Contiki Russia Plus: Days 12 & 13 – Minsk & Brest, Belarus

We arrived in Minsk after a full day of driving from Moscow, through the Russian border, and through part of Belarus!  Shortly after arriving at our hotel, we met our local guide and ventured to downtown Minsk.  The sun was setting, so we had a very short walking tour of the city where our tour guide told us about how Belarus was under the USSR’s control from 1944 until it regained its independence in 1991.

Russian Orthodox Church near the city center

The Chapel – A monument on the Island of Tears to soldiers who perished in the Afghanistan War

The city was very quaint & intimate – it is a shame that we only had one evening there!  After our tour, we stayed at one of the bars before heading back to the hotel because we had to wake up at 7:00 AM the following morning to catch our bus to Poland.

Our bus departed Minsk right on schedule and we headed for Warsaw the following morning.  On the way to Warsaw, we had the opportunity to stop at Brest Fortress, one of the final strongholds that kept the Germans at bay during World War II.  It is obviously a site of pride for the Belarusians & the actual grounds were immaculate.  The fortress was in the shape of a star and had a beautiful monument at the middle of the site.

After an hour and a half at the fortress, we boarded our bus and headed for Warsaw!