cigar Archives - Page 7 of 25

Brazil South America

Lapa Land: Rio Day 2

I awakened my second full day in Rio with a bit of a plan: I wanted to get up early enough to go to see the Lapa Stairs. It’s not that the stairs disappear after morning, but I had heard that they very quickly get overrun with tourists and tour groups later in the day, so I thought I needed to get early to have them to myself. I had breakfast at the hotel (Hotel OK). True to brand, the breakfast was ok. It was packed with people – mostly Portuguese speaking people. I didn’t find any other English-speaking people that I could chat with (I am useless with any Portuguese phrases), but I kept myself busy eating all the delicious fruits. From my hotel I walked towards the Lapa Stairs. I was staying right in between the Centro and Lapa districts, so it wasn’t very far to walk to the stairs, and I loved the journey.

Walking in Lapa

From what I’ve seen of Rio, Lapa is my favourite district. It’s gritty; covered in graffiti with beautiful old buildings, lots of restaurants, cafes, and music venues. It’s definitely the bohemian, arty part of the city. Unfortunately, it’s dangerous at night. As I said in my previous post, I’m not generally concerned about violence, but people who are like me and locals to the area have told me pretty awful stories about going out in Lapa after dark and it even told me that Uber drivers won’t drive there. I question whether that’s true, or if it is as bad as I was told, but that’s what I hear. So, all my experiences in Lapa were during the day, but I definitely enjoyed it. (Before I get corrected; the Santa Teresa neighbourhood is also excellent; I’m just not clear where the dividing line is between Lapa and Santa Teresa, so I am referencing only Lapa because that is where i mostly seemed to be.)

pretty buildings

Lapa has two famous sites one of which is the stairs, will get to in a moment, and the other are Arcos de Lapa is which was an aqueduct system built in 1723. It’s hard to miss them; this gleaming white wall of double arches that diagonally cuts through the neighbourhood. Quite picturesque. The area around the arches had a lot of people sleeping in the street and clearly down on their luck. It didn’t feel unsafe, but it was something to be aware of. On to the stairs.

The Escadaria Selarón

I wasn’t actually that excited about seeing the Escadaria Selarón (aka the Lapa Stairs, aka the Escadaria da Lapa), I just heard that it was a thing that you’re supposed to see and I thought it would give me an excuse to walk through the neighbourhood and see what else there is, and I was already enjoying my walk, so had the stairs been disappointing it wouldn’t have been a problem for me, but when I arrived at the stairs, I found them delightful.

Colourful and artistic. Definitely photogenic. But the thing that I liked about them is just that it was such a whimsical, unnecessary thing. The story behind it is there was a Chilean artist, Jorge Selarón, who lived there, one day was repairing the few stairs leading up to his home and he decided to use a bunch of brightly coloured tiles to repair them. But he didn’t stop. His obsession grew and grew and he started covering all of the stairs with the tiles and mirrors and bits of pottery until it covered the entire staircase and it sort of crept like a beautiful fungus onto the apartment buildings that line the stairs and beyond. It’s just delightful. The fact that lots of people want to go there and take their pictures… well, you can’t even be upset about it, because it’s great. And of course, I couldn’t resist some selfies myself.

A triptych of selfies

A not so fun fact that I discovered was that the artist appears to have committed suicide in 2013 by pouring paint thinner on his head and setting himself on fire on the very stairs where we now take cute selfies and film music videos. A sad end, but his legacy is undeniably positive and popular. (I say “appears to have” because there is a small chance that he was murdered, but that theory seems to have less weight. There is a detailed account of his demise here.)

near the stairs

Cigar Time

After visiting the stairs, I walked to the Centro district to the Velha Habana, an excellent and brand new café / cigar store / cigar lounge. I saw it on my first day of wandering, but it was closed on Sunday. It was so new that they were still hanging art on the walls. It is really nice. I had a coffee and tried one of the locally grown and rolled cigars.

Wrapping up in Rio

It was at this point that I decided that I had pretty much seen many of the things that I wanted to do in Rio. I had plans to go to see the Christ the Redeemer statue and the Sugarloaf Mountain, but I was saving that for the day that I would fly back through Rio at the end of my trip, so I found myself needing something to do. So I decided that I would go on a favela tour. I’ve written about that in a separate post (here) because I took a lot of photos and I think it sort of deserves its own commentary, but that’s what I did with my afternoon.

After the favela tour, I ended up back in Leblon and i went for a cigar again at the excellent Esch Café and had a wonderful dinner at a middle eastern restaurant. As a vegetarian, the food in Brazil was kind of awful. Obviously, Rio is a major city and international food is available, but in terms of Brazilian food, it’s not super vegetarian friendly and certainly not vegan friendly, so I was happy to have a meal that was to my liking. After dinner I took the subway back to my hotel and had a good night sleep.

I liked my second day in Rio a lot more. The beach neighbourhoods I visited on day one just were not my thing, I found the Centro area a little bit boring, but I really liked Lapa (and Santa Teresa? I’m not sue where one area becomes the next) and I did enjoy the favela tour. The next day I would fly north to Salvador, which was the the place I most wanted to see in Brazil.

Brazil South America

Way Down Among Brazilians – Rio Day 1

Brazil, Finally

I don’t know why, but I had been resisting going to Brazil. Every year for about the past four years I’ve made myself a Brazil itinerary. Not every itinerary was the same but all of them involved me flying to Rio and visiting Salvador, which were the two places that I most wanted to visit. But I just couldn’t get excited about it; probably because most of the things that I know about Brazil involve beaches and parties and I just couldn’t care less about either of those things. But then again, I do like Bossa Nova music, cigars, and coffee, and Frank Sinatra sang two songs about Brazil, so I knew there must be something to it. The real reason that I finally booked the trip to Brazil, honestly, is that I think I really wanted to fill in a big hole in my South American map. I hadn’t been to South America since I went to Peru in 2014 and it just seemed like it was time.

So I made an itinerary that involved me flying to Rio, spending a couple of days there, flying to Salvador for a couple of days, then flying to Asunción, Paraguay for a couple of days, before returning to Brazil for a day. You can’t see all of Brazil in a week, but I thought I would pick some highlights and decide that if I wanted to go back to see more at a later date.

And so I flew to Rio.

Bom Dia, Rio!

The flight to Rio was long. Flying to Rio from Vancouver is not like flying to Europe or flying to Asia where the flight might be long, but you sort of make up the time when you fly back due to the time zone changes. Flying to South America is just really far and there’s not much of a time zone change, so it took me roughly a day and a half to get there and a day and a half to go back. I was determined to make the most of it.

I landed in Rio without any issue (Canadians don’t need visas) and went to my I accommodations: The OK Hotel. The OK Hotel was…OK. It was in the Centro District, right on the edge of the Lapa area, which is where I wanted to stay; very close to the subway and trolleys, it was walkable so many places that I wanted to see, and it was cheap. Beach people would probably want to stay closer to Copacabana or Ipanema, but I liked this neighbourhood better.

Rio Centro

*buildings and quiet streets in Centro Rio*

I hit the ground running in Rio. I started out by visiting Centro (the historic district). it was a Sunday, which was maybe not the best day to start out, as most things were closed.

The streets were pretty empty and it just seemed kind of dull. However, the architecture was beautiful and I did go to the excellent Museo de Arte do Rio (gallery of modern art) and popped in into some churches. But I wasn’t excited. It just didn’t feel lively.

*excellent pieces* *at the Museo de Arte do Rio*

*more great art* *at the Museo de Arte do Rio*

more sights of Centro

I did visit the excellent Cathedral of Rio, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian. It was designed by Edgar de Oliveira da Fonseca to resemble a Mayan pyramid and was built in the 1960s/70s. It is excellent. Very unique and modern, but also beautiful inside and out. I loved the stained glass and airy interior.

Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião

I hopped on the train and decided to go check out some of Rio’s beach areas.

At the Copa. Copacabana.

Let me be clear: I am not a beach person. I like swimming well enough, but I don’t know how I’m supposed to swim at the beach when I’m traveling by myself. (Just leave my wallet and my phone and all my personal items unguarded on the beach while I swim in the ocean? That doesn’t make sense.) So I tend not to swim when I travel, and the idea of laying in the sun on the beach just sounds like a nightmare. I don’t want to sit in the sun, I get bored sitting around, I don’t care for sand or children, or any of the things that come along with a day at the beach. But in this case, I was in Rio; of course I was going to go to see Copacabana and Ipanema just to get the vibe.

I started in Copacabana. I took the train from Centro. The metro is not super expansive in Rio, but it’s extremely convenient for covering long distances it’s very cheap and easy to navigate.

Metro Scenes and Machines

I walked a few blocks from the subway station to the beach. On the way there was a pretty good food market and I stopped off and had some sort of fried bread cheese thing with hot sauce which was pretty decent, and I continued walking to the beach. This area was quite a bit different from Centro. It was packed. All the shops and restaurants were open and people were out; there was music; it was actually a pretty good scene.

Copacabana street scenes

The wide road that separated the apartment buildings from the beach was great. It was mostly shut down to cars and was filled with pedestrians and rollerbladers and bicyclists. Along the sand was a row of outdoor restaurants and food and beverage vendors, almost every one playing music. That was pretty nice too. The beach itself wasn’t packed, it was winter in Brazil, but there were people out swimming and playing volleyball and hanging out. I took a look. I still had no idea no desire to participate in the beach activities, but it was nice to see them. I walked around that area for a while before hopping back on the subway to go to Ipanema.

Copacabana streets

This Girl in Ipanema

Ipanema was similar to Copacabana. It was busy with appealing accommodations and eateries and the beach was also nice. I guess the more interesting thing about Ipanema was that it had a really great view of the mountains in the favela in the distance which was an interesting site. I walked around there for a little while but was already kind of done with the beach concept so I walked back to the subway.

Ipanena Scenes

Leblon

I got off the subway in Leblon, which is the most affluent neighbourhood in Rio. That’s a pretty nice neighbourhood. I wouldn’t want to stay there; it’s too fancy and a little bit too expensive and it feels a little more generic than other parts of the city that I was in, but it was very nice. My reason for going there was to go and check out a cigar lounge. There is a place called Café Esch, which has inside of it a La Casa Del Habano. You can have coffee, you can have cocktails, you can have a steak dinner if you want too, and you can purchase all the best Cuban cigars in the humidor. The cigars aren’t cheap, but there was a great selection and anytime I can smoke inside I’m delighted. So I bought a couple of cigars, ordered myself a coffee and a couple of cocktails (I had my first Caipirinha – wow is that great and potentially problematic; it is so easy to drink) and sat inside watching football (soccer) with a bunch of cigar smoking men inside. Nobody really talked to me, but it was a really nice place to hang out.

Cigars at Café Esch, Leblon

When twilight dims the sky above

I wanted to make it back to my hotel before it got dark, so I walked back to the subway. In Leblon it felt absolutely fine to walk around at night. But by the time I got back to my hotel, that was not the case.

I’m not generally worried about violence, but Rio did give me pause. Even many of the savviest travelers that I know have had issues with street violence in Rio after dark. So I had decided that I really would limit my nighttime activities. This was fine, because I was already tired from walking around all day so I went back to my hotel and just decided to just read a book, but then I got hungry… and curious, so I went out. I walked around the streets around my hotel. Some of them were empty and didn’t feel particularly safe; the areas that were closer to the train and subway stations at least had people out and about, so they felt a little safer. Most things were closed, but there was a little corner pizza and hamburger spot, nothing fancy, plastic chairs, basically a fast-food joint. I sat there at one of the outdoor tables and I had a pizza. (As an aside, this was the worst pizza I’ve ever had in my entire life. The bread was soft and all it had on it was gross cheese and some sort of sickly sweet tomato sauce and it was served with ketchup and mustard. Really awful.) I sat outside and I had this pizza and a bottle of water and was just kind of watching the activity on the sidewalk. There lot of homeless and drug addicted people walking around. They approached me constantly asking for money and standing and staring at me and getting a little bit too close. I didn’t feel threatened, but it certainly didn’t feel comfortable. At one point, one of the guys picked up a bottle a beer bottle from a table next to me and broke it over the side of a chair and sort of looked at me, holding onto the neck of the bottle. He didn’t really brandish it and I didn’t think he was going to hurt me, but it certainly didn’t make for a pleasant eating experience. A bit later I did give him the rest of my pizza, so I feel like we kind of had a moment.

Anyway, that was my first day in Rio. I had a good day and I was happy to be there, I wasn’t loving it. Some places you vibe with and some you don’t. That’s ok. But I but I was excited to see more of the city the next day, which I did.

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Farewell, Minsk

I had one day left in Minsk. I had already seen basically everything I thought that I could see and yet there was still more. I had a quick breakfast at my hostel and then went out for a walk. I walked along the banks of the river to the National Museum (full name: “The Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War”).

I think one could give the National Museum a miss; it’s not amazing but it is interesting and I did learn a lot about the history of the country.

State Museum of Belarus

From there I walked up to the Komarovskiy Market, the largest market in Minsk. On the way, I had coffee at about three different neighbourhood cafes, each one very charming; some with books, some with dogs, all with great coffee.

Cafés in Minsk

The market was enjoyable; very similar to markets that I’ve visited and other former Soviet countries. Lots of breads, dumplings, pickled items, and fruits and vegetables. Also a ton of local honey. It is a great place to try some local food. I snacked on some delicious fruits and baked goods and then made my way over to a new museum.

Komarovskiy Market

I visited the Memorial Museum-Studio of Z. Azgur. Zair Azgur was a Belarusian sculptor, active from the 1920s to the 1950s, famous for sculpting hundreds of busts of Belarusian and Soviet military and political figures. His studio is now a museum. It holds over 4000 items, not all of which are on display at one time, but for travellers, it’s most interesting because of the sheer number of statues of Lenin and Marx and Stalin on display. It’s increasingly rare to see such depictions.

When I first entered the museum, I entered a small room with a number of busts. Quite impressive. I took a lot of photos and found it interesting. Then I was led to upstairs to a larger room, which had me gasp when I entered it. A huge room stacked floor to ceiling with busts of Soviet figures. It’s lit beautifully and very interesting to walk around. In the centre of the room is an impressive figure of Lenin striding forward, his coat waving up behind him, as well as a very serious statue of Stalin sitting in in a chair, and an enormous bust of Lenin’s head that was nearly as tall as I am. It was super cool and I think it should be on everyone’s list for Minsk.

Room No.1

Double Lenin

In the afternoon, I just wandered around the city a little bit more, had a short nap at my hostel, and in the evening I went to the opera. The opera house (full name: “The National Academic Grand Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Belarus”), was just a block from my hostel in the middle of a park. A stunning white building built in the 1930s and designed by Iosif Langbar.

*The National Academic Grand Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Belarus*

I’ve discovered that going to the opera at any former Soviet country is a great idea, because the opera houses are beautiful the shows are excellent, and the tickets are ridiculously cheap. They were showing Die Fledermaus at the opera and I picked up a ticket for less than $10 Canadian. The show was sung in German with Belarusian and Russian sur titles so it wasn’t the easiest of shows to follow along with, but I had a great time.

In the evening I walked around Minsk a little more, had a cigar of course, and went to bed early for my extremely early flight.

More Minsk buildings that I liked

I absolutely loved my time in Belarus. For me, it was kind of a leisurely trip. I had several days in the capital and my day in the countryside, and I never felt that I ran out of things to do. It’s a place that I would consider going back to in order to see more of the country. I don’t know if it was less touristy because of the ongoing war in Ukraine, or simply because it’s Belarus, but it didn’t feel at all touristy. It felt entirely authentic, and I liked it.

And so, it was onward to Dubai for another long layover, a long layover in London and then back home.

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Minsk: Two Churches and A Library

The day after my excellent day trip outside of Minsk I was back in the city and decided to build a day around visiting the National Library. The Belarus National Library is extraordinary and unique. It is this very futuristic design, built in 2006 in the share of a rhombicuboctahedron. (that’s right. Look it up.) It has 26 sides. It looks like something that should be flying in space or used as a die in a role-playing game. it’s imposing, intimidating and beautiful, in its own way. At night it’s lit up in a variety of colours. (The library is also notable to me because it was featured in a music video for the Belarusian band Molchat Doma, a band I really like.)

It was a short metro stop from central Minsk and gave me opportunity to visit yet more attractive subway stations. From the library I crossed the street and wandered by some Soviet apartment block buildings that had on the sides of them really cool mid-century mosaics of Soviet life and achievement. There were astronauts and farmers and Olympians. The tall apartment blocks still lived in.

I walked past trees in blossom and beautiful wildflowers everywhere on my way to see the Church of All Saints.

I didn’t see the Church of All Saints listed in many “what to see guides” and for Minsk, which is bananas because it’s stunning. It’s a newer church, gleaming white and gold. From the outside it is absolutely beautiful, and it is equally stunning from the inside. I took about a million photos from different angles.

Church of All Saints

In the basement of the church is the crypt; it’s quite attractive but what’s mostly notable about it is that the walls of it are lined with small square cubbyholes with amber coloured translucent windows on them. Inside of them are the ashes or remains of people killed – mostly unidentified and mostly soldiers. It gives the crypt beautiful glow. Of course, my twisted brain also thought it a little like a beautiful and morbid automat.

What I didn’t know prior to arriving, was the right next to the church of all saints Is another church, the Holy Trinity Church. While the Church of All Saints is white and gleaming, the Holy Trinity Church is black and sinister looking. I couldn’t find out a lot of information about it. I don’t know when it was built, but I do know that it’s made entirely of logs like a log cabin. It is cozy on the inside with a log cabiny feeling. The two churches are worth a visit.

Holy Trinity Church

From the churches I decided to walk back to central Minsk. It was a long walk but took me past a lovely cemetery that I walked through and looked at the various headstones and their designs.

It was a pleasant and leisurely day in Minsk and of course I ended the day by having a cigar and a cocktail (ok, two) on the patio of a Lebanese restaurant.

I had one day ahead of me in Minsk and had plans to see the opera and a whole lot more of Lenin.

*pedestrian street in central Minsk at night*

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Minsk Metro

A whole post devoted to metro stations probably isn’t warranted, except that Minsk’s Metro stations are beautiful. The Soviet Union placed great value on public transportation and, generally, made their metro stations lovely rather than merely functional. The most beautiful I have seen are in Russia, but other former USSR ones I’ve seen have been impressive. Minsk’s were no exception.

Minsk’s Metro only has three lines but has stops that can be useful for a visitor, such as for visiting the architecturally amazing library. For the most part, Minsk’s sights are walkable, but I wanted to see some of the stations. I didn’t visit all, but on my final day or two in Minsk, when I had seen much of ‘the sights’ I made a point of popping into a few stations to check them out.

The Metro is incredibly cheap – only less than $0.50 per ride – and when you pay, you get a neat little plastic token to enter.

Some of the stations have beautiful lighting and columns; others have interesting design on the walls of the tunnels in the stations. The best ones are those that still have their Soviet insignia intact.

You’re not officially allowed to take photos of the stations, but if no one sees you doing it, it’s no problem.

Like many Russian and Ukrainian stations, some had little shops in the tunnels leading to the stations, selling delicious baked goods.

Others had monuments and memorials. Of the latter, the most notable is at Nyamiha metro station, where, outside, there is a monument to the victims of the Nyamiha stampede where 53 people were crushed and trampled to death after people crushed into the stations during a sudden rainstorm.

Nyamiha stampede memorial

The possibility of sudden death aside, it’s worth visiting the Minsk Metro, whether you need to take it or not; to see the decoration and just to participate in a bit of everyday life in modern Minsk.

More subway memorials. The one on the right is for WW2. The one on the left is for a 1905 shooting, i think.

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Pomp & Propaganda: Victory Day in Minsk

As the man at immigration at the airport was kind enough to remind me, my trip to Minsk overlapped with Victory Day. This was not intentional, but I am so glad it worked out this way. Victory Day in Russia many years ago was fine – lots of parades – but this was a whole experience.

Victory Day is, of course, the anniversary of the day (9 May 1945) that the Soviets defeated the Nazis in WW2, and it remains a point of great pride. I have been told that Victory Day celebrations have become more of a celebration in recent years, as Belarus and Russia have gotten closer. I can neither confirm nor deny this, but I can say that experiencing this spectacle is to feel transported to the feeling of being in the Soviet Union in the good times. I loved it. Apparently I am easily influenced by rousing anthems in foreign languages. I have not defected, but I did have a great time.

On Victory Day eve, I was out at night looking for a place to have a cigar and found that there was a stage set up in a square on Independence Avenue a crowd of people watching. I wandered over to have a look and ended up standing there for an hour. On the stage was a series of music and dance performances, each celebrating Belarus. Young women in traditional costumes danced in front of videos of wheat fields accompanied by gentle ballads. Powerful torch song were sung while soldiers and their lady loves danced and played out silent dramas of relationships torn apart by noble wars. Choruses of children sang in front of waving flags. The best though were the lively songs where men, dressed as army and navy men danced acrobatically: high kicking, and doing that traditional Russian dance where the men cross their arms and get low to the ground, while kicking out their legs. (Like the move John Travolta pulled off in Saturday Night Fever.) Flips, endless twirls, and tight choreography. It was excellent.

But that was just a taste of what was to come. The next day there was a procession to Victory Square, where people gathered. Powerful Soviet anthems played. People waved red flags – some with the hammer and sickle. Some people sombrely carried placards with pictures of Lenin and Stalin on them. People carried photos of their relatives who had fought and died in wars. A couple of ancient, thin men walked with help through the crowd, wearing old army uniforms, dripping with medals. Everyone wanted pictures with them. It was so showy, so affecting, that I started to wonder if it was real. I mean, it certainly might have been, but also, could some of these flag wavers and portrait bearers be government actors and the whole thing designed to rally patriotism and militarism? With the Russian/Ukrainian war just to the south, it seemed possible, but I can’t say.

I felt energetic from the song and the false feeling of camaraderie. I had my photo taken with a soldier and a little girl in soldier costume. I pinned a ribbon to my jacket. I took a ton of photos.

After a while though, as the crowds grew, I decided it would be prudent to get away from the spectacle. Soldiers were starting to close off streets and I noticed a lot of plain clothed police or security guys posted around the square who weren’t there before. I thought maybe the president was about the make an appearance and I didn’t want to get fenced in, so I took off, through a park where the merriment continued, and then just away altogether, to an art gallery and café.

The President did come, but earlier in the day; nothing of any concern happened, but I always think it’s good not to me in the middle of any big, politically charged crowd, even if the music is great.

I hadn’t planned it, but the Victory Day celebrations were a highlight of my time in Minsk. I do think it is largely propaganda, but well done; and I left before I enlisted for anything, so I just got to feel like I time traveled to the 1940s and then carried on in the present day.

I ended the day bar at my new favourite bar in Minsk, with a cigar and the company of people who cared more for whisky than war.

On my way back to my hostel I caught the fireworks from a bridge.

The next day I would leave all of this behind to see some countryside and castles.

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Minsk’s Murals

One of the things that I love about any city is discovering street art. I like art, of course, but I like street art not just for the content of the art but for where it is found. I love a large piece on the side of a building, or a neighbourhood taken over by colorful murals. I even like collections of unrestrained graffiti. It’s a great way to see a city; to go off in search of murals in rougher or burgeoning neighbourhoods and to see places I might not have otherwise seen. And it’s free.

Minsk was not a place to see street art. For a long time, it was not a part of the landscape; either because there was a lack of street at culture or because the government didn’t allow it. Probably both. There is an excellent NY Times article about street art in Minsk; street art as political protest and the government’s aggressive tactics to shut it down and erase it. As I discussed in a previous post about Belarus, the government is … strict, so I didn’t discuss it much with anyone and I am not in a position to explain the history of street art as political protest, but it seems to be an issue.

That it is why it was such a big deal when in 2014 the areas around Oktyabrskaya Street (now officially Kastryčnickaja Street) became a veritable outdoor gallery after the Brazilian embassy in Minsky organized a street art festival (Vulica Brazil).

With art by artists from mostly Brazil and Belarus, this formerly industrial zone, is not covered with enormous, colorful murals. There is not one uniform style or theme, which makes it even better for discovery. And it is no longer just an industrial area; not there are cafes, restaurants, and bars. It is a properly, cool neighbourhood.

It is a short walk just off the main sights in central Minsk and is a great way to spend an afternoon or a couple of hours. None of the art seems political; it is fanciful and whimsical or paying homage to artists, writers, and thinkers. It’s an area that I did not even see listed in the guidebooks for Minsk and is something I found specifically by googling “street art” in Minsk. Definitely a cultural highlight in the city.

I saw these Murals on my first day in Minsk as part of an overall, self-directed walking exploration of the city

I know. It’s a short post, but I have So Many Pictures from Minsk that I had to break them up.

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Marvelous Minsk: KGB to KFC

Following my prolonged border experience on arrival in Belarus, and after a short sleep in my hostel bed, I was up and out to explore Minsk. Some cities just make a good first impression, while others take some warming up to. I liked Minsk right away. It’s not that surprising; I really enjoy all former Soviet countries and Belarus is about as close as you can get to experiencing that outside of Russia. Say what you will about the Soviets, but they knew how to design a city. Impressive and imposing architecture, lots of green spaces, public art, and excellent public transport. Minsk has all these things.

Statues near the Opera House

There was not a long list of specific sights or attractions that I planned to visit – a few, but mostly I just wanted to experience the city. I spent five days in Minsk, which is kind of long, but I loved it. (If you are travelling more quickly, two days is probably sufficient.) I did spend one day outside of Minsk, in the countryside, visiting castles, but I will write about that in a separate post – here.)

Park statues

That first day, I walked around Minsk, visiting attractive streets, looking for monuments of note, and going to an art gallery.

Various buildings along or near Independence Avenue

Belarusian National Art Gallery

The area around my hostel is a little picturesque neighbourhood next to a park and a lake, the streets cobbles and lined with pretty buildings.

Old Town views

May was a lovely month to be there. It was sunny and warm (but not hot) and flowers were blooming.

One of the main sights I wanted to see was the statue of Lenin. There is a massive one in front of the KGB building. (Yes, Belarus still has a KGB.)

Art and buildings on Independence Avenue

As in most former Soviet countries, there are a lot of impressive, orthodox cathedrals, beautiful on the outside and glittering within.

Holy Spirit Cathedral

Church of Saints Simon and Helena

Bernardine Monastery

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Minsk

Assorted Churches

Another sight I wanted to find was Lee Harvey Oswald’s residence. He famously lived in Minsk in the early 1960s after he was discharged from the Marine Corps. It took some map studying, but I found it. It is a quite a fancy building along a canal. Apparently, he was under constant surveillance by the government. I wondered how often that is still the case in Minsk.

I talked to people who had stories of locals being jailed for a time if they were found to be engaging in conversations that were overheard and found to be … improper. Once story was of a guide who leading tourists around and was asked whether most locals spoke Russian or Belarusian. The guide apparently said that the government does not want people speaking Belarusian and so most people speak Russian. An un-uniformed officer heard this and took the guide to jail where she spent a few days. When anyone spoke to me about the government or the war, I noticed that they lowered their voices.

Victory Square

I had a lot of coffee in Minsk. There were excellent cafes, and everything was very inexpensive. Some places even allowed smoking inside, which was a dream, but the weather was so lovely I mostly sat on the patios. No one batted an eye at my cigar smoking. Yet another reason I love former Soviet countries: the high percentage of smokers.

Cafe on Independence Avenue

Another key sight in Minsk is the stunning Socialist sculpture called “Solidarity” by Anatol Yafimovich Arcimovich located, oddly, above a KFC just outside of Niamiha Metro Station. The KFC is just off. Socialism and capitalism combined.

I had an early dinner at a spot recommended to me by traveler/blogger extraordinaire Ramblin’ Randy: Kamyanitsa Restaurant (Камяніца). A charming place with a traditional menu. I had borscht and potato pancakes and a shot of icy vodka. Perfect.

Kamyanitsa Restaurant

I wandered around and enjoyed the evening. There was a stage set up in a square and performances of singing and dancing soldiers for Victory Day, which was really a spectacle. (I’ll write about the Victory Day festivities in a separate post.)

I would up at a small bar: Kurilka Bar (Курилка); dark and red with cool music and air thick with smoke. I had found my spot. I went back three times while I was in Minsk. Amazing cocktails and cigar friendly.

Kuralka Bar

Minsk was wonderful. I was so happy I had a lot of time there. There were murals to see, Victory Day celebrations to partake in, subways to ride, more beautiful churches to visit, and castles in the countryside to explore.

Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe United Kingdom

Layover in London: Coronation Day

It was May 2023 and I was on my way to Belarus. Getting to Belarus from Vancouver necessitated flying through London. I was happy to do that – I’m always happy to fly through London—and this was my third time this year. I realized as I was planning the trip that I was going to be in London on May the 6th, which was Coronation Day for Prince, now King Charles; and I knew that it would make for a fascinating layover.

I landed at Heathrow at 2pm and took the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station and from there I walked. My layover wasn’t that long, and I was nervous about getting into trouble with traffic and crowds. I kept reading about the Tube stations being closed or limited due to the number of people that were expected to flood into London to see the coronation procession and concert. Tens of thousands of people were expected to crowd into central London for the festivities. By the time I arrived, the actual coronation ceremony and procession were over, but people were everywhere. Some had camped out for a week or more just to catch a glimpse of the new King. I was happy just to be in the city and walk around and take in the atmosphere.

I know a lot of people were very excited about the coronation and many people were very irritated by it because of their dislike of the royal family. I guess I fall somewhere in between. Growing up, my punk sensibilities made me dislike the monarchy (and I know there are a lot of reasons to be against the institution), but as an adult I appreciate that they are a continuation of the history of England and the lineage of monarchs. I think it’s fascinating to be in London on a day when a new king is being crowned. Just like it would have been fascinating to be in London on any of the days when any of the former monarchs were crowned, and someday someone will look back at the history books (or whatever may replace books) at this day, many hundreds of years ago, when King Charles was crowned, and i just thought it would be interesting to be in the city to see a bit of that.

I walked from Paddington Station over to Mayfair, where I read that there would be a garden party. There was a garden party, however it had rained that day, so the festivities were perhaps a bit dampened. Nevertheless, people were out, a band was playing, flowers were strung up, a lot gin and tonics were being consumed, and people were dancing and singing sloppily in the gardens. It kind of felt like someone’s wedding.

I wandered there and then carried on walking towards central London. The closer I got to the centre, the more police I saw and the bigger the crowds got.

It was delightful to see all the flags strung up and all the coronation emblems on everything – even Prince Charles masks being sold in the shops (although why one would want a Prince Charles mask is beyond me). I even saw one man who was dressed head to toe in a Union Jack suit, which I thought was fabulous, but I couldn’t get a picture.

I just walked around, taking in the atmosphere. Most places were either closed or were very busy. I walked over to Saint James’s St. which is one of my favourite streets in London because it has three cigar stores / lounges on it, but they were all closed, however on this particular day, I discovered that there is a fourth cigar place just a half a block off of Saint James’s St. called C. Gars. And it was open! The rain was pouring at this point, and I was soaked. Honestly, I looked like trash. I was wearing my leather jacket with the big spikes on it and my combat boots, and I was soaking wet. I went into the store, and they greeted me, not with the snobbishness that some cigar lounges do, but with a friendly smiling face and they welcomed me in. I bought a cigar, and I sat down in a group of men smoking cigars and chatting about the day. A welcoming group. It was delightful. All the people were living in London, although a few of them were from somewhere else (Spain, the US, and India). It was very interesting to hear the perspectives on the day, and even though you some of them had some misgivings about the monarchy, they still felt very proud and patriotic of all the celebrations of the day.

It was just a perfect afternoon. I stayed until the store closed and then I made my way back to the airport. It was just an 8-hour layover, but I certainly experienced something that I never have experienced before and probably won’t have the opportunity to again.

And with that, I was on to my next stop en route to Belarus. But first, I would have a day in Dubai.

Europe Norway Oslo weekend 2023

One Day in Oslo

I had planned to go to Oslo for Easter weekend from Vancouver. I have a recent history of travelling abroad for four day long weekends from Vancouver. I can travel to Europe over a four day long weekend and get two to three days in a city. Perfect for a city break. I’ve done this in Valetta, Riga, Sophia, and Copenhagen in Europe; and Panama City, San Salvador, Mexico City, and Playa Del Carmen in North America. Oslo seemed like a great place to spend the weekend. Subtracting the flight time, I would have two and a half days in Oslo. Great…except, something came up at work, and a couple of days before I left I discovered I would have to be at work a day early. I could have cancelled my trip, but I was so excited to go, that I thought, “Why not?” It seemed like a challenge. Would I enjoy a trip that was so far for such a short time? So I flew to Oslo (via London), spent one day in Oslo, and flew back to Vancouver. And it was great.

I had a very pleasant, short layover in London on the way there and got out of the airport for a few hours to see ‘Little Venice‘ and then I took a short flight to Norway and landed in Oslo just after midnight.

Norway Flag and partial map

Norway and Oslo are not ‘off the beaten path’, but for those of you who are cartographically challenged, Norway is the first on the far left of the vertical triad of Norway, Sweden, and Finland and Oslo is down near the bottom. It is famous for its fjords, stunning arctic landscapes in the North, trolls, and concept of Koselig (effectively the concept of coziness and warmth in a social and natural setting). Did I experience any of these things? No! But I did have a great day in Oslo, and I look forward to returning to Norway to see more.

*I hardly used any cash in Oslo, which is a shame, because how cute are these Kroner?*

On to the day…

Landing in Oslo

I arrived so late on Friday night that it was just after midnight and, hence, Saturday morning. I would be leaving at 5am Sunday morning. I walked up to the immigration guy in his booth at the airport and expected he would stamp me in without question, as most countries in Europe do; but he did have questions.

“What is the purpose of your trip?” He asked.

“Tourism,” I responded.

“How long will you stay?” He asked without looking at me.

“I leave tomorrow morning,” I replied.

He looked at me. “You are coming for only one day?”

“Yes. It was supposed to be longer, but I have to be at work. I thought I would come anyway.”

“You live in London?” He inquired.

“No. Vancouver. Canada.”

At this point, he put my passport down and sat upright. He had several more questions, but I explained to him that this is the kind of crazy travel that I do and, finally, I heard the ker-chunk of the passport stamp, and he said in a deadpan delivery, “Enjoy your day in Oslo.”

Getting in as late as I did, the train was no longer running, and I had to take a taxi to my hostel. It wasn’t $100 CDN, but it was close. (I was supposed to have arrived earlier but my flight out of London was delayed. If you are going to Oslo, try to arrive at an hour when public transport is still possible.)

I stayed at the K7 hostel, which seemed like the best budget option in the centre. I paid for a private room over a dorm though, which I was glad about, given how later I was arriving and how early I would wake up. By the time I got to sleep it was 2am. I set my alarm for 5:00am.

K7 Hostel

Early Morning at the Opera House

I woke up after three hours sleep questioning my life choices, made myself a coffee in the hostel kitchen, and headed out for a walk.

*“The Tiger” statue. Why? Because Oslo was dubbed “Tigerstaden” (“Tiger City”), based on a poem by Norwegian writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson*

It was brisk, quiet, and beautiful. I went out to see the thing in Oslo that I was most excited to see, the Oslo Opera House. Built-in 2007 and designed by Snøhetta, it is a stunning, angular, white marble structure, right on the edge of the harbour and designed to look like a giant iceberg. It’s beautiful just in its own right; just to look at it from its different angles. What makes it spectacular though is that it is not just to be used as an opera house, but as a structure that also functions as a public space, meaning that people are allowed and encouraged to walk on the building and to use its sloping sides for recreation, for reflection, and as a spot from which to enjoy the view of the water. First thing in the morning I had it all to myself, which was great, however, I better appreciated it when I went back in the afternoon and saw it when it was covered with people. I love the idea that it’s a beautiful building, but it’s also made to be a part of the landscape like a public square.

*View of the harbour from the Opera House / sculpture “She Lies” by Monica Bonvicini*

Other than the Opera House, that morning I just generally walked around Oslo and looked at the streets and the beautiful buildings. It was very quiet, but it was very sunny and cold and the buildings were colourful and beautiful and there were numerous statues that I could look at. Nothing not much was open at that point, I did manage to get a sandwich from a convenience store, which was not inexpensive, but reasonably priced and gave me enough fuel to start my day. (Lots of photos here, but the writing continues.)

colourful buildings on a quiet Saturday morning

*Freia clock at Egertorget square (Freia is a Norwegian brand of chocolate)*

*me and my morning cigar near the Oslo Theatre*

more sights of very early morning in Central Oslo

Viegland Park

After I was finished my walk around the city centre, I continued walking in the direction of Vigeland Park. On the way, I passed a flea market that was just setting up, which was nice for a quick browse. It was a long walk to the park, but it took me through several more residential neighbourhoods and was very pretty.

Vigeland Park is a park that is filled with sculptures of one artist: Gustav Vigeland. The sculptures are weird. I don’t really know how else to say it. I mean, they’re well done, and they are distinctive in their style – a style that I don’t really have language to describe, but they’re weird. They are all sculptures of people in various stages of life and activity: fighting and running and aging and posing in weird positions…there’s a tower of people piled on top of one another and people on each other’s backs. Probably the most famous is the angry baby statue, which apparently is good luck if you touch its hand (I cannot attest to this as I do not like babies), and a man attacked by babies and violently trying to shake them off, which is probably what I would look like if I were ever asked to babysit. (Don’t ask me to babysit.)

*Vigeland Park*: *me after making an impossibly tight flight connection*

The park would certainly be more picturesque in the summer; at the time that I was there it was April, and the trees hadn’t really started growing leaves and the grass was partially still covered with snow. It was still nice for a stroll.

Back in Central Oslo

I hopped on a tram to head back to the city centre. I wandered around some more, looking at notable buildings and checking out streets.

*Statue of Queen Maud near the Palace. Fun fact about Maud: she had an 18 inch waist. Some of her dresses are at the museum and they are shocking.*

Then I was hungry again. This would be, as it turns out, the only sit-down meal that I had in Oslo. I just had too much to do, and I didn’t have time to spend it eating food. (I did, somehow, find time to smoke four cigars. Priorities.) I found a cafe near the harbour and got a table outside. It was a sunny day; it wasn’t warm but with a coat and a scarf it was lovely to sit outside and have a bit of pumpkin soup with a cigar and a cup of coffee.

*A My Father cigar and coffee on a chilly afternoon*

A Gallery and A Museum

Refuelled, it was time for museums. I went first to the Astrud Feamley Museum, specifically because I love modern art and I knew that they had some Damien Hirst pieces there. It was a great museum small enough to navigate the short period of time with lots of weird and wonderful modern art I really enjoyed it.

*Astrud Feamley Museum*: *Damien Hirst wishes you a Happy Easter*

About a two-minute walk away is the National Museum, which is also excellent. It’s quite a bit larger and it has a wonderful display of modern art from both Norwegian and international artists, as well as more historical items. I didn’t linger too long in either museum, but I enjoyed my visits.

*National Museum: Cupboard XII by Simone Leigh (foreground); and Escalade Beyond Chromatic Lands by Sheila Hicks background)*

More excellent art at the National Museum

I enjoyed walking along the harbour as well seeing so many people out sitting outside enjoying meals and drinks in the sunshine.

Koselig in action?

I also noticed the saunas floating in the fjord. I had investigated renting one of them before I went to Oslo, but I decided against it because (1) too expensive; (2) it doesn’t seem like something that I would want to do with such a short period of time. But if you’re there for longer, they look fantastic. You rent your own sauna and you just sit out there floating in the fjord enjoying the heat and then you plunge into the water and do it all over again. If you’re the sort of person who likes to travel with friends (I am not that sort of person) this might be for you.

Smoking Cigars in Oslo

It was around this time that I popped in the only cigar store that I saw in central Oslo, which was Augusto Cigars. It’s a very good cigar store; the proprietor clearly takes tobacco very seriously and had a great selection. I bought a few cigars, but the main reason that I went there was that I had read that they had a smoking lounge. They do, but it was only available for members.

Augusto Cigars

As far as I could tell the smoking laws in Oslo were quite strict. You really can’t smoke inside anywhere; the outdoor smoking laws, however, I couldn’t quite figure out. Some places allowed smoking outside which is why I was able to smoke my cigar with my soup over lunch, but many did not. Although the man didn’t let me smoke in his establishment, he did recommend a place that I could go later and smoke which I did.

A Dame in Damstredet

From there I walked to a different area of the city, around Damstredet and Telthusbakken. I did that because one I love to walk through the city and see the sites that I can see and because the areas those streets specifically are known for having old beautiful and colourfully painted wooden houses from the early 19^th century. It was charming. The houses are brightly painted and wooden, set closely together on cobbles streets. They are adorable. Again, they would have been more adorable had it been summer or springtime with leaves and plants out in full bloom, but I really enjoyed the walk in the area nevertheless.

I strolled through a cemetery, and then meandered my way back to central Oslo, walking along streets with lots of appealing cafes, restaurants, and shops, with people out enjoying the day.

modern buildings

A bar I visited and one of the few murals I saw

Oslo Evening

I will say that at this point I was very tired. I had slept little on the flight coming to Oslo, I had slept only about three hours in my room before I went out, and I had walked at this point about 25 kilometres. If I had more time in Oslo, there are more things that I would have done. There’s a tremendous number of museums there (unfortunately the one with the Viking ship that I most wanted to see was closed at the time), and I certainly could have done everything that I did at a slower pace. But the only thing that I really left off the table being in Oslo for such a short time was that I didn’t get to go on one of the fjord cruises to see the water. But there’s always next time.

I spent much of the evening in a bar smoking cigars. The man at the cigar store had recommended a bar called Dr. Jekyll’s Pub. It’s quite pleasant inside and allows cigar smoking on it nice back patio that is sheltered from the wind, heated, and welcoming. When I sat down there other people out there enjoying cigars. I chatted with the bartender and then preceded to chat with the other people (all locals to Oslo) out there smoking. It was a very relaxing way to end the day.

It was dark by the time that I left. I got a falafel from a local shop my dinner and walked around a little bit more (ok, about 5 km more) in the dark and then taking one final view at the Opera House, which really is just stunning, and then I went back to my hostel room and went to bed. By the time the day was over I walked over 30 kilometres and seen many of the highlights of the city.

While there are a lot of sights to see in Oslo, there really is just a lot of joy from walking around and taking in the vibe on the streets. I’ll go back to Oslo because I want to see more of Norway but all-in-all, I was happy with my ~30 hours spent in the city.

*me in front of a building entrance i liked*

*There is a store here called “Dale of Norway”.*
*(If you’ve just stumbled on this post and don’t know me: my name is Dale.)*

Leaving Oslo

The next morning, at about 4am, I took the train back to the airport, which was cheap and efficient. When I was going through immigration at the airport, I found myself standing in the queue in front of the same man who had stamped my passport when I entered Oslo. I walked up to the counter.

“Hello. I remember you,” I said.

He looked at me and said, still deadpan, “And I remember you. How was your day in Oslo?”

“Fantastic. I can’t wait to come back.”

He stamped my passport with something that approached a smile and wordlessly handed it back to me. It was the perfect bookend to my trip.

Of course, my trip wasn’t entirely over; I still had a long layover in London on Easter Sunday ahead of me…

Wandering North

Tag: cigar

Lapa Land: Rio Day 2

Walking in Lapa

The Escadaria Selarón

Cigar Time

Wrapping up in Rio

Way Down Among Brazilians – Rio Day 1

Brazil, Finally

Bom Dia, Rio!

Rio Centro

At the Copa. Copacabana.

This Girl in Ipanema

Leblon

When twilight dims the sky above

Farewell, Minsk

Minsk: Two Churches and A Library

Minsk Metro

Pomp & Propaganda: Victory Day in Minsk

Minsk’s Murals

Marvelous Minsk: KGB to KFC

Layover in London: Coronation Day

One Day in Oslo

Landing in Oslo

Early Morning at the Opera House

Viegland Park

Back in Central Oslo

A Gallery and A Museum

Smoking Cigars in Oslo

A Dame in Damstredet

Oslo Evening

Leaving Oslo