This gallery contains 15 photos.
We got into Chişinău midday and made it straight for the central market, to get some food for a picnic lunch. From here we continued to Cathedral Park, where we – after locating a nice spot in the shade – … Continue reading
We had a slow start this morning … despite the fact that hotel reception had taken the breakfast orders already on the previous evening, breakfast had taken more than an hour – following a very strict process (food was brought out person by person – and forget about getting a cup of tea or coffee prior to your first food item).
We eventually made it through – and there was no hurry anyhow (the advantage of private transport).
We left Comrat in the morning and made our way towards Moldova’s capital Chișinău – a total drive of about 100km. On the way we had a quick stop at the Welcome to Gagauzia sign.
How about expectations, when your tour leader explains in advance, that you are about to head for the least visited region in the least visited country in Europe?
Well – I guess, there are really none … and probably that’s not a bad thing.
Comrat is the capital of the autonomous region of Gagauzia in Moldova. Gagauzia is different from the rest of Moldova with the majority of the population being of Turkish descent.
Today Gagauzia is a territory of Moldova, however with a special legal status and autonomy in certain areas. Official languages include Romanian, Gagauz (a sort of dialect of the Turkish language) and Russian and letters remain Cyrillic (as opposed to the rest of Moldova with the exception of Transnistria). People here also still today have a more pro-USSR / pro-Russia view than in the rest of the country (again minus Transnistria).
This all becomes obvious in a subtle way while walking through the center of Comrat. We started that walk with a stop at the Great Patriotic War Memorial to see the statue to the heroes of the war (which in other parts of the country would simply be a memorial to the victims of world war two). From here we made it via the cemetery to the main street – and to the first statue of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov aka. Vladimir Lenin for this trip (with more to come).
We continued to the main square and after a quick look into the St. John the Baptist Cathedral, we got to know another Moldovan institution – Andy’s Pizza.
Andy’s Pizza is a Moldovan restaurant chain with outlets all over the country. Food is – as the name suggests – mostly pizza and Italian-style, with the one or other odd Moldovan dish mixed in. I usually avoid chain restaurants, but this one is just great with a good menu, quick service and consistent food – plus it is not as heavy as most other places (depending on the pick of course) and avoiding the meat is no big deal here – a clear winner. Needless to say, that Lenin would have loved this place (after a bit of redecoration though). 😉
We were leaving Tulcea in the morning on a private van and made our way up to Galaţi. Here we took a ferry, to cross the Danube – and after a stop at a well equipped service station (with a chance to change some last Romanian Leu into ice cream and coffee) we continued towards the border – first leaving Romania (and as such the European Union) and then entering Moldova – – all in all a very straightforward affair.
We were now heading North along the Pruth river for the town of Văleni. Here we made it to a local restaurant, where we were already awaited by our hosts. We were first shown around the small museum, after which lunch was served – and our hosts started their performance of traditional music.
As we had to learn, we were actually looking at a star here … the grandma performing in front of us actually had been part of the Moldovan presentation at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest – “Boonika Bate Doba” (“Grandmamma Beats the Drum”) and now she and her husband were beating the drums for us.
This gallery contains 20 photos.
Today was a big day. We left the hotel early, to get down to the little tourist pier, to catch a boat (or better: two boats, as the group was split up into two boats) for our tour into the … Continue reading
We made it into Tulcea in the late afternoon. After a bit of time to settle in, we left the hotel for a walk around town and up a little hill behind town to Monumentul Eroilorm (Independence Monument) and a great view over town and into the Danube Delta.
It’s been in 2014, when I had done a trip through Eastern Europe, covering Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. That trip had been very enjoyable – and while covering loads of ground, it had become obvious, that there was more to be discovered in the region. By chance I now did stumble across a new trip, starting in Bucharest and making it overland to Kiev, covering the Danube delta, the key pieces of Moldova (incl. the breakaway territory of Transnistria) and key bits of Ukraine (Odessa, Kiev and Chernobyl) – I ended up being game and booked the trip.
So – now I was back to Bucharest … four years after my last visit. I got in in the afternoon and spent a couple of hours walking around town. Compared to my last visit not too much had changed. Clearly some renovation work had been conducted, some was still ongoing – but otherwise nothing major new.
I made it back to the hotel in time for the welcome meeting and a first group dinner.
We were leaving Bucharest already on Tuesday (after a bit of a taxi situation for some in the group, giving our tour leader’s heart rate a bit of push) making our way to Tulcea, the gateway to the Danube delta, below some photographic evidence from that trip.
This gallery contains 12 photos.
The project, that had started in Tokyo last October was now coming to an end, we were about to deploy the changes, that had in been performed in support of the project. I made my way to Minsk once more … Continue reading
It’s been five years now since my first trip to Central Asia, which also included a glimpse into Kyrgyzstan. During that trip it became apparent, that there is more to the region than just culture and history … I clearly had to come back, to get a first hand experience of the region’s high mountains, beautiful valleys, breath-taking views – and insight into the ways of life in this sparsely populated area with only limited infrastructure.
This year I finally found the opportunity, to actually come back. The tour I had picked would come in the format of an epic road trip all the way from Bishkek (the capital of Kyrgyzstan) to Dushanbe (the capital of Tajikistan) following major portions of the Pamir Highway and including a side trip along the Tajik side of the Wakhan Valley (with great views to the mountain ranges on the Afghan side, including the Hindu Kush range).
This trip being a road trip, most of the time was spent getting from A to B – overall more than 2200km had to be covered – most of which on fairly bad roads. Below the summary statistics … more details on the blog entries for the respective days.
Start here, start in Bishkek.
| Day | From | Via | To | Distance |
| Jun-14 | Bishkek | Töö Ashuu Pass (3150m) | Lake Toktogul | 340 km |
| Jun-15 | Lake Toktogul | Jalal-Abad | Osh | 330 km |
| Jun-16 | Osh (960m) |
Taldyk Pass (3615m) | Sary-Tash (3170m) | 185 km |
| Jun-17 | Sary-Tash (3170m) | Kyzyl-Art-Pass (4280m)
Karakul Ak-Baital Pass (4655m) |
Murghab (3650m) | 230 km |
| Jun-18 | Murghab (3650m) |
Pereval Nayzatash Pass (4137m)
Alichur Khargush Pass (4344m) |
Langar (2830m) |
225 km |
| Jun-19 | Langar | Yamchun Fort | Ptup | 70 km |
| Jun-20 | Ptup | Eshkashem | Khorog | 180 km |
| Jun-21 | Day in Khorog | local | ||
| Jun-22 | Khorog | Rzvay | 240 km | |
| Jun-23 | Rzvay | Kulob | Dushanbe | 360 km |
| Jun-24 | Dushanbe | Hisor | Dushanbe | 60 km |
| 2.220 km |
This gallery contains 16 photos.
Today was dedicated to sightseeing around Dushanbe, Tajikistan’s capital. In the morning we left the hotel and walked over to the Museum of National Antiquities. After a guided tour of the museum we boarded a bus towards Hissor Fort (see … Continue reading