Quote Originally Posted by rfesk View Post
Hello Mikhail, my wife is from Minsk, Belarus. I go to Belarus usually every few years to visit with her family. I plan to be there for a few weeks this summer (2009.)

I was last there in the fall of 2005 and went on a day trip to Vitebsk one day with my mother in law (who grew up there and left as a young woman ahead of the German army when it came through headed towards Moscow) and her son and also my stepson. I still regret not having taken a photo from the tower at the old city hall/museum. There are a lot of architecture sites and other scenic sites there in and around Vitebsk - a very old city. It was once the most important city in Belarus as you know very well. Hope to go back to Vitebsk some day to spend more time.
Bob Eskridge,
will you visit Vitebsk when you are in Belarus next summer? You would be very impressed how the town has been changed since your last visit in 2005. In fact Vitebsk has a clame to be a cultural capital of Belarus. Purhaps you know every summer (at the turn of July - early August) the yearly International Art Festival "Slavyansky Bazaar" takes place at Vitebsk. You can see some pictures of the festival I got this summer on my site http://www.mi16.ru
Yes, Vitebsk is a very old town. Princess Olga founded it at 974. There are lot of architecture sites and other scenic sites here and around. There is even more old town Polotsk with lot of places of interest not far from Vitebsk.
If you (and you family) visit Vitebsk at 2009 I will be happy to be your guide.

Mikhail.