Touring Minsk

We were all pretty tired, since we hadn't slept on the plane, and arrived in Minsk as everyone was starting their day. We were pretty much finding anywhere to sleep that we could.

Soon after arriving in Minsk, we went to a nice restaurant where we were treated well. We had our own service in a special room. Everything was delicious.

I found out later that the Belarus government made sure we were taken care of, so we didn’t have to pay for any of our meals. That was amazing. They even opened the restaurant just for us for breakfast.

 

Touring Minsk was wonderful.

The Botanical Gardens were beautiful.  There were many pictures made with flowers and plants as well.

The flowers at the Botanical gardens were so pretty. The bathrooms however, were not so pretty. The bathrooms didn't have a toilet, it was a hole in the ground instead. Yuk.






The National Art Museum was incredible. The artwork at the museum was gorgeous. We had our own tour guide, with a translator, who was able to speak to us in English so we could understand. 

The art ranged from portraits to sculptures to interesting architectural designs.

Beautiful architecture in the museum

After dinner, we headed off to the American embassy. I never expected so much security. We were asked many questions just to make sure we were in fact Americans. We spent time in a large board room telling two American representatives from the Embassy about ourselves and about the program we were doing.  

We heard about their daily activities, and the types of meetings they attend. We heard about how they got the news of international relations between Belarus and other countries. They said they were very impressed with us and our questions, and how we handled ourselves. They were very welcoming. I believe that they would be happy if they interested us in a future career in International relations too.
 

We saw miles and miles of just fields on the highways.

Here is typical street on our right.


We also had a chance to tour a fire department.

 

On the left is some Belarusian ice cream. It tasted more like a mix of fruity Gelato and Sorbet. On the right is a typical dish we would be served. Half the time I wasn't sure what it was when it came, but it was delicious. It was actually Potatoes and Beets.