It came. We're in proud receipt of a pass to visit Belarus. Not a free pass, mind you, but a visa just the same. And it cost only $131, plus a €45 "invitation" from our hotel, per person.
If they'd just charged $185 per visa I probably never would have noticed. But they charged $131 and then set up a series of obstacles that involved bureaucracy, "invitations," emails, phone calls and faxes to Minsk, and forms. And that additional €45 fee.
But hey, we're in.
And now that that's done and we're set to go to eastern Europe, Euronews tells us Hundreds drown amid Eastern Europe heatwave:
No mention of Belarus."Last weekend alone, 52 people drowned in Poland, where temperatures have reached 36 degrees celsius in some regions.
In Russia, whether the worse for drink or not, fun in the sun has also turned to tragedy. Last month, more than 1,200 people drowned nationwide.
Moscow has not been this hot since records began, with temperatures well into the thirties for weeks."
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