As if to demonstrate that Germany has more to offer than BMWs with blacked-out windows, the German Association for International Education and Exchange set up this marvellous hotel and conference centre. The rooms are clean, bright and somehow both stylish and austere, with a few having a very modern-art-minimalist theme to them. It can feel a bit 1980s, but that’s futuristic in Minsk. The attached Westfalia restaurant is a big plus, but the sleeping district location isn’t.