarus. G'night from Minsk.
While it looks like "rYM" in Russian, it actually says "GUM", as in the famous (to the former USSR) "GUM Department Store". In Communist times across the USSR, GUM was the Macy's behind the Iron Curtain -- just with a tiny fraction of the consumer choice. Today, GUM is trying to emulate European and North American department stores, but it still feels very Soviet. We bought a fridge magnet!
Cathedral of the Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary, built in the Baroque style in the 18th century. We have been stumped as to why / how an aethiestic regime maintained and restored so many churches in Minsk after the War. Well, our visit to this church explained alot! The Communist government closed it down in 1947, destroyed the bell towers, and turned it into the home of a theatre troupe, and later a children's sport club. And such was the fate of most churches under Soviet rule. After the fall of Communism, the church was reestablished and renovated to its former glory, being reconsecrated in 1997.
Minsk City Hall, originally built in 1591, but ordered destroyed by Russian Csar, Nicolas I. It was rebuilt in 2004.
Minsk gained self-government in 1499 and began a rapid development in the areas of crafts and trade. The European metric system of weights and measures was soon introduced. Public scales were installed at City Hall.
St. Spirit Orthodox Cathedral in Minsk. A traditional mid-day service was being sung as we visited.
The modern riverbank area of the Svislach River, just west of the city center, stands in great contrast to the Soviet-style dominating much of Minsk.
We have seen many massive apartment complexes built under Communism throughout Eastern Europe, but this has to be one of the biggest single complexes!
The Island of Tears and Courage, in the middle of the Svislach River, pays homage to Belarusians who have dies performing peacekeeping missions.
Minsk is filled with excellent coffee shops that provide much-needed resting grounds for weary visitors!
We needed that cappucino above prior to taking in the impressive collection at the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus.
There are two paintings I want to highlight. First, this scene of the liberation of Minsk by the Russians on July 3, 1944. Minsk was completely destroyed in the War, as the Russians pushed out the Nazis. Little did the desperate people of Minsk know on that day how their liberators would impact their lives for at least the next 45 years.
The second painting to highlight is this 1892 painting of Niagara Falls by Russian painter, Ivan Aivazovsky. Niagara Falls would have been quite unknown to Europeans at that time in history.
Minsk has three important squares: October Square (see yesterday's photos), Independence Square (which we will see tomorrow), and Victory Square, which contains an eternal flame and a great obelisk to commemorate the war dead of Belarus. In the Metro station under the Square is a large memorial to the war dead...
...while, in the Square itself, the expansive memorial area and obelisk demonstrate the Soviet glory of war success.
The relief carvings on all four side of the obelisk show larger-than-life aviators, generals, factory workers, etc. who made the supreme sacrifice for Belarus and the USSR.
A block from Victory Square, we came across the oddest vehcile in the city...
... complete with a rubber chicken gear-shift cover!
After he finished his military service in the USA, Lee Harvey Oswald defected to the USSR, moved to Minsk, took an apartment in this building, married a Minsk woman, got a factory job, and then went back to the USA where he supposedly assassinated JFK.
The National Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus. What an amazing building! It was truly special to take in a ballet production, written by a Belarusian.
North of the center of Minsk is a huge Soviet-era apartment development. One of the buildings sports this graphic of a Soviet comsonaut, proof of the strong ties with Russia. (Notice the "CCCP" on the cosmonaut's helmet.)
This is the oddly-shaped but still impressive National Library of Belarus, completed in 2006. At 23-storeys, it can accommodate 2000 readers (we saw just a handful of people there!). The Library's main architectural component has the shape of a rhombicuboctahedron. You think that's hard to say? Try typing it! ;-)
While we had scouted out the National Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus earlier in the afternoon, we returned for the 7PM ballet. We were surprised at how lavishly the utilitarian Soviets decorated the theatre, including the most impressive chandelier we have ever seen.
Pam, along with six greats of theatre history!
When we walked out of the Bolshoi, we were greeted by this full rainbow!
Dark rainclouds were creeping towards Minsk as we headed for dinner, and they dropped their contents as we were eating. Twas a showery day that didn't get past 17 Celsuis.
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