Gomel was very charming because it had a large and very nice and well kept park stretching across the city. It is located on a river called Sozh and the river area had been newly renovated with a piazza and some nice sculptures and other features. The people are very friendly and helpful to strangers.
There are some old historical buildings, like a palace, as well as a rather impressive circus and ballet.

Gomel has a bit of an "old style" Eastern European feel to it because there is hardly no commercialism visible, other than a few restaurants and shops on the main street. Yet, it is modern in that it is mostly newly renovated across town, so everything looks spic and spam - the impression is not old-fashioned or outdated. The whole experience is rather unique - very few towns in Europe are like that nowadays.

I happened to be there over the 9 May holiday which was a big festival across town. Everyone was in party mood with parades, picnics, outdoors dancing and a carnival.

I asked some local people about the affects of Chernobyl. They said that there was basically no affect, however a TV program that I saw told a different story and said lots of people there had cancer of the throat.