Minsk, Belarus to Warsaw, Poland

An early start today to combat possible delays at the Polish border. 

Our only stop of interest on the way as at the Brest Fortress. Brest is a near border town attacked during World War II. The fortress here contains monuments and stone carvings as a memory to victims during this time. 

Brest Fortress, Brest, Belarus

There are four checkpoints at the Belarus / Poland border and the record for Contiki getting through is four hours, with the longest being 16 hours. Fortunately, we had Dom, who spoke Polish, and after convincing the guards that al our alcohol and cigarettes had been consumed in Minsk, and we had nothing to offer, we got through in about two and a half hours, on our way to Warsaw. 

The differences between Belarus and Poland were evident immediately. Houses, farms and roads in much better conditions, making our trip into Warsaw the most comfortable we’ve been in a couple of weeks. 

The Hotel Polonia might as well have been a 5-star hotel. Nice rooms, with a TV, clean, drinkable water and a restaurant to match. 

After dinner, most of us went to 10 Champions, a sports bar a couple of blocks from the hotel, to watch Romania beat England in the World Cup. Good atmosphere, as there were heaps of English supporters, who promptly disappeared as soon as the full-time whistle went. Our drink of choice was EB – sounded too much like VB to miss.