Gepubliseer: 31.08.2017
Back in Germany, time for a mental conclusion.
Great trip, saw super beautiful areas and cities. There were no problems or real difficulties anywhere. The infrastructure was absolutely Western European everywhere, especially regarding ATMs, gas stations, hotels, shopping possibilities, etc., even in small Belarusian cities.
But the best part was, there is almost no tourism, except of course in Kiev and Lviv. But even there, it's very limited.
In a book about Belarus, I read that in a whole year, about as many tourists enter as fly to Mallorca in one day.
Language was also not a problem (I can neither speak nor read Russian). The same applies to navigation. Thanks to the internet available everywhere and access to Google maps, Google translator, etc., everything was totally easy.
The weather was really great, there wasn't a single rain shower on the way. If it rained, it was at night. Sometimes it might have been a little too warm, but that would be 'suffering' at a very high level.
During the trip, I appreciated two things the most: my motorcycle, of course, which absolutely reliably covered the 3,600 km. It was absolutely comfortable to ride and easy to handle despite the luggage. And my little water boiler, which allowed me to have the first coffee in bed every morning in the 12 hotels. I didn't need the gasoline canister at all. The gas station network in Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and Poland is too dense to run out of gas somewhere.
Next year, Moscow and St. Petersburg...