Roadtrip 2018 dag 8

Waking up this time was different than yesterday - we quickly prepared ourselves, the motorcycle, had a nice breakfast at the funky cafe and continued our journey. We went through the Polish country roads, enjoying the views and finally some cooler weather. On the way we stopped for a milkshake break at the McDonalds and when we got on the road again, it didn't take us that long to reach….Polish border control! We went through it quite fast, and then got the next, much stricter control - we were entering Belarus. We had our passports checked, then the motorcycle, with the help a few officers Marcel had to fill in some Russian forms. And then we were free to go! All the border crossing took us about 1 hour and 35 minutes, but as Marcel didn't know how long the check would take, he had arranged us a stay in the city just a few kilometers from the border - Brest. There we've checked in our nice hotel - as people barely speak English, I had to remember my very, very poor Russian language knowledge suddenly. After freshing up we went to explore Brest - first a good dinner at the Burger King nearby, and then a long walk to a big fortress - a monument, full of statues, impressive buildings and old war equipment. Also a streamy river nearby with lots of fishermen. After exploring the place we slowly walked back towards the shopping street close to our hotel. On our way I heard a bird calling, and I knew immediately that it belonged to a falcon. After a moment of waiting the bird appeared from the top of a tall apartment building and flew in a spot where we could take pictures of it - close enough to, combined with it's call, identify a kestrel (torenvalk)! Then we walked on through a nice park, full of decorated street lamps. When we reached the beginning of the street, we saw a huge statue. While taking pictures of it, I recognized one person portrayed - an important duke from Lithuania. Under him were carved some warriors on their horses, and on one of their shields was an old Lithuanian symbol that I have tattooed on my wrist. It was wonderful to find a piece of my roots here in Belarus, even though I still don't know why it's here. Marcel, of course, took some pictures. Then we walked through the busy street, had some ice cream and returned to the hotel. Tomorrow a long ride awaits!

• Left at: 8:15
• Belarus border crossed at: 14:20 local time
• Arrived at: 14:35
• Kms made today: 216
• Kms made in total: 2002,5
• Weather: sunny and cool