Pals, Il’lja 2012. Сябры, Ільля 2012 год.
Il’lja, a friendly village of about 1900 people, lies 45 miles north of Mjensk on the route to the Blue Lakes. It is always a pleasure to stop at Il’lja’s roadside farm stands to banter with the vendors and to buy their fresh eggs, creamy raw milk, summer berries, and apples (see photos of the day for November 15, 2012; May 21, 2010; and March 2, 2010).
The popular word for a bicycle in Belarusian is “rovar” (ровар), from the name of the British bicycle manufacturer Rover. Bicycles are still a main means of transport in Belarusian villages. These boys proudly maintain their new bikes. In many cases families carefully hand down a bike from generation to generation.
