Photos from Moldova – Part 1
Despite the fact that quite a lot of time and other events have passed since then, I still haven’t fulfilled my promise to put up some photos from the trip to Moldova, which we went on during this summer. Before this innocent debt becomes a toxic asset as these thing tend to happen these days, here goes…
Moldovan government and the main square in Chisinau. A new liberal coalition was just forming when we got there, just after the second round of elections where the communists (in name only) lost.
The main church of Moldova, right vis-a-vis the government. The great majority of the country is Christian orthodox and on weekends, this square is full of newlyweds.
Selling cheese at the truly vibrant market of Chisinau.
Plenty of vegetables at the market as well, people from all around come to sell.
You can get a really nice quick lunch for a Euro or two.
Main boulevard, nice and clean, with electric buses which have been here for decades.
Mixing old with the new. Post office in front.
The boards and Lonely Planet were promising a lake full of swimmers, rowers...
...what you get is not quite as advertised. The lake was polluted and emptied a few years ago.
That lead to a certain level of frustration. Let's hope they fill it up again soon. Are you listening, new government?
Exploring the city, while using some quirky optical illusion. Or is that supposed to be a national symbol? 
Partying at night with friends from Moldova. Clubs are pretty awesome, relaxed and always with something going on.
The gobnik/čefur cultural elements seem to be amazingly internationalised.
Our hotel room, pretty good for 18€/night. And that's only half of it, there's another bed and a large fridge on the other side.
Moldova has wine of incredible quality at laughable prices. Of course that warranted a visit to Milesti Mici, a famous winery with 170 km of underground tunnels. Wine tasting & debate with a friendly Russian with dubious stories is mandatory.
World War II memorial with honorary guard scorching in the sun. Every 15 minutes another guard comes to wipe the sweat from their foreheads as they stand still.
Memorial to the soldiers who died in the war Afghanistan. The previous one, back when the USA were sponsoring the Taliban and Soviets fighting (occupying) them. Oh my, how the tables have turned.
A Soviet-era jet. They didn't leave the keys in, I checked.
Yes, iPhone is available in Moldavia while we in Slovenia still wait. In fact Orange has their most modern 3G mobile network there.
Orhei Vechi, monasteries carved in stone next to a river meander.
The dwellings of an orthodox monk.
The dwellings of goats.
If you ever wondered, cows indeed are fond of bananas.
Spectacular views.
Fishing old school, like with phishing, they also use the nets. 
Wandering off on the green fields.
The friendliness of our Moldovan friends really cannot be overstated.
Oh but there is more…
Filed under Travel | Tags: Chisinau, gobnik, iPhone, market, Moldova, monastery, Orhei Vechi, orthodox church | Comment (1)Bucarest photos
Seeing how I am writing this almost a month later, it’s clear that the day by day coverage of our trip was untenable to begin with. I sort of knew that all along, but tried to keep it up as long as I could. It would even be a shame if I were to keep up with it all the time. Just think of all the time I would spend typing on my phone instead of actually experiencing the trip. It’s sort of like the stereotypical Japanese tourists walking around with their cameras, seeing the world through a tiny LCD (OLED if they’re advanced) screen instead of enjoying it in all it’s greatness through their own eyes. Immerse yourself in the moment first, record just enough to keep the sands of time from eroding the memories, that’s my travel philosophy.
I won’t get into any more detailed descriptions and rather give you some photos which you’ve been clamoring for.
Passage in the centre of Bucarest, home of numerous middle eastern coffe & nargile places, thus a nice chillout place.
How a city as large and as important doesn't manage to get it's electricity cables underground is beyond me. It's like this all over the place.
Police union on strike in front of the Romanian Ministry of interior (ex-communist central commitee building). Who's watching the police when they go on strike. Well the gendarmerie of course.
Currency exchange at the Bucarest train station ripping off IBM's logo. You'd trust IBM with your money why not us? Or is it more like: "We only rip off the big guys!"?
What Ceaucescu lacked in taste and compassion he certainly made up in scale.
Conversations beyond what this blog is able to handle.
Impersonating the Japanese at the location of Ceaucescu's last pre-shotinthehead speech.
EU seems to be promoting marijuana together with Pepsi in Romania. Strange bedfellows.
Chisinau and its’ wonders
Monday, 3. August 2009:
We all had the dumbs that day, with reasons not hard to imagine. So we strolled down to Andy’s which is a local restaurant chain and one of the enterprenurial success stories of post communist Moldova. They serve a mixture of pizzas, lasganas, steaks and similar plates and while the food is way to fastfoodish for everyday consumption they make up for some of that with a surprisingly good and consistent design of the whole franchise, a real ice tea and minty lemonade.
Again, we could not really concentrate on any discussion we were starting, partly because we were having the dumbs and mostly because my eyes and attention would wander away every time a gorgeous girl would walk by or sit down nearby. Which happened every 20 seconds or so. Many discussions pertaining to the source of such overwhelming beauty were undertaken, resulting in the most possible explanation that the constant mixing of nations and their genes, which was indeed prevalent in these parts, were to be credted. Neither in Romania, nor in the more Slavic Transdnistria was the concentration of beuaties on the streets so high. To add to the experience, most of women dress elegantly, revealing and with great attention to detail for the most part. I could go on about Moldovan women for ages but let’s leave it at that for the time being and let me just say that they leave the best of impression, out of line of any of the stereotypes you might have in mind. No wonder most flower shops here are open 24/7.
Back to the story, we then went to the National history museum. Fascinatingly, a furniture shop was housed in the same historic building as the museum. We learnt a lot about everything from the national insignia, examples of communist propaganda and the general history of Moldova. We then drove to the other side of the city with a minibus costing only 3 Lei (1€ = app. 16 Lei) while Elena was our patient guide explaning everything we drove past. There we got to see a memorial for Moldovan-Soviet soldiers who died in the war in Afganistan. The previous one. We could also see some of examples of “Gobnik” behaviour, the Moldovan brand of “Čefur”, proving once again that it’s a state of mind, having nothing to do with nationality.
After returning to the center we were simply strolling the streets, when we were stopped by a bypasser. He recognised Ivor’s football jersey. His name was Branko, and he lives in Chisinau working as a represantative of a Croatian company. We got along quickly and after exchanging the basic pleasentries went for a beer or two in a local bar. The conversation was enlightning and fun, but there was a full winery-visiting day ahead of us.
First impressions of Moldova
Sunday, 2. August 2009:
Passing the lakes, wines filled hills and Lukoil petrol stations (app. 0.70 €/litre) cast in morning light we arrived in Chisinau. Just by looking outside the bus, our preconceptions about the coutry were shattering quicker than glass storefronts after a football match.
Judging by the GDP numbers and Moldova’s status as Europe’s poorest country, we were expecting something quite different than the clean, wide streets, colorful storefronts, scattered Casinos, karaoke bars and decent cars of Chisinau. Despite having learnt a similar lesson in other countries I was once again taken aback.
Next, taking care of the basics. Money exchanges were all closed due to the early hour, so we first took a taxi (who after some arguing exchanged 5€ for us and charged 2) to the Zaratea hotel which was recommended to us before. The receptionist spoke only Russian and Romanian (which they often call Moldovan for national pride reasons) and must have been trained in customer service by the Soviet school for coldness and unrelenting pessimism. She pointed us to a 24/7 exchange and food store close to the hotel. When we returned with the money her mood was somewhat improved and she even gave us two 3 bed rooms for the price of 2 bed ones. Rooms were rather old, but spacious and decent with even a fridge and a TV. The shower and toilets were shared per three rooms, but always clean. All that for about 9€ per person per night.
Then, a quick expedition around town. Main park with an orthodox cathedral right accross the road from the government building. We did not fit in with our short trousers so we quickly departed from the sunday prayers. We were surprised to see the women wearing little headscarves for church, despite their otherwise revealing and elegant dresses. Everything incredibly tidy in a way you would not see in most European capitals. Drink stands on every step and of course, no capital is complete these days without a McDonalds right in the centre. We largely ignored them, apart from their free WiFi. The latter is common, a short walk will reveal a bunch of hotspots, most resedential ones locked, but a lot of cafes offer it for free, much more often than in Slovenia.
After a coffee to boost our step we headed for the primary destination you should visit first in any city. The Market. It was Sunday morning but it was nonetheless bustling with activity. Long rows of stands selling everything from vegetables, meat, dairy products to clothes, detergents and Kučma hats. What’s homegrown is really cheap with other goods usually only slightly cheaper than back home.
- Tomatos 0.20 €/kg
- Watermellons 0.15 €/kg
- Box of ciggarets 0.5 €, Marlboro 0.7 €
You get the picture. We did some more walking around seeing a Jewish synagogue (there used to be a lot more of those before WWII) where we put on the black cap and took a quick peek at the Toras. Lonely Planet told us of a lake in the north of the city with locals swimming, rowing, enjoying all kinds of recreational facilities… Yeah right, all that was leftt was a bush covered valley. They dried it up 3 years ago due to water pollution when all the fish suddenly went belly up.
All that was left was to observe the natural beauties of Chisinau which comprise of the incredible greenery of the city but mainly its’ female inhabitants. A quick nap, shower and we were ready for nightlife. We met with Elena who Ivor knew from a conference and her friend Tea. We hit it off splendidly right from the start and proceeded to a great night cruising the city’s bars and clubs…
People’s palace and the long and winding road to Chisinau
Perhaps you’ve noticed I’m falling behind with my live blogging. By live I of course mean with a few days of delay. Energy/alcohol related reasons usually keep me from writing before going to bed, thus making me fall behind. I apologize to you, my cherished readers. Both of you.
Saturday, 1. August 2009:
Still in Bucarest, previous night and the hardships of travel took a toll, extending our sleep almost until the early afternoon. We managed all the necesseties, grabbed a coffee at a bar full of locals. They could easily tell we were tourists. You might think that the cameras, Lonely Planet guide, lack of knowledge of the Romanian language or our inquisitive looks were a giveaway. No. We were the only ones not drinking alcoholic beverages at 12.00.
We split up with Jan and Ivor going to the national history museum, where, according to them, practically all the items were replicas and the biggest attraction was the massive neoclassical building the museum was housed in. Sanjin and I went to the Ceaucescu’s Palace of the people, where we first started with the part housing the Contemporary art museum. Since we didn’t get the right entrance right away we had to take a 5-10 minute walk to the other entrance. Yeah, it’s THAT big. The museum itself turned out to be a dismal experience for the most part, much of it comprising of 50-something year old “artists” discovering Photoshop for the very first time believing they have something to offer. While that might be just fine otherwise, the problem is that they are embraced by the “artistic establishment” and hosted in galleries accros Europe. There were some rare gems though in this sea of self-congratulating manure. Rare.
The teracce cafe on the top revealed the true vastness of the palace estate in the heart of Bucarest and the slight chlorine aftertaste of the Romanian filled Kinely Tonic. My outpouring of criticsm might not have gotten that message through but the visit was quite an entertaining experience in whole.
We signed up for a guided tour on the other side if the palace where the parliament is housed, but we were running a bit late, which we could not afford since it was the last one that day. We therefore took a taxi which brought us to the other side of the building. Crazy, I know. Ivor & Jan were already there, the guide led us through the tour. Just a few facts, read the rest on Wikipedia. 4 billion $ to complete, 10% still not finished, all the materials had to be from Romania, 400 architects worked on it, already falling apart in some areas due to shoddy work, maintenance, a looot of houses destroyed to build the boulevard in front of it, second largest building in volume – after Pentagon…
After that we met with Flavia once more, slowly got to the bus station where we booked a trip to Chisinau. It costs 65 Romanian Lei or 20 € (it’s a bit more in Euros) and takes app. from 20.00 to 7.00 in the morning to get there. It was a bit hot on the way, mostly because of the low powered air conditioning, but also because of the beautiful ladies which seemed to all have found a way on our bus (more on the reasons in later posts). The guessing which one of them might be a lady of the night during the stops, combined with tech/political/phillosophical debates during the drive kept us entertained throughout the journey. Black humor helped us during the unnecessarily long but otherwise uneventful border procedure. In the morning we discovered how wrong our preconceptions about Moldova really were, but more on that next time. Don’t you just loooove cliffhangers? 
Oriental Bucarest experience
Friday 31. July 2009:
I woke up in a shaking train cart, rather suprised that I managed fo sleep as well as I did despite all the noise and commotion. The landscape outside was rather somber but nontheless intrguing. Small and slowly moving oil pumps were scattered accross the land connected by countless wooden posts laid with poorly planned wires. A world of gray and brownish shades, overlayed with just a touch of morning fog, but stil peculiarly beautiful in its’ industriality. Clearly we were not in Bucarest yet, so I took a short nap until we were.
At the station a Romanian friend of Ivor’s going by the charming name of Flavia was alreqdy waiting for us. I proceeded to make my traditional bad first impression by cracking Ceaucescu jokes which can be rather hard to take even when the clock is not well before seven in the morning. Sanjin and Jan of course happily joined in and we were churning out Romanian stereotypes the whole metro ride. All in good taste. Your taste may vary.
Flavia was extremly kind and had already reserved a room for us at the Midland hostel in the centre of the city. It was early, room wasn’t ready and our much needed showers had to wait. Next was the quest for Ivor’s Moldovan visa. Croatia isn’t yet in the EU so he needed one. I wonder why it’s taking them so long to join, poor bastards?
That took some time due to some senseless bureaucracy, but what doesn’t kills gets us more forms to fill out, as the old proverb arguably goes. That meant the rest of us had some time to look for unsecured WiFi hotsopts in the neighbourhood and a coffe & chocholate-prune mousse. My eyes gleamed with delight when I cast my sight upon a couple of Hoegaarden beers in the fridge. Not to worry, we tried plenty of local ones later on, though, not suprisingly most seem to be owned by the Belgian InBev anyway.
The visa quest took Ivor and Flavia through some more administrative challenges, meanwhile we were intermittingly meeting, exploring Bucarest and were even able to shower to the undoubtful delight of anyone we met.
After a nice nargile outside an Egyptian bar, discussing the various high flying problems plaguing our society and women (not counting the among the former), our need for sightseeing could no longer be ignored. Thus we proceeded to the square of Nicolae Ceaucescu’s last speech, the “stabbed potato” monument to the revolution and ex-communist central cmmitee which now houses 4 government ministries. Our experience then turned thoroughly oriental with a great sushi dinner, beers at the Khrishna bar and Jan’s well spirited, but unsuccessful atempts to teach the waitress Chinese. Another of Ivor’s Romanian friends joined us, Tiberie by name. We continued to cruise Bucarest chanting partisan hymns until we grew tired and my jokes rather stale. A refreshing sleep put us right back on track.
I can’t yet add the photos whch aren’t on my phone, so you’ll have to live just with the sushi photo for the time being.
Meat up in Belgrade
I suppose a little background is needed about our trip to Moldova. We’re basically a group of four European studies classmates: Ivor, Jan, Sanjin & moi, who decided that Moldova is a country we know so precious little about, that it would be a interesting place to visit. We do know a bit more about Moldova now, since we gathered some facts using a somewhat advanced form of fax machines called the “internet”. You might have heard about it, I’m telling you it’s gonna be a big thing. It’s like a series of tubes for delivering brochures. If we develop it wisely enough we’ll perhaps be someday be able to know what all our friends are eating in real time.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand. We started our joint trip by gathering in Ljubljana this thursday morning, then travelling by car to Belgrade. We met up with Ivor’s girlfriend there, chatted a bit with her family in their apartment, left the car there and headed for the train station in full gear, meaning sweating our backs on backpacks in the scorching summer sun. I fueled up with a ham & cheese filled čevapčič on a loaf. Now really, who’s bright idea was it to put ham in minced meat? Meat inside more meat. That only makes sense sexually.
Later we procured some rations for the long train ride to Bucarest. We chated up a friendly conductor and by proxy quickly got into the sleeping cart at half the price. Some nice words and bribery will get you a long way.
After passing the rather picturesque and sunflower-filled fields of Vojvodina, we’re at the point where this writing meets present time. Rushing along star lit, urine wetted Romanian rails, hoping to wake up in Bucarest the following morning.
