"The Second Time My Friend Was Shocked By Catholic Churches"

Opinion of Russians, who began to travel for shopping to Belarus more often.

There is a new trend among Russians: they travel to Belarus for vacations. Sanctions, the fact that world brands left Russia, the inability to travel to many European countries and even the desire to eat a McDonald's burger contribute to such tourism.

The zerkalo.io journalists asked Russian women who went on vacation to Belarus about prices, motivation and impressions of the trip.

“Prices in malls, markets, restaurants, taxis are one and a half times lower than in Moscow”

Natalia is 46 years old, she lives in Moscow. She had already visited Minsk several times before this trip: her family friends live there and her civil husband worked there.

— He finished working on August 1, and we decided to take a little ride across Belarus. We visited Hrodna, Brest, Vitebsk and Niasvizh. I liked Brest the most after Minsk. The central street, the light, it was cosy! I went shopping, of course. Inditex left Russia. So, every visit to Belarus I devoted half a day to Zara, Stradivarius and Bershka.

— General impression: Belarus is very calm, nobody is in a hurry, unlike us, Muscovites. And perfectly fine that there are no traffic jams! You can get by car to any location in Minsk In 20 minutes. — I also really like the city parks in Minsk: Peramozhcau, Drazdy. On my previous visits, a few years ago, I did not like this city at all: there was a lot of Soviet architecture and ugly buildings. But lately, I've gotten into it.

The Russian woman says that their couple did not have any problems with Belarusians. But when asked about the cost of travelling around the country, the woman simply says:

— I don't even know that. My husband deals with money issues, I try not to bother with this. However, prices in malls, markets, restaurants, and taxis are one and a half times lower than in Moscow.

In the end, Natalia confidently says that she will definitely come again. And he adds, confirming the trend of turning Belarus into a popular resort for Russians:

— By the way, my friend from Moscow is also going to come to Minsk next weekend, take a walk and “shop around”.

"The second time my friend was shocked by Catholic churches"

— I have not been to Belarus till now, but I have been going to visit it for a very long time. I can’t find time for a long vacation because of my work. A five-day vacation is the most convenient. Marina says that Belarus suited her both in terms of duration and budget for a trip.

She lives in Tver, works as the editor-in-chief of the Business Newspaper publication and a teacher of online journalism for school children. A 50-year-old woman. She went to Belarus with a friend and her 22-year-old son, who really wanted to see the Brest Fortress.

— Our tour included Minsk, Niasvizh, Mir and Brest. So, we were driven around Minsk, castles, Khatyn, and the Brest Fortress. That is the case when you can not say what you liked more. I liked everything! I am very impressed. Strong emotions everywhere. Half of our group wept in Khatyn including men. My friend said about the Niasvizh castle: “I have seen a lot of things in my life, but this is the first time.” The second shock she had was because of the Catholic churches, which she, being Orthodox, saw for the first time (we were in the Red Church in Minsk and in the Catholic church of Niasvizh).

In Minsk, we went only to the Kommunarka brand store, and in Brest, we visited the central market. All Russians know that in Belarus the highest quality products are still produced in accordance with GOSTs (state quality standard - Ed.). Therefore, we bought chocolate, sweets and sausages. Of course, we also have all this, but the price is much higher.

Our bus tour of the group of three people cost 16 thousand Russian rubles (680 Belarusian rubles). Marina spent about 6,000 (255 Belarusian rubles) on expenses on the trip (food, souvenirs and other things).

— Speaking about the cost, it was quite comfortable. Compared to other summer tours in Russia, the cost is acceptable. She says that pensioners were travelling together with them in a group, she believes that they can also afford it.

— Belarusians understood that we were not locals only when we started paying in Belarusian rubles. It is difficult to understand the coins, and the people in the markets and shops helped us. At the market, with the words “you don’t have this in Russia,” we were fed with cottage cheese, sour cream, and sausages. I would especially like to thank our guide in Minsk, Niasvizh and Mir. She is great! For the first time, I met a guide who tells everything with such love and to the smallest detail.

I can say that I fell in love with Belarus. In fact, it is a foreign country. But you do not feel like a foreigner and alien. You are feeling that you are at home. It is comfortable and safe. We returned home and literally on the second day we started planning our next trip. But now we are going to go by ourselves, without a tour group, so that we have more time to walk around.

“I highly recommend it to everyone!”

Yulia's trip to Belarus was spontaneous. She wanted to see our country for a long time, but she had no time. The trip came by itself after a conversation with a colleague: we discussed where to take off for a few days on the next weekend, and decided to go to Belarus.

Then everything was simple: colleagues entered the Podolsk - Minsk route in the navigator, and they realised that it was only 8 hours to go.

— Another girl asked to take her with us and we rushed, happy! I love easy-going people, - says the interlocutor. — Since it was a spontaneous trip, we looked at the accommodation and the route already on the way. We lived in Minsk, on Nezalezhnasti Avenue, and went around the city up and down, 53 kilometers on foot in three days.

Yulia describes Minsk as follows: “The city is wonderful, everyone is calm, no rush.”

— We lived near Zybitskaia Street, so we had very active evenings, with street musicians, everything was ambient. There are places to dance and have a tasty meal. I liked the national dishes especially. The food made me so happy, the prices in restaurants are acceptable for us, cheaper than in Moscow, - the Russian woman shares.

— We visited Niasvizh and the castle. I highly recommend it to everyone! And we spent the day in Sula Park - a great place. It is better to go for the whole day, it is so beautiful, - the woman says.

But shopping took a small part of their weekend:

— Were only in clothing stores and groceries. If you pay with a Mir card in groceries, it's cheaper than in Russia. We bought a lot of sausages. But linen crafts are expensive, still, we've bought some. But still, quality matters, so we decided to spend money, - Yulia argues.

The interlocutor believes that the trip was "low-cost". They spent 1,500 Russian rubles (64 Belarusian rubles) per person on gasoline and 3,300 rubles per person (140 Belarusian rubles) for an apartment in the centre. Yulia spent about 5,000 Russian rubles (212 Belarusian rubles) on cafes and restaurants, and the same amount on souvenirs and food, such as sausages and chocolate.

When asked if she would go to Belarus again, Yulia confidently answers:

— Definitely yes!