50 Hours in Europe's Last Dictatorship

We traveled by bus from Lithuania to Belarus and explored Minsk during Independence Day, witnessing a large military parade and learning about the city’s Soviet history. With Julia as our local guide, we visited landmarks and then took a train into the countryside, where we were welcomed into the home of a generous Belarusian grandmother. Before leaving, we gave Julia a $2,000 travel grant to help make her dream of visiting Italy come true.