Brest

(Minsk - Brest 345km/214 Miles)
Total distance traveled = 13,469 km/8369 Miles

As the journey was only 4 hours, I chose the lowest class. There wasn't actually much difference between the train and previous ones to be honest. Rather than having a lockable door there were extra beds along the side of the train, making the passageway a bit smaller. There were no English speakers though. Most of the other trips I'd found that people knew a little. This might have been a problem if I was on the train for longer, but equally it may just have been the other passengers and down to luck of the draw whichever class you're in.

I had no map of Brest, but my notes and sketches came through again. The city was smaller and so had slightly smaller streets and more green areas spread around the cities. Later in the day I also found pedestrianised areas with lots of outdoor cafes and restaraunts.

I couldn't find a hostel in Brest and so booked a hotel. It also made getting the Belarussian visa a little easier. It was nice to have a bit of private space for a change, but it did mean that I didn't really meet or speak to anyone for the 3 nights I was staying in Brest. The hotel itself was a bit grim from the outside. Imagine a massive block of concrete. All very 70's and Soviet. The room was better than I expected though.

The main sight in Brest was the fortress,. Originally built in the 19th century, it was the site of a major battle in WWII, when most of the buildings were destroyed. It was a massive waleld area with some monuments to the soldiers who defended the site, and a few buildings still standing. It was a change to find a historical site that hadn't been completely commericalised or restored. There weren't many people around, so I spent a bit of time wandering around on overgrown paths through buildings riddled with bullet holes before I went to the museum.

Brest was even cheaper than Minsk, and I had some problems getting my head around how little things cost. I ate in restaurants that were listed in my guide as the best in town (pretty swish places) and still found it difficult to spend more than about 10 pounds (1,500 yen). In fact, it made me think I should've stayed a bit longer in the country.

On the final day I bought a few small bottles of vodka to take with me and wandered around a bit more. I stopped in about 3 different coffee shops while reading, at one a tipsy Russian guy started talking to me (mostly in German) and offered to buy me a vodka. Amazingly, this was the first time this had happened. I declined though, not least because it was about 1pm. Still, he paid for my coffee.

I did have to go through customs when leaving Belarus, but it was much easier than I expected. No questions, no bag search, just a passport check. When we actually got to the border between Belarus and Poland guards came on board with sniffer dogs and a few questions for us, but it was still much less thorough than I'd expected. I had the cabin all to myself and a sink too. It was so comfortable that I slept through Poland.....sorry Poland.

More photos
http://s214.photobucket.com/albums/cc250/davingtonsmythe/Japan%20to%20Russia/Brest/?albumview=slideshow

The entrance to the Fortress, complete with some nationalistic music being played on loudspeakers.