Old world charm of Moldova
Trip Start
Feb 04, 2011
1
34
54
Trip End
Nov 04, 2011
Chisinau, Moldova
Friday, June 10, 2011
One of the setbacks of train travel in this part of the world is that sometimes the rail guages are not consistent. Forgive me if my rail terminology is wrong as most people these days don't even bother with trains but I believe the correct word is a bogie which neeeds to be changed underneath the train to allow it to continue on a different sized track. I vaguely remember us having a similar problem in Australia when trains travelled from Melbourne to Sydney, for example, but back in those days (and I'm quite sure it might have even been before I was born) passengers simply got off one train and transferred to another without any delay. Here at the Romania - Moldova border, the changing of the bogies took over an hour. Not a major problem when you're asleep though. At least we didn't have to get off the train.
The cabin conductor knocked on my door when we were approaching Chisinau and apart from that one time (and of course the border crossing) I had total privacy in the cabin and no one bothered me. It was actually a very comfortable trip. Still, it's not the same as sleeping in a bed so I was quite tired when we arrived. From the main station, I swerved past several taxi drivers calling out to me and I walked two blocks to the hotel which I'd strategically booked within walking distance. Cosmos Hotel. This hotel needs a bit of description and it's left quite an impact on me which I must explain.
I knew what to expect when I approached the monstrosisty of a building that was erected during the communist era. Twenty two floors of concrete slab with a sign on the top. The hotel foyer (lobby) was dark and spacious, with old carpet and several small offices in all directions. I walked over to the reception desk, not knowing if I'd be greeted by a friendly smile or by someone who was built at the same time as the hotel. The receptionist was happy to see me and although I'd arrived too early for checking in, it was not a problem. What a relief. That meant I could get a few hours of sleep before going out later. Within minutes I had the key to the room and I took the lift up to the ninth floor. What a surprise when I opened the door.
This is the sort of hotel you would either love or hate. I loved it! The outdated furniture and carpet, vinyl sofas, tacky fittings, lace quilt on the bed, separate shower from the bathroom, black bathroom tiles. Apparently there are two types of rooms in this hotel and I was in the renovated two room suite. I dread to think what the unrenovated rooms look like. There was a separate bedroom and living room and within seconds of entering the room I was cast back into another time, around about 1979, I think. I'm not sure if the decor is intentionally outdated but if it is - congratulations to them! This hotel will never - ever - win any design awards (unless we go back to 1979) and every finishing touch, from the old telephone to the old TV, made me feel like I was back in my childhood. The carpet, the vinyl, the lino in the bathroom, lots of brown. Oh yes, everything was brown back then. I laughed so much when I entered the room but at the same time, I really liked it. For although it was a bit tacky, it was in fact comfortable and I can't complain. It had the two main things I look for in a hotel room. Free wi fi and a decent bathroom.
After a very nice sleep in my seventies bed complete with built-in radio, it was time to get up and meet a friend of a friend. I didn't know Maira until a friend of mine from Sydney suggested she get in touch with me and all this happened so quickly I didn't even know who she was when I left Bucharest. By the time I arrived in Chisinau we'd arranged to meet up that afternoon, so after I freshened up in my seventies shower with a dolphin floor mat, I took the lift down to the ground floor. I was one year off my estimation. The lift was fitted in 1980. Yes! I walked a few blocks to where we'd arranged to meet. In front of the statue of the famous Stefan cel Mare. I love it when people give me easy directions. In cities like these, you can hardly miss a monument. It was too easy and Chisinau is such a small city that it was actually pleasant walking into the centre of town.
Maira is a wonderful girl and we'd planned to explore the city together but it started raining quite heavily so we instead went to a cafe' and chatted for hours. I learnt quite a bit about Moldova from her and I must admit, I knew next to nothing about this country before arriving here. I knew nothing about their currency (lei), their language (Romanian) or even how to pronounce the name of their capital city (pronounced Kishinau). By the time we noticed what time it was, I realised it was getting late for her as she had to prepare for a new job and so I walked back to the hotel and grabbed a quick bite to eat on the way. It was great to still be able to use a bit of the Romanian I'd picked up in Bucharest when ordering meals and I discovered that nearly everyone here is quite proficient in Russian as well.
The next day, after a few travel tips from Maira, I decided to go for a long walk out into the suburbs to a large park with a few lakes. On the way I stopped for some lunch (a local chicken noodle soup with some local beer) and the two things that make me happy in a foreign restaurant happened every time while I was in Chisinau. The meal was always surprisingly cheap and I had no language problems, in a place where almost no one speaks English. It just seemed so easy to get things done here. The people were always pleasant and they understood me. After all, Romanian is a Latin language from the same family as Italian or French so many words are remarkably familiar. That means it's also easy to guess what's being said if you can already speak another Latin language. After spending some time walking around the parks, it started to rain again.
Despite the rain, it was very hot and my main mission for today was to find a swimming pool. For so long I'd been craving a good swim somewhere and after I saw the beach in Varna I couldn't stop thinking about it. I found an outdoor swimming pool at one of the universities which was open to the public and I went inside. Getting into this pool was slightly more complicated than getting a visa for Moldova. They have specific opening times and I waited in a room with a bunch of over-excited school kids until it was our turn to go in. Success at last and within minutes I was swimming for the first time in ages. With the exception of an indoor pool back in Antalya a few months ago, I hadn't been in water since the beach in the Philippines. It felt great to swim around but not being a champion swimmer, I get bored after about half an hour and so I left. I was really looking for a pool that had somewhere where I could lie on a towel in the sun, but this pool was as concrete as the hotel where I was staying. Those communists just didn't believe in grass, did they?
Speaking of grass though, this city has an abundance of parks and most of them have free wi-fi. How about that! One of the greatest things about walking around the parks of Chisinau is the chance to sample some of the local kvas from the many carts you see in the city. Kvas is a drink found all over this region and it's made of yeast but not quite alcoholic (I don't think). At least I hope not. The picture on the cart shows a little blond kid drinking it so let's hope it's not alcoholic. It tastes sensational and hard to describe. A bit like creamy soda or carbonated honey or - I don't know what it's similar to but at 25 cents a cup, I had so many of them I may have overdosed on kvas that day. It's so refreshing as well. I had to stop at a local wine bar to sample the much acclaimed local wine - just to take the taste of kvas away (of course). The merlot from this region is to die for!
That evening it was time to get ready for the big flight in the morning. The flight to Moscow. As a last treat in Chisinau, I went to a nearby restaurant and had a very typical Moldavian (or should that be Moldovan) meal of mushroom soup, chicken stuffed with mushroom and some of the best beer on the planet. That's right. Forget Czech or German beer. It's beer from Moldova that consistently wins world prizes. My brief stay in Chisinau was an absolute delight. I'm so glad I persisted in applying for a visa instead of giving up. It was hassle free to get here and the people are amazingly friendly. And what an attractive gene pool! This is such a forgotten corner of the ex-Soviet Union and unlike nearby countries such as Belarus or Ukraine, it has more of a Mediterranean feel about it. The Russians love coming here for a holiday, or even to live, and the fact they speak a Latin language makes it almost feel like somewhere closer to Italy, not somewhere near Russia. Well, until you notice the many concrete buildings that were built in the 1950's. Not a great time for architecture, and a constant reminder that this was a part of the hammer and sickle until its independence in the nineties.
Thankfully, I decided to eliminate the Ukraine from my itinerary. The visa application was far too rigorous and after applying for both a Moldavian and Russian visa, I had no energy for another invitation letter. I also heard stories about the train trip from Chisinau to Odessa which passes through a rather treacherous little territory called Transistria - an unrecognised breakaway republic within Moldova with its own army, flag, passport etc. In other words, a part of the world where if something were to go wrong, I'd be completely unprotected. Apparently guards rob foreigners passing through as they know there's no way for them to get help. No embassy will go near that part of Moldova. It sounds like Somalia so I think I'll give that a miss. Instead I flew over Transistria and the Ukraine. On trips like these, who needs that kind of hassle? The Ukrainian bureaucrats will also have to re-assess their visa requirements if they want to see me there. Everywhere else gets a piece of me instead. Their loss. A country that is mostly famous for its corruption and they want to charge me $200 for a visa? No thanks.
