I'm HERE!

Hooray!  This was my first sight of the Minsk airport through the airplane window.  It was flurrying and cold, but not as cold as it was last week.  Today, it's a balmy 10 F degrees! 

Minsk is a busy city, but most of the view I saw flying in was huge forests and fields and lakes. 



I asked my escort, Irina, what kinds of animals live in the forests. She mentioned several including, deer, elk, bears, and wolves.  It feels like a Grimm's Fairy Tale world.  I will do most of my posting about my trip when I'm home again, but I'll show you a few scenes every day that I can. 

Today, I have my first event. It's a library event with high school students, English teachers and library staff at the Polotsk Central City Library.  I was asked if I'd like to spend an hour visiting a museum or landmark in Polotsk and given a list to choose from. 

I chose St Sophia's Cathedral. Here's an interior photo.  "Originally built between 1044 and 1066, it was a rival for cathedrals of the same name in Kiev and Novgorod. Much of the cathedral has been destroyed and rebuilt, but the eastern elevation and some of the basement walls are original." 

Amazing.