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)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…
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.
