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Lithuania/Belarus/Russia
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As we left the beauty of the
Baltic Sea resort cities,
we immediately began seeing horse and carts clip clopping down
the highway between villages delivering milk or taking produce to
market.
Open fields did not have fences and their single cows were staked
for grazing.
Farmers were mowing fields with the sickle and building hay
stacks by hand
......quaint, but very hard work.
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Common Sights: Cars broken down on the side of the road. Individuals alongside the road with a gallon bucket of produce to sell. |
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The people are quickly learning
about free enterprise.
This is a roadside "cafe", which is not a common sight.
Here they grill shishkebobs and
offer drinks and a great crepe type of dessert.
They are building a restroom facility.....right now, you just
choose a bush !
This was quite an improvement
over the more common "bush stop".
Sometimes we would just make a stop and our guide would instruct
us,
"Men to the left bushes, women to the right "!
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Minsk, Belarus
Minsk is a very modern looking
city
....because the ENTIRE city was leveled during WWII .
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~ KGB
Headquarters ~
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This was my most unforgetable and chilling experience of the trip.
Walking down the narrow, dark
stone stairway to the dimly lit holding rooms and torture
chambers below,
I experienced the reality of what happened during the Soviet
Regime.
From 1944 to 1953, some 350,000 Lithuanians alone were packed
into cattle cars and shipped to Siberia
....or killed on the spot.
This all happened in secret and
within the massive, impressive stone building in the center of
the city.
Reality sets in when you walk along the outside of the building
and read names and birth/death dates of the many who lost their
lives here.
Most, both men and women, appeared to be in their 20's and
30's........man to man atrocities.
My, camera malfunctioned, so my documentation was lost.
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*** Smolensk, Russia ***
My
pictures from here were lost also. Maybe it is just as well.
We stayed at the Hotel Phoenix...our guide referred to it as the
Smolensk Hilton !
It was
the only hotel in the city and at one time had probably had many
KGB officers as guests
It had a very large dark, dingy paneled pool room
...my imagination became very active as I viewed our
surroundings.
They served our usual pork cutlet and mashed potatoes,
but offered dinner entertainment of music and singing......nice
touch.
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***
Novgorod, Russia ***
(This is out of
trip order, but it fit better here. Novorod is located between
Moscow and St. Petersburgh)
Novgorod is the oldest city in Russia and was totally leveled during WWII.
 |
 |
 |
This
was our hotel room |
It
was a "room with a view". |
Perhaps
the private bath was an "afterthought". Notice
the pail of water provided for the toilet.....guess we
really are spoiled ! |
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Only in 1991 did these people
regain their independence from Soviet Union rule.
The reality of oppression began
to become painfully obvious as we drove through this region.
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*** Villages of Latvia ***
(Human needs Mission)
*** Tallin, Estonia and Riga,
Latvia ***
(Charming old cities)
*** Vilnuis, Lithania/
Minsk, Belarus and Smolensk, Russia ***
(Pastoral scenes and KGB Geocide Victims
Museum)
*** Moscow, Russia ***
(Beauty and the Beast)
*** St. Petersburg, Russia
***
(Young, beautiful city)
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Music: Russian Summer Waltz
