Richard, from Ohio, USA, contacted us for help in finding information about his father’s ancestors who lived in Nizhny Terebezhov what is now Belarus in the 1920s. Richard, like our other clients, plans to visit his father’s homeland one day. Now, in the times of Corona, it’s difficult to do that, but Richard is not wasting his time, he’s learning the Belarusian language, which will surely help him in his future trip and will help to get closer to the Belarusian people.
We are grateful to Richard for his kind words about us and we are proud that he calls us his friends.
We look forward to welcoming you in Belarus, dear Richard, our friend.
We hope that Richard’s love for his roots as well as for the unknown but native language will inspire you, dear visitors of our website, too!
Email sent from a mountain top in North Carolina:
“Прывітанне Света,
Дзякуй за добрыя словы
Я вывучаю беларускую мову, бо спадзяюся наведаць Ніжні Церабяжоў.
Уяўляю, што ў маленькім гарадку, у якім нарадзіўся мой бацька, можна пачуць сапраўдную для пейзажа мову.
If I were to order food in restaurant, ask for directions of even say “добры дзень,” “Калі ласка,” or “Дзякуй,” I should learn to speak some Belarusian. That would be more respectful to people and closer to family history.
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Вы маеце дазвол выкарыстоўваць мой тэкст у сваім водгуку для вашых паслуг.
Вы былі прафесійнымі, знаходлівымі і настойлівымі ў аднаўленні гісторыі маёй сям’і.
Вы таксама былі ветлівымі і добрымі, і я лічу вас сябрам.
Яшчэ раз дзякую Вас.
Richard”
“Hello Sveta,
Thank you for your kind words
I am studying the Belarusian language, because I hope to visit Nizhny Terebezhov.
I imagine that in the small town where my father was born, you can hear a real language for the landscape.
If I were to order food in a restaurant, ask for directions of even saying “hello, “”please,” or “thank you,” I should learn to speak some Belarusian. That would be more respectful to people and closer to family history.
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You have permission to use my text in your review for your services.
You were professional, resourceful and persistent in restoring the history of my family.
You were also polite and kind, and I consider you a friend.
Thank you again.
Richard”
Thank you Sveta I am extremely grateful for your time and advice.
I will contact the office in Berlin.
Thanks again.
Angela
Thanks for everything you and Alexander did!
Alice
Thankfully g4 tours did an awesome job helping me find some living relatives in Belarus!
I was so lucky to find them, and get some answers.
It started with my finding two Facebook groups for genealogy in Belarus, and they suggested I write to the Grodno archives. This was too hard for me to do alone. I didn’t have the exact place or village where my grandfather grew up and you needed to figure that out first. So between my Mom and g4, we figured out where he did grow up. I hired them to help me with the research and the language barrier (I don’t speak Russian) and they did a fantastic job.
They were able to find some living relatives in Brest for me, and they gave them my information and we actually met on Skype!! Now we are able to complete some of our family tree and we look forward to getting to know our new relatives better.
When I started this endeavour, I didn’t think I would be able to have any success but thanks to g4, we have it completed!
Sincerely,
Scarlett Bertelsen
The year 2020 was a real test for the tourism industry. Already in January we had planned to welcome a large number of tourists who wanted to get to know our country first hand, but at the end of February it became clear that this season would be difficult due to Corona.
So it was all the more surprising to receive an inquiry from Germany in early June for a two-week tour of Belarus. The arrival was planned for the end of August – beginning of September. Until the last moment we were not sure if our tourist Johannes would come, but luckily everything worked out.
Within 2 weeks we visited almost all of Belarus.
The program included excursions to the cities of Minsk, Vitebsk, Braslau, Grodno, and Brest; getting to know the provincial life in the cities of Glubokoe, Novogrudok, and Lida; visiting churches, places of worship, and mosques in Ivye and synagogues in Grodno, as well as the castles in Mir and Nesvizh. A lot of attention was also paid to nature. We hiked through the high moors in the “Krasny Bor” reserve in the north of the country, watched birds being caught and ringed by ornithologists, observed bisons in the natural environment in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park, where we also picked mushrooms and met the dawn with hot tea and lard bread. Also a bicycle tour along the Braslav lakes inspired our guest. He also had the opportunity to get to know the life of the simple Belarusians, their everyday life, traditions, national cuisine and to taste one or the other home-made brandy. We were lucky to take part in the international festival of ethnocultural traditions “Call of Polesie”, which took place in the south of the country on the bank of the river Pripyat. Time flew by and we are sure that our guest Johannes will not forget the joyful memories of his stay in our country so soon.
See more in our video with Johannes.
Some time ago I met a woman from Belarus, but unfortunately I lost her address.
Also on Facebook I could not find her.
Inna helped me and found the desired address within a few days.
I am very happy to have found the address again.
For the friendly and competent support I would like to thank you very much.
Best regards from Switzerland
Dear Sveta,
We would like to thank you very much for your knowledgeable and interesting tour and your kind nature, which made our city trip an unforgettable experience. At the same time we would like to thank our driver Pavel many times who drove us carefully and safely to our destinations.
Thanks to your recommendation for the Hotel Garni we could reach the pedestrian zone and the historic old town in a few minutes on foot.
We cannot only recommend Minsk as an interesting, clean and safe city, but also you dear Sveta, our driver Pavel and the travel agency g-4.ch with a clear conscience.
Many thanks again for the nice 5 days,
Angelica & Konrad
Dear Sveta,
Thank you very much for your wonderful travel organization and execution on site. Belarus was for us a largely “unknown” part of Europe. We couldn’t have gotten to know it better!
As a group of five we were certainly a challenge. The trip went from Minsk along many stations to Brest and from there back via just as many stations. In addition there were our special wishes – like memorial and cultural sites as well as the Bialoviezha forest – which were all fulfilled in an individual way. Even on site you are still flexible and uncomplicated when it comes to programme changes and have made everything possible for us, while our eyes often fell out of exhaustion.
Through your open, friendly and affectionate nature we have not only got to know places, history and past life, but also many kind people and a piece of Belarusian life and everyday culture. The numerous different places, accommodations and encounters remain in our memory and arouse our interest to get to know more, for example the northeast.
The Belarus trip – and above all with you as a tour guide and the drivers Pavel and Sergej, but also with the other committed and competent city guides especially in Minsk – we will recommend continiously.
Thank you very much and good luck for this special way of travelling and discovering your country!
Ulla & Georg & Co
I have booked a 5 day tour to Minsk and surroundings. There was a full day tour to Witebsk, a half day tour to Chatyn and a full day tour to Nyasvish and Mir included. There was always a driver and a guide for me.
The driver Pavel was a safe and attentive driver who also made birdwatching possible for me. I saw storks, falcons and eagles. Sveta was my guide except for the tour to Witebsk. She showed me Minsk and its surroundings in a remarkable way, shone with knowledge and brought me closer to Belarus with many anecdotes. Her German skills are outstanding and she was a very pleasant companion.
Overall I am very impressed by the country as well as by the people who care for me and would like to express my sincere thanks.
Martin Kumpmann
We from the philosophical club Zurich had decided to get to know a country unknown to us so far. Our idea was to talk to interesting people from the fields of literature, art and politics and to make an impression about this country.
Sveta was responsible for the organization of the trip and the contacts. Not only is she a pleasant personality, thanks to her competence our expectations were exceeded. Thanks to Sveta’s commitment and connections, our trip was a complete success. Minsk is a very interesting city because of its history, but also because of its current cultural life. A trip organized by Sveta is recommended to everyone.
Allan Guggenbühl, Phil. Club Zurich