Day 6 (July 11, 2019): Good-bye Belarus. Hello, Ukraine!
After a wonderful day in Brest, we were up at 5AM again to get a train back to Minsk. The Hampton Inn prepared a couple of breakfast bags for us to eat on the train, which was very kind of them. By 6AM, we had boarded our train at the Minsk station.
Two train stories: First, the same two Spanish guys who shared the train compartment with us yesterday on the way to Brest, and who ended up checking in at the same hotel as us at exactly the same time last night, were on the same train back to Minsk, and were sitting a couple of rows from us! They are also heading to Moldova, so we quipped that we would certainly see them there!
Second, a young woman was sitting next to us and, when she heard us speaking English, she said, "I am an English teacher, and I have been waiting so long for someone to speak English with! Can I speak with you?" Well, that started a wonderful three-hour conversation that didn't stop until we parted ways in Minsk.
We pulled into Minsk's central station exactly on time at 9:30, got our "usual" bus to the Renaissance Hotel, where our bags were stored, and met up with the driver we had hired to take us to the airport. The 45-minute drive took us through the heart of Minsk one last time, past all the key sights we had explored since Sunday evening's arrival. Check-in, security and customs all went smoothly, and we had lunch at a business lounge before boarding our very old Belavia Boeing 737-300 to Odessa. According to our check-in agent, the flight from Minsk to Odesa is always packed, as Russia has been banned from sending flights to the non-annexed part of the Ukraine, since its invasion of the Crimean Peninsula. Therefore, the Russsians (who love Odessa) now fly to Belarus and connect onwards to Odessa!
It's just a 90-minute hop from Minsk to Odessa, but customs formalities were brutally long upon arrival. We took out some Ukrainian Hyrvnia and sought out a cab to take us to our "Marlin Hotel" in central Odessa. Nothing is easy in these parts - the taxi drivers were total scheisters, wanting over three times what the fare should cost. It took some firm haggling to knock them down to the reasonable range.
The hotel is a newish boutique hotel, centrally located. It's named for a massive glass marlin art installation displayed in the lobby. We got settled and then headed out to get a feel for Odessa, walking a 4KM loop to the Marine Trade Port, up the famous Potemkin Stairs, then along the cafe-lined Katerynynska Boulevard to an Italian cafe strongly recommended by Lonely Planet. It's been another long but good day. And after a decade since our last visit to the Ukraine, it's good to be back.
Two train stories: First, the same two Spanish guys who shared the train compartment with us yesterday on the way to Brest, and who ended up checking in at the same hotel as us at exactly the same time last night, were on the same train back to Minsk, and were sitting a couple of rows from us! They are also heading to Moldova, so we quipped that we would certainly see them there!
Second, a young woman was sitting next to us and, when she heard us speaking English, she said, "I am an English teacher, and I have been waiting so long for someone to speak English with! Can I speak with you?" Well, that started a wonderful three-hour conversation that didn't stop until we parted ways in Minsk.
We pulled into Minsk's central station exactly on time at 9:30, got our "usual" bus to the Renaissance Hotel, where our bags were stored, and met up with the driver we had hired to take us to the airport. The 45-minute drive took us through the heart of Minsk one last time, past all the key sights we had explored since Sunday evening's arrival. Check-in, security and customs all went smoothly, and we had lunch at a business lounge before boarding our very old Belavia Boeing 737-300 to Odessa. According to our check-in agent, the flight from Minsk to Odesa is always packed, as Russia has been banned from sending flights to the non-annexed part of the Ukraine, since its invasion of the Crimean Peninsula. Therefore, the Russsians (who love Odessa) now fly to Belarus and connect onwards to Odessa!
It's just a 90-minute hop from Minsk to Odessa, but customs formalities were brutally long upon arrival. We took out some Ukrainian Hyrvnia and sought out a cab to take us to our "Marlin Hotel" in central Odessa. Nothing is easy in these parts - the taxi drivers were total scheisters, wanting over three times what the fare should cost. It took some firm haggling to knock them down to the reasonable range.
The hotel is a newish boutique hotel, centrally located. It's named for a massive glass marlin art installation displayed in the lobby. We got settled and then headed out to get a feel for Odessa, walking a 4KM loop to the Marine Trade Port, up the famous Potemkin Stairs, then along the cafe-lined Katerynynska Boulevard to an Italian cafe strongly recommended by Lonely Planet. It's been another long but good day. And after a decade since our last visit to the Ukraine, it's good to be back.
About to board Belarusian Railways express train from Brest to Minsk, departing 6:20AM. A wonderful train, and well used by the people of Brest to quickly get to the capital.
The drive from Minsk to the airport (which is really out in the sticks!) afforded some wonderful last views of the country, which has stolen our hearts. Here: a dramatic sky and a beautiful field of wheat.
While we didn't get to visit it, our cab ride to the airport did afford a view of the "Mound of Glory", built to commemorate Belarus' liberation from the Nazis in World War 2. The mound is 35m tall and contains soil taken from all over Belarus.
A great thing about Minsk Airport is its collection of preserved airliners representing Belarus aviation history. These are lined up alongside the main road just outside the terminal. While we didn't have time to visit them, the collection includes:
Tupolev Tu-154B-2, Belavia
Ilyushin IL-76T, TransAvia Export Cargo Airlines
Antonov An-2R
Yakovlev 40S2, Miskavia
Antonov An-24RV, Gomelavia
Tupolev Tu-134A, Aeroflot
I was excited to see the Tu-154 - a classic Russian aircraft (and the USSR's response to Boeing's 727). Belavia flew the last scheduled Tu-154 flight in Europe in May 2015.
The modern Minsk National Airport somehow has a very Soviet feel to it.
Belavia's Boeing 737-300 from Minsk to Odessa sported a livery advertising a video game product (I think that's what it was, anyway!).
Odessa is one of the most important ports on the Black Sea, with a very proud and vast shipping history. These are the gates to the Port of Odesa.
The Port of Odesa is incredibly busy and industrial. Yet, smack-dab in the middle of it all, is a high-end resort. It's quite odd, really, but done in a way that only the USSR could have every conjured up.
This is the famous Potemkin Stairs, named for the lover of Catherine the Great of Russia. The stairs connect the Primorskiy Boulevard with the Passenger Terminal of the Port of Odessa. Built in 1837-1841, the stairway is 192 steps. To the left is a funicular, for those whose legs can't walk it.
The view of the Potemkin Stairs, looking down towards the port (with the oddly placed resort in its industrial middle!).
Monument to the Duke de Richelieu. This was the first monument erected in Odessa. It depicts French nobleman, the Duke of Rochelieu, who was Governor of Odessa, from 1804-1815. The Duke is shown in a Roman toga, holding a scroll.
Dinner at the Italian gem, Tavernetta, where this old Russian car has been turned into a flower box.
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