Category Archives: 2018:Bucharest to Kiev

Into Transnistria

Posted on by

We left Chisinau in the morning and after a quick stop at a wodden church – Casa Biserica – we were on our way into Transnistria.

Transnistria is an interesting case,  for some the region is indeed a country on itself – known as Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR) – complete with its own government, military, postal system, currency and police force. For others the region remains territory of Moldova, essentially like a federal state with some level of autonomy. This is also how Transnistria is seen internationally, the vast majority of countries (incl. the UN) do not recognize the PMR and indeed consider it as part of Moldova. Putting it all together Transnistria indeed is de-facto a country, that does not exist. Check this wikipedia page for more information on Transnistria.

After about an hour on the road from Chisinau we made it to the border region. After a quick check by Moldovan authorities, we were let into the buffer zone, which – following the war from 1992 – is guarded by an international peace force (mainly from Russia). We eventually arrived at Transnistrian immigration and were allowed into the territory after a documentation check.

Our first stop in the Transnistria proper was at the Sheriff-11 supermarket on the outskirts of Bender. Main mission for the moment was, to change money into Transnistrian rubles (a currency, that is internationally as recognized as the the issuing country – there is not even an ISO 4217 code for it).

Day of Caves: Mileştii Mici

Posted on by

After touching the outskirts of Chişinău we were now South of town – the destination being Mileştii Mici – home of what is probably the biggest wine cellar in the world (which may well count as cave).

The cellars here extend well beyond 200 kilometers (of which about 55km are used) and houses in excess of 1.5 million bottles of wine (world record).

After a quick look around the entrance area with the wine fountains, we had a tour around the facility – driving into the mountain with our van. During a few stops we were shown, how wines are stored – until eventually we made it to the tasting room, where we could get a first taste of the wines.

Some in the group decided to continue the tasting later on (including myself) and got some of the older vintages (all around 1987 +/-)  to try and share. Needless to say, it ended up an interesting evening of oenological significance 😉

Leaving Gagauzia …

Posted on by

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.

On to Comrat and Gagauzia

Posted on by

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). 😉

 

A special welcome to Moldova

Posted on by

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.

Exploring Tulcea

Posted on by

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.

Back to Romania

Posted on by

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.