Moldova blog …

Hopefully this Moldova blog shows that we love Moldova – its excellent, and we especially love Chișinău – what a fantastic place!

We knew very little about Moldova or Transnistria prior to entering the country, so it was really quite exciting with an air of expecting that anything could happen. We knew that it had formerly been part of Romania, and having spent quite some time travelling through Romania and talking to many people, it was really quite a shock upon seeing Moldova!

When first entering the country and driving towards the Capital, Chișinău, there was a definite feeling of old school USSR about the place, It’s really quite a flat landscape like Southern Romania, with the addition of plenty of vineyards. The roads are fairly decent, although it’s clearly been some time since they’ve been updated, and there are very few cars anywhere outside of Chișinău.

The main difference though is very clear when you enter the capital … everyone looks so different from those in Romania. It’s really very surprising. They tend to look very much more Western European – not unlike the British and the French! It’s almost as if there’s been little integration between the two countries, despite them formerly being the same country!

And Chișinău is so very western, it really is an eye opener!

3 Mobile Network – terrible service! Boo-hiss!

As soon as we crossed the border, 3 abandoned us! OUTRAGEOUS! They literally stopped us from making calls, sending texts, using and data. And to top it all they blocked us from using the 3 App to contact them, pay any bills, complain, or top up!

We had no access to any Apps to find accommodation to we drove into the centre of the Capital and tried to contact the UK to get an emergency number to contact! Just OUTRAGEOUS!

Apparently, because we’d been out of the UK for some tie, we’d been deemed as no longer UK based, and therefore 3 would no longer let us use their services – for any price! We found a wifi spot on the high street and I finally got through to 3 by using the option – I wish to cancel my contract! All other options take you to an automated number which is totally unhelpful. I paid the bill in full and made a very large complaint; after all they’d put us in danger potentially.

Using the wifi We found a hotel that was fairly local and headed off. 3 – never again!!!!

Chișinău

Chișinău [Kee-sheen-ow] is brilliant! We love it! It’s so relatable, easy to get around, unbelievable friendly, safe, clean and cheap! I’ve read other blogs stating that they thought it to be boring – I couldn’t agree less, it’s a great place with loads of interesting people, most of whom speak English, and everyone was really chatty and just plain lovely to meet! There’s also lots to see and do – I liked it so much I even went online to see how affordable it was to live there – it’s affordable 🙂

The hotel we found, the Bernardazzi Grand Hotel & SPA, was great too! When we arrived, they immediately upgraded us to the best suite in the hotel – incredible! The guy on reception could not have been more helpful – he was brilliant. It was literally a perfect stay, especially considering the position we’d been put in by 3! We can’t praise it highly enough. If you go, stay at the Bernardazzi Grand!

Getting around Chișinău is simple too as it’s designed on a grid system, so three blocks down and two you you left – that kind of thing! Our hotel was walking distance to the bustling centre with it’s plethora of cafés, shops and restaurant. Excellent!

Driving on the other hand is a different matter. Once you’re in the centre, it’s fine, or if you travel outside of rush hour it’s fine. But on a morning it’s as busy as London traffic. You have to be pushy and force your way around the place as there are simply way too many cars for the roads. I guess that the wealth lies in the capital, and hen car ownership has rocketed. Regardless its tricky at that time, so be aware!

Transnistria

Transnistria is a country that isn’t a country. They’d very much like it to be, but it’s not recognised anywhere. It lies in the east of the Moldova, bordering Ukraine. They have a border, where they wear soldier’s uniforms and exert their authority. They also charge you €5 to get past the border control! On the Moldovan side they literally ignore you or just wave you though, as they don’t recognise the breakaway state! It’s all a bit of a farce really – but if it makes them happy 😉

Ukraine

Once you get through this ‘border’, you’re free to go wherever you like, so we did! We drove all over Transnistria, and inadvertently entered Ukraine – doh! It appears that Transnistria likes to have a border with Moldova, but not with Ukraine! We found this strange as, as far as we understood, Transnistria wants to be reunited with Russia. Whereas Moldova definitely wants to be part of the EU – and has firm plans to entry in 2030 – there are posters announcing this fact. In fact even the Moldova border sign states it! Nevertheless, as soon as we realised where we were, due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, we headed straight back to Transnistria!

Transnistria, again

Once back in Transnistria, we headed for Tiraspol. And what a strange place it is! It looked like all of the signage was in Russian, there were lots of soldiers making themselves visible! Yea at the same time, the local cinema was showing all of the latest American releases, and there were American brand shops mixed in with the Russian ones.

Everyone seemed very laid back and happy. Though we noticed that it was super quiet compared to Chișinău – like a general hush! There were very few cars being driven, and hence you could literally park anywhere you liked. It was very much like bing in the old Soviet block during the cold war – very strange! Definitely worth a visit due to its strangeness though 🙂

Chișinău, again

So, back through the pretend Transnistrian border again. No fee this time, but lots of details taken about the car again, and a customs declaration that needed signing. Bizarre, but kinda funny at the same time! I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the madness of it all. I guess though that at some point it will no longer be madness and will become a serious issue!

Back to the lovely vineyards and the big skies of Moldova …

… and I must say, I was kind of relieved to be back in busy, western Chișinău. It was like re-joining reality! 🙂 And we were especially pleased to be back in our hotel which we’d found by accident – what a find!