Another winter wonderland greeted us this morning!

We found that Karl Marx place was just 500 metres from us… it was the street recommended by Alex for cafes and restaurants.

We ate breakfast in Cafe Michel which was a modern, industrial design hip cafe. Once refreshed we set off to find Gorky Park. We walked past a lot of interesting and imposing buildings which provided perfect backdrops for photographs.

We saw a lot of cadets who walk around in squads with beautiful teal coloured fur hats and camo uniforms. There were no weapons in sight anywhere but they had a lot of pockets.

The streets were busy with traffic but there are very few people out and about on foot. This provided excellent photo opportunities, especially for Scott with his love of soviet architecture and columns!

We entered Gorky Park admiring the snow covered pine trees and the ducks scrambling towards us in the flowing stream.

After that it was time for lunch so we walked to the Karl Marx street and ate at the Grunwald restaurant. Michele and Teresa ordered a lovely Borsch, served with sour cream, horseradish and dark bread which caused Scott to have food regret. His was a lamb dish but uneventful.

We then decided to find old Minsk. It did not disappoint. The views of this well-planned town (rebuilt in 1984) are very beautiful and are made all the more spectacular with the Christmas lights. The decorations are plentiful and all very different from each other, it’s hard not to take photos of every display.

It was time for a beverage, so we found a place right in the middle of the old town and ordered a vodka tasting board each. The shots of vodka were accompanied by a delicious assortment of bread, cold meat, pickled veggies and horseradish. Amazing!

We returned home via some more Christmas decorations and lights and called it a night. Ready for more exploring tomorrow….hopefully via the cat museum!

Дабранач!