The Radiation Ecological Forest Reserve
A bench for the tired

If tired, there will always be a bench to sit on...
Belorussian zone of exclusion is now called the "radiation ecological forest reserve." Most of the villages within it are very remote. Many have no roads, and the only way to get there is by driving some tractor or on foot.


Chernobyl's Niagra

Or we can stand looking at the Chernobyl equivalent of Niagara Falls.
Radiation level here is same as in Kiev. Standing on this bridge is as safe as standing on bridges in Venice. But never forget this is Chernie, where you can walk a few hundred meters away and be in a dangerously radioactive place. There are several hundred unmarked burial sites of radioactive waste materials in the Chernobyl area and no one knows where all of them are. The people who buried them are now buried themselves- may they rest in peace, for we the living can not. For safety, Geiger counter must always be turned on.
 
Here's the nameless village...

Finally, here is a village...nameless.
The silence is tremendous.


It is hard for me to describe what I feel when I come to a village with no people, but I will try- first is a feeling, like I got deaf. The silence is tremendous. No birds singing, no wind, nothing that can break this silence.
Walking inside a painting

Villages are more picturesque than towns; houses and sheds do not look real. All look painted and I feel like I'm walking inside of this painting.

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