Moldova Motion

Moldova Motion

Flying in to capital Chişinău with Air Moldova. Not many people on board. My guess is that only 20% of the seats are filled. On arriving on ‘Aeroportul Chişinău’ our luggage is searched thoroughly. After buying a visa and all the passport controls we meet our nice guide Roman.

We stay in the Dedeman Grand hotel , nowadays taken over by the Radisson Hotel Group. A fine place. Especially the rooms are spacious. When I open a drawer from the bedside table I notice several condoms.

Dinner at trendy restaurant ‘La Taifas’. Caviar and sturgeon, amazing. During breakfast a nice girl plays the harp. Beautiful atmosphere!

Start at the Cathedral Park (‘Parcul Catedralei’). The highlight here is a beautiful Cathedral called Nativity of Christ Metropolitan Cathedral. The entrance to the park is marked by the Holy Gates, dating back from 1841 and looking a lot like Paris’ Arc de Triomphe. In the park you can make pictures of yourself before painted landscapes. With big plastic animals, real or fantasy. Everything a little bit dated.

Another nice park is the Stefan cel Mare Central Park. It’s nicknamed park of lovers. There’s a statue here of Prince Stefan the Great, ruler of Moldova from 1457-1504. In those days Moldova was a principality.

We visit an Armenian church. Then a Jewish memorial. There are many Soviet style ‘Turist’ hotels –  buildings that remind you of the former Soviet Union. Then we see something very special. In most communist countries they were teared down but here there’s still a statue of Stalin. Interesting.

Lots of markets in Chişinău. Shopping is just going to the market. We eat dinner in restaurant Mesogios. Turns out to be Greek/Cypriot style. Nice though. Back in the hotel we finish the day with a drink. Some ladies dressed in a certain manner enter the bar. Prostitutes probably. Now we understand the presence of condoms in the hotel room.

On a narrow strip of land between the river Dniester and the Ukrainian border lies the breakaway state of Transnistria. It’s not recognized by any other state – internationally it’s considered as a part of Moldova. The border is heavily guarded. Lot of military types walking around. We need to buy a visa to enter.

First place we walk – more like a long street – is Bendery. Then we drive on to the capital of Tiraspol. Government buildings all around. We spot some tanks. Then we visit the burial place of the Transnistrian unknown soldier, complete with an eternal flame. We admire the statue of Alexander Suvorov. He was great military commander of the Russian Empire. He founded the city Tiraspol in 1792.

Before we return to Chişinău we visit the House of Soviets. It’s a kind of time capsule. More a leftover of Soviet times in this breakaway state. We order a sandwich in the hotel bar. Afterward we go for a little shopping in ‘ Sun City’ center. Dinner completes the day. Typical Moldovian dishes in restaurant Divino Club.

Old Orhei is a historical and archaeological complex. In the natural landscape of limestone rock diverse layers from different epochs were discovered. The remnants of fortresses dating back centuries (the oldest from the 6^th century BC) and also an orthodox monastery from the 14^th century.

The monastery is still inhabited by a handful of monks. The church is on the top of the hill. The surrounding caves are functional as chapels. One older monk shows us the place. It’s impressive.

Back in Chişinău we visit the National Museum. Every fairly new country has one. This museum is not the most fascinating we saw. Although the life-size impression from some World War 2 scenes are very interesting.

We dine in restaurant Orasul Vechi. No English is spoken here, but the food is the best so far. Life music adds to the atmosphere. The pianist and the violinist do their best.

There are some famous wine cellars in Moldova. Even in ancient times wine was produced here. The one we visit is Cojuşna cellar. An old building on the outside but once you enter…

Guide Mariane shows us all the caves stuffed with wine. Temperature’s excellent here of course. After some endless cave corridors we reach the tasting room. We try a few wines. For good tasting we vary with water but also with cheese and sausage. Good wines! The wines are meant for the domestic market but there’s lot of export too. One of their biggest clients was Hermann Göring.

Late afternoon back in the capital. Some last shopping, an Art gallery and an afternoon tea. That evening, regretfully our final dinner in Moldova. We choose the ‘Symposium restaurant & Wine club’. They do have a beautiful wine from the cellar we visited this morning.

The sadness of leaving tomorrow is partly compensated by this splendid Cabernet Sauvignon…

This trip was made in 2005.

If you have any thoughts or questions feel free to leave a comment!

 culture europe