Sep 17, 2018 - Lessons in drinking Cognac!

We had a nice sleeping in morning as we were free to do as we wanted today. The breakfast buffet here is very nice and no soviet nonsense to get get it! We decided to check out a little market not too far from the hotel to see if we could find some postcards and maybe a souvenir. Unfortunately, the market was pretty lame--lots of flower shops and cigarettes. That's something I haven't mentioned but smoking is a huge problem in these countries--problem for us anyway. The hotels are smoke-free but nothing else and so many people, young people...

Sep 16, 2018 - The country recognized by only 3 other countries.

Breakfast this morning was a repeat of yesterday, without having to tiptoe thru the orthodox service though. It's nice to have our own bus and not to have to worry about catching public transportation. Our trip today involves crossing the border into Transnistria, or as they prefer, The Prednistrovie Moldovan Republic (PMR). Transnistria literally means "the land after the Dniester River". This country is recognized only by 3 other unrecognized former Soviet breakaway republics: the Republic of Abkhazia, the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh,...

Sep 15, 2018 - Hiking, hiking, more hiking and then lots of wine

Happy Birthday, elise! After a totally sleepless night in our sweltering room, we stumbled down for breakfast. Here again, the soviet influence was obvious. We had to stop at the reception desk to choose 1 of the 3 breakfast options and get a card with that # on it. The we had to take the card to the breakfast room and give it to a person who would get it for us. And we could only eat between 8-9am. A couple of our group tried to get in earlier but were sent back until "our time". I have no idea what it's about but the breakfast room is a...

Sep 14, 2018 - Chisinau, the capital of Moldova

Well, breakfast went fairly smoothly although it did take over an hour for everyone to get their meal. They brought out 1 plate at time in no particular order that we could find. Didn't matter where you were in the list of sign-ups, didn't go by room #--just randomly 1 plate at a time. And you couldn't have your coffee or tea until you'd gotten your food plate. Today we are back on the bone-jarring roads to Chișinău (kish-i-now), the capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial...

Sep 13, 2018 - The least visited city in the least visited country in Europe

Not a terribly early start today--8:30am. We have a new Mercedes 20 passenger van--much like the one that we took from Bucharest to Tulcea-- except this one is just for us so we can spread out a bit more. We'll have this bus and driver for several days. We drove about an hour north of Tulcea to a ferry where we crossed over to Galati, Romania, the border crossing with Moldova. Dris said it's always different at the border in terms of how long it takes to get through but we were lucky today--there was no one else in line so we had a pretty...

Sep 12, 2008 - Chisinau

Friday, September 12, 2008 Moldova Moldova wine is among the best in Europe. Within a stone’s throw of Chisinau are some of the finest and largest wineries in the world. There seem to be two major factors contributing to the exceptional size of the industry here. First, the climate is ideally suited for the grape growing as is the soil. Second, since the 15th C Moldovans have been quarrying limestone beneath the surrounding hills. The limestone was used to construct the city. These quarries have resulted in the creation of vast network of...

Sep 11, 2008 - Tiraspol, TransDniester

September 11th – Thursday – Tiraspol, TransDniester On the anniversary of the September 11th tragedy I ironically find myself headed to the self-proclaimed state of Transdniester whose primary industry is the black market arms trade. This is a section of Moldova east of the Dniester River which bisects the country along its north-south axis. The Russian majority in this region of Moldova was decidedly less enthusiastic about the breakup of the Soviet Union than the joyously independent Moldavians on the west bank. Despite Moldavian offers...

Sep 10, 2008 - Chisinau, Moldova

September 10th – Wednesday – Chisinau, Moldova I had an 0855 flight from Istanbul to Chisinau meaning an 0600 wake-up to get to the airport in time. While in Istanbul I had trouble connecting my laptop to the internet and had neglected to confirm my arrival with my guide/driver, Valery Bradu (0 794 62986), before I arrived in Moldova. Understandably, he was not there to meet me and so I took a taxi to my downtown hotel. I was tired from the short night of sleep and not prepared to negotiate with the taxi drivers. As a result, Valery later...

Dec 19, 2007 - Chişinau (MOLDAVIA)

Tome un bus a Chişinau de noche, como 12 horas. En el bus conoci a unas moldavianas cantantes que querian practicar su ingles, una de las cuales iba a cantar en el proximo Eurovision. Tambien a un kazako muy simpatico que me ayudo con los guardias de inmigracion ucraniana que no hablaban ingles. Atravesamos la frontera (que tomo un par de horas!) y entramos en una tierra de nadie. Era la 'Republica de Trans-Dniestr', una parte independizada de Moldavia que no tiene puestos de frontera ni controles. Segun el noruego de Kiev, no era seguro...

Nov 2, 2007 - Bakhchysaray, Trans-Dneistra - and other famous spots

Bonjour mes amies - Ah, the simple pleasures of travel. Last night I was eating gelato on the Spanish Steps in Roma before catching an overnight sleeper to the Riviera. I stroll along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice after my simple breakfast of cafe au lait and pain au chocolate in a cafe catching the sun's warmth in the bright Mediterranean morning. There's time for a stroll through the ancient ville and an early dinner of Moules/Frites before catching the late train on to the Pyrenees. A man sitting on a bench nearby listens to his IPOD...

Nov 20, 2006 - Back in Time

So I found out how to get to Tiraspol today and did it...it involves going to the central bus station, which is not a station per se but a huge, seething organism made up of buses, micro-buses, maxi-taxis and throngs of my fellow alleged humans. You go from "sector" to "sector" (i.e. platform to platform) looking at the signs posted in the bus windows. Actually before I had found one that said "Tiraspol" the driver had found me. These guys are not shrinking violets. I paid him my 25 Moldovan Lei (about 2CAD) and off we went in our mini-bus,...

Nov 19, 2006 - Back in the USSR

You don't know how lucky you are, boy... here I am in Chisinau (KEESH ee now), capital of Moldova, not to be confused with Moldovadere, a well-known New Jersey refrigerator cleaning firm. Chisinau (literally, "land of no teeth")is a glum place. No one smiles here. Yes, I can say that about all 4.4 million people, with the kind of absolute confidence that comes from being a career ignoramus. The city has wide streets full of maples with enormous leaves which are beginning to fall. People here pick them up and use them as blankets. Not that...