Moldova – the forgotten land of friendly people

I’ve decided to take the train from Romania in order to get the opportunity to see how the undercarriage of the train gets changed. It was in the time of World War II that Stalin made the railroad broader, so the German forces could not enter the Soviet Union at will. And this brightness stayed until today. Because my passport was a bit more used than others, it was more carefully checked I got a bit scared that they might not let me into the country. But after some 90 minutes when the undercarriage was changed, I got my passport back with the entry stamp and continued my travel towards the national capital Chisinau. 

 

Many of us don’t even know where this country is, except when they compete at the Eurosong Grand Prix, or if we have to play against them for the football qualifications. It was on August 27th in 1991 that Moldova became independent, by seceding from the Soviet Union, but the strong influence of the former regime is still felt. The majority of population is Moldavian, but there are large Russian and Ukrainian groups as well. At the moment they are considered the poorest European country, but that not a reason not to visit them. Many people know, they are famous for their great wines and indeed they possess the largest wine cellar in Europe. 

The Wine Cellar Cricova is 40 kilometres north of the capital city and is a real tourist magnet. Under the hills they have over 120 kilometres spread in a labyrinth of roads, so it’s like driving around different tunnels on various high standard European highways. Each tunnel has the name of the wine being produced in that part of the cellar. Although I had no reservation, I was able to negotiate my way in my broken up Russian to get in. They only have official visiting hours during working days, over the weekend they are open only for tourist groups. And I came on Saturday – when you can’t get in without a reservation. I joined up a group of Americans, young bunch of people, like myself, who ended the tour with a visit to the degustation hall named after the cosmonaut Jurij Gagarin, but I couldn’t join them there. The price was 350 lei of local currency, which is almost 22€. This is very expensive for the local population. The cellar produces many millions of bottles of the bubbly which is exported to many countries of the former Soviet Union and also to Finland. Their quality is up to the standards of France, Spain and Portugal. They also keep a bottle there taken from Jerusalem in 1902, which is priced at 1 million €. They also keep bottles for Russian Prime Minister Putin, who celebrated his 50th birthday in this very cellar. 

 

The roads in Moldova are a class of their own. Every few metres there’s a hole or a bump so you’re getting shaken by driving on them. They have no motorways, although they see them in other countries, but then again Moldova is quite small (34.000km2). I didn’t bring my driver’s licence with me, so I couldn’t rent a car. I was confined to their public transport, which usually consisted of a van for around 10 people called Maxi-Taxi. Fuel costs about 1€ per litre, but apart from that all prices seem so low compared to back home, you can’t believe. You can cross the country for 20€ by vans or rail – but since the rail is in bad shape I would not recommend it. Around the capital you’ll find many old trams, aged 40 and more years, taking you around. You can see holes on the inside that have been somewhat patched up. A ticket costs 2 lei, but the exchange rate fluctuates daily. Still 1€ is about 16 lei. 

 

Visiting the country side was a special experience. In villages people live simply and in touch with nature. They are very friendly and helpful and would like to tell you stories or offer you something they scarcely have. Children love being photographed and invite you with smiles to buy a souvenir they’ve made themselves. Elderly people like telling stories of the past with a bitter view of the future, hoping it will get better. An elderly fellow told me, that in the days of his youth when a young couple got married in the village, everybody was invited – and in return they’ve built a simple house for them to live in. But being tied to public transport, it was not easy to reach som remote areas, away from large cities. There are many monasteries and wine cellars in the countryside worth visiting. The capital – Chisinau has around 700.000 people. Young people move from the countryside to the city in search of work. The main street, passing the inner centre of the city is called Bulevard Stefan cel mare si Sfint, and it’s the street where everything is happening. They even have a McDonald’s, but the prices are much cheaper than back home. An average wage is currently 300$ a month. You can see the capital in a day and a half, but should not skip the marketplace, with a great selection of everything. I even saw a man selling pigeons he caught on the street. Villages on the other hand would only have a small shop and an inn, for the people to get their basics. In one such shop I even saw the cashier use an abacus for making the bill! I could not believe something like this was present in Europe. People usually bake their own bread, for they have big fields of wheat and when it comes to livestock the usually prefer sheep, cattle and geese. The country is also known for huge fields of sunflowers. They bloom in July and most of the country gets painted yellow. Most of the local population still uses horse carriages, cars are a luxury only those working abroad can afford. 

Among other places my path took me to Transdnjester, which is an unrecognised country within a country with the official name of Transdnjestrian Republic of Moldova. At the collapse of the Soviet Union this part of the land separated from the rest of Moldova, but was never official recognised. After a quick check of the documents we entered this republic with the capital of Tiraspol, only 30 kolometres away from the Ukrainian border.

 

Transdnjester, is a small republic, recognised only by Russia, and definitely worth a visit. At first you’d get surprised by the many symbols of communism at every step. The sign of hammer and crescent, red stars and communist slogans are everywhere along with statues of Soviet war heroes, Lenin, Stalin… and everything in the centre of the city. It’s like returning to Yugoslavia just after the end of the Second World War. People are also being told that the independent Moldova wants to join Romania, with which the majority is nationally linked and this caused panic among the Russian part of the population. In the 90s Igor Smirnov, the president of the unrecognised republic, decided, together with a senior Russian general, to establish an independent country on the right bank of the river Dniester, thus separating the Slavic and Romanic population of the country and reset the days of the iron curtain. This was followed by a civil war most people back home know nothing about, but which cost several hundreds of human lives. I was most impressed by their main football stadium in Tiraspol, where the most successful club in Moldova has its base – the Tiraspol Sheriff. It’s a very modern stadium where our own NK Maribor played for the qualifications in the Euro League, but didn’t win. 

 

The people here have their own passports, currency and licence plates. On the way a man told me, his mother lives in the Moldovan capital, but he lives here, so every time he is checked at the border. Despite daily controls, people got used to this. They have no choice. The biggest surprise to them is to see a tourist and start wondering why is a tourist here?

 

My host asked why did I decide to visit their country, if there are no tourists in this forgotten land? I said that’s the main reason, for this is a rather unknown country, which I’m happy to get to know, as well as its friendly and open people, for whom I wish that their dream of a brighter future comes true.