Moldova (inc. Transnistria)

For a bit of fun, we decided to go to Moldova. Yes, it is a real country.

We left the car behind and took the overnight train from Bucharest (see next entry) to Chișinău.

Taking an international train was a novel experience for us, especially when we had to change gauges.

In order to control rail traffic coming into the USSR, Stalin built railways of a different width to the rest of Europe. So in the middle of the night, our carriage was lifted up and our European chassis replaced with an ex-soviet one. This process, known as "Bogie Exchange" took about 90 minutes.

Previously the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldova has plenty of reminders of its communist past. Such as this mural on the side of our hotel.

Moldova is Europe's poorest country. Its people earn less than those in Bolivia, Mauritania and the Solomon Islands. They even receive aid money from Romania.

A bus ticket cost about 15c and cocktails were about 2 EUR.

 Ştefan cel Mare Central Park

Cathedral of Christ's Nativity

A very nice lady in the National Ethnographic and Nature Mueum insisted on taking several photos of Josh, including a few with this deinothere skeleton.

Moldova is known for its excellent value wine. We enjoyed a glass or two as well as some blintzes.

We also managed to visit the breakaway territory of Transnistria. Not recognised by any UN Member State, the pseudo-country has its own parliament, military and currency.

Some of the strange things we saw in Transnistria including an old man walking the street in military uniform covered in medals, erotically dressed female police and a couple in a restaurant that ate cake before soup.

Also, the capital city, Tiraspol, is full of classic Moskvitch cars.

The territory is run by a corrupt government which is heavily influenced by Russia. Many of the buildings and monuments celebrate the region's communist past.

Following Moldova's declaration of independence, in 1992 a military conflict erupted over the territory's independence. The ceasefire has led to the current unresolved status of Transnistria.

The memorial to the victims of the War of Transnistria in Tiraspol.