First impressions

This morning at the gym I met a translator from Los Angeles who flew in to translate “some meetings.” She evaded my conversational questions, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the IMF is in town. Anyway, she seemed almost shocked to learn that I chose to come to Minsk in order to learn Russian. The more we talked, the clearer it became that she isn’t impressed by this city.

I can understand where she’s coming from. When Alla and I arrived the first time, I couldn’t wait to get out of here. Our guide brought us from the airport to the Minsk Hotel, a rather austere building on a four-lane street without many trees. I was puzzled by her apparent pride as she told us how to walk toward various sites she thought would be interesting to us. It took us a day or two to understand that our place in Minsk is not in front of that hotel but in the parks and the quiet streets as near a block away. I still avoid that big avenue, but I love to walk throughout the city and I could easily rattle off a long list of things I like about Minsk, things I experience practically every day.

Unfortunately, starting at the train station or even at the Minsk Hotel tourists don’t immediately see the best parts of the city. Given a little help they probably find their way into the big underground mall and perhaps to the linen stores and the crystal factory showroom. It takes a little more time and effort to locate the nearest parks and discover how far they extend. And only after all this might the tourist begin to appreciate the kindness of strangers here, and to notice the talent of Belarusian artists.

We probably made the same mistake recently in Warsaw. We had some free time waiting to change trains on our way back from Prague, so we set out without a map to explore the area near the train station. We found our way to a commercial area without parks and with little architectural interest for us, and decided that Warsaw was almost a waste of time. After returning home I looked online and discovered that we could have seen many more interesting things if we’d bothered to do some research before setting out from the train station.

I think I’d better start reading more guide books before traveling, starting with our upcoming trip to Berlin. We like to say that “knowledge is power,” but when traveling, knowledge is pleasure.

Hotel Minsk

A more restful corner