The bad guys' land

I admit that the trip to Transnistria was high on my list of places to see while being in Moldova, but it eventually happend a bit unexpexted and sooner than I thought.  And that's right, it's better not to waste time in these tough, uncertain times, like the case of Crimea clearly proved. I even thought that the current political situation in the region could influence this excursion in a bad way, but nothing like this happend. It was very pleasant and enjoyable trip. Really, no arrest, no police threats, no bribes on the border, actually terrible boredom. Even the land not as communist as it should be, but let me start from the beginning.

Name of the street in 3 ofiical languages: Moldovan, Russian and Ukrainian

We left from Chisinau Central Bus Station (next to Piata Centrala) by mini-bus to Bender - the city on the "border". Bus cost us 30 lei what is 1.6 euro (really!). The journey was quite fast and soon we passed "the peacekeepers" (or rather Russian troops staying there since the end of war) checkpoint. Near at hand we got to the border control. First step is to give your passport to the guard with really grumpy and serious face, who will type your data to the computer in order to KGB (their Secret Service) knew who gets into the "country". After this procedure you have to cross the border on foot and you go to registration office, where you give a paper fullfiled earlier. You get back one piece of it and you have to keep it till you leave. If you lose it you may have a problem to leave ;) 

Sheriff Market

It all goes smooth, we get back to the bus and continue journey. Just after 3 minutes we get off to start sightseeing. Our first steps lead to the exchange where we get some transnistrian rubels - the first unrecognized currency in  our life! You cannot get them in any place in the world but Transnistria! It's a pretty exciting fact for me! Just after we step by Sheriff supermarket. It's also an interesting fact but this company is the most important brand in Transnistria and owns there almost everything, from shops to gas stations. We have to admit that it represents fairly decent level, they have even some captions in English, the floor shines (that's how clean it is). Only the people dissapoint - it's so few of them inside. 

Memorial Cementary - Bender

The first touristic place on our path is Memorial Cementary - place established not that long time ago which is meant to create kind of "national pride" and contains graves of soldiers killed in Bender in different battles over a long period time. The city itself has a really interesting history, it was a border of Turkish and Russian Empires over ages, important strategically place with a Turkish fortress just at the bank of Dniester. It's also worth to mention that we still didn't pass the river, Bender is situated in historical Moldova, being part of Romania before WWII, only after the war 1992-94 it joined Transnistria.

We walk around a city and on our way to the fortress we see a railway that comes to Moldova. It's another interesting point - the city Bender is divided in a pretty complicated way. For example there are two stations - Transnistrian and Moldovan one. The train to Chisinau would stop on both that are not that far from each other, first on left side, second on right). If you get in on Transnistrian one you will pass the border control, but you can pass on the other side through the tracks and get on Moldovan station where there is no control at all! That's basically the solution in case you lose the paper you got while entering the country ;) Of course if you're lucky and the guard won't catch you on the atempt of illegal border crossing :D

Eventually we reach the fortress where we are the only tourists at the time. The woman selling tickets seems happy about it and welcomes us with a smile and very pleasant chat. The ticket costs around 3 euro (payable only in rubels) and it's possible to have a guided tour, but only in Russian language. The fortress is very nice, there is a museum and souvenir shop inside (only that we weren't able to see it, it's normally closed and a woman forgot to open it for us). There is also a view point and the place is in quite a good condition. But trully it was nothing special. The most interestng were the surroundings, it used to be military buildings there and some abandonded fabric or garages. It looked pretty unusual and not very touristic. Yes! Later was even better, after seeing a church we decided to get out of the museum area another way that lead though the remained military objects, a military school. It's like "the extraterritorial road", it is a high wall on both sides of it. There were plenty of soldiers around that were cleaning the area and making some small reparations. On the wall there were plenty of fresh painted pictures in old, good communist style, so propagandic! One defenitely goes to Transnistria for such images! 

Just after the exit we passed the bridge on Dniester with a checkpoint of Russian troops.  Pictures forbidden! Such a pity! 

Bridge - Bender

Russian checkpoint

Just two minutes away a tank that is allowed to be photographed, next to it - a monument of gen. Lebed' - a head of Russian troops that took part in the Transnistrian war. With the words "You're always in our hearts. We will never forget"... The real hero of the country.

It's time to eat something. It is not such an easy thing as it can seem when you're in Bender. There're not many places to choose from. There is for example Andy's Pizza known from Moldova. In Tirapsol we will find even La Placinta! But so far we decide to go to the local restaurant. The outside impression - not very good, but inside is much better. One could say pleasantly. Food was decent only that we waited for it for ages! Very normal situation in this type of place. And an usual excuse -  "we're sorry, we have only one cook". 

Stalin's order to occupy Basarabia

The next part of our trip is the capital - Tiraspol. We take a trolley no. 19 to get there. Cost - 2,5 rubel = about 20 cents :)

Tiraspol

Tiraspol is not and old city, was founded at the end of XVIII century. Full of not high beton blocks, wide streets, clean. We get off the trolley next to Kvint factory - the pride of Transnistrian people producing alcohol, mostly famous coniacs and wines. Then we go to the center, where we walk at the Dniester bank a bit, pass another tank in form of the monument and the first Lenin's statue! We gonna see one more later.

With the time we start to realise that life can be really difficult in an unrecognized country. Think about these details that we don't even consider in our everyday life like letter stamps - you can use it only in Transnistria, in case of sending letter somewhere else you have to buy Moldovan ones. You have a car registred in Transnistria? You can go to Moldova, Russia and Ukraine where your plates are tolerated, but nowhere else! You are a student of University in Tiraspol? Well, no one cares, it officially doesn't exist.  Your money, your documents, it's all invalid! But the people are used to it. People always find the way to deal with any circumstances. 

In the center there is another interesting thing - the official representation of South Osetia and Abkhazia! All the unrecognized coutries in the world recognize themselves and of course one needs  to have "Embassy" in a partner state :) 

South Osetia and Abkhazia representation

This place is really full of surprises - we find even a message to "the working people of the Soviet Union" bricked up in the wall in 1967 that is supposed to be opened in 2017 with the 100th anniversary of October Revolution! That's the joke of history :) Are they going to open it? I really hope! I wish to hear it then :D 

Our trip is going to its end, we don't plan to spend a night in the city and we have to go back before 9 pm. This time we take the train Odessa - Chisinau that leaves at 7:20 pm, and it's the last option to get back to Moldova . It cost really nothing - 11 rubels what is like 60 cents. But it takes much more time than a bus, we gonna arrive to Chisinau at 10 pm. The "pass" the border control at the station, a guard just come and collect the paper. 

We go back chilling out and I think about unusual souvenirs I bring - some money including coins with hammer and sickle on its reverse, stamps, 2 postcards funny photoshoped and a newspaper in Moldovan (Romanian language written in cyrylic :)). Everything can be a souvenir in Transnistria. It's just such a n unsusual place.

My Factory - My Pride ;)

We are civilized people :D At the museum of the fortress

Nistru

Moldovan accent ;)

Great thanks to Krzysztof who was a great guide and showed us so many interesting places!

One day break out to Iași

8th of March, International Women's Day, but me instead of sitting at home and waiting for the wishes, decided to go visiting Iași, Romanian city very close to Moldovan's border. 

I start early, my goal is to catch the bus at 7 a.m. (from several buses that are supposed to go every day), but I quickly realize that it won't be possible, because I had underestimated the way to Gara de Sud (station) from my place. I'm getting there too late, but still enough to catch the bus at 7:45. I buy the ticket and get into the bus, but Moldovan reality decides to play with me and I soon get to know that the bus is not going to leave as I am the only passenger. The driver takes me to another bus with the promise that it will leave at 8:00. That's fine with me!
 
 

Unfortunately my former driver doesn't share this news with my new driver, that one is still convinced that we leave at 8:45! And of course that what happens. Very late and not in the best mood I get finally to leave Chisinau. In the bus only few passengers, one of them, an older man chooses me to share his opinions about some on-top topics, like what's going in Ucraine etc. So here I am, stucked in the conversation about Ukrainian fascists, that getting payed from the West to destroy this country, about evil European Union that wants to buy out the land of Ukraine and Moldova and turn them into slaves and about good-guy Putin who tries to stop them and rebuild the power of older times. I always don't know what to do in such conversations, that in this part of Europe can occur rather often. Usually I just sit and listen, don't try to argue, play just "a free-listener". And most important - I trully enjoy it. Sometimes some opinions sound just ridiculous, but the best thing is that a lot of what they say is true. Like here when this man mention "the Western help" to Romania, country that came out of communism without any international debt and after 25 years one reaches almost 40% of its economy. 

The journey takes about 4 hours, including the stop at the border. What's funny for me on the Moldovan side, a border guide seeing my Polish passport gets interested and refer to me in English! Big surprise :) He starts asking questions, he even ask me to show another document with the picture like my passport wouldn't convince him that me is me :D I think he just wanted to practise the language a bit, because of course he lets me go without any problems. 

We pass the Romanian border as well and just in this moment the sun comes out! Finally! These grey, foggy days in Chisinau started to depress me. Luckily this kind of weather will remain for the whole day and let me enjoy walking around the city.


Iași is a big city, capital of province Moldova, one of the most important student centers in Romania, mostly because of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University. The city had a really good impression on me, it was light, lively and had a nice atmosphere. 
What's best for the tourist that comes there for short time (like me, for 1 day) is that all the really important sightseeing places are literarlly in one place! It's Stefan Cel Mare boulevard and in reality it all seems even closer than on a map :) 

So that's how I got the chance to see the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Opera, the Church of Three Hierarchs with uniquely decorated facade and at the end of it the biggest attraction of the city - the Palace of Culture. I have to admit that it gives an amazing impression, because it's much bigger than you can imagine just looking at the pictures. It is really huge, several museums are located there. I didn't have time for museum at my short trip so I skipped it. The Palace is in renovation now, the walls are covered, so it's not going to look good on pictures, but still gives a great impression ;)

Next to the Palace you can find a little Saint Nicholas church, a building from the times of Stefan Cel Mare -the great ruler of Moldova, like caption on the wall says. The church is fully renovated and is really pretty, defenitely must see. For me it's special also because of a reason that I managed to attend there the first ortodox baptism in my life. I didn't mean it, but when I looked through the door and saw a naked boy laying on the table I couldn't resist to watch it. Then the pop - ortodox cleric just took the child and put it all to a bowl of holy water! Well, I shouldn't be surprised, I knew how the ortodox baptism should look like, but on live it appeared to be much more shocking than while reading about it ;) 
Especially that the water had to be really cold, the boy started screaming like crazy while all his relatives tried to catch him on a photo with their cameras, smartphones and tablets. 
First thing that came to my mind - my God, it's so barbaric, so cruel, I love it! So I have to become ortodox now :D


My walking around ended up with the wishes and a flower from Radio Iași that gave it to the women on the streets. Pretty good, probably better than if I stayed home and waited for something :)

Then, only the way back to Chisinau waited for me - the last bus leave at 17:30 - good to know, because it's pretty early. The way back last less, it took us only 3 hours, just because of coming to this side no one really cares on the border. 

I will remember Iași as pretty nice place and will try to go back there soon. I realize I've seen almost nothing, this city has a great potential, very interesting history and lots of places to discover. It's defenitely worth to know it better.

The city of revolution

So it happend that my first big, waiting long time travel was Ukraine, Kyiv specifically... Exactly from 16th till 20th of February. Pretty good timing, huh? Well, I can only say on my defense that I didn't really had a choice, I went there with some business to do.

Despite of that I still managed to see something and I have to say that this city made me fall in love with from the firts sight. Or maybe a bit later, as the first thing I've seen was a huge block that seemed to not have any windows! It is the building of The National Library, just next to the main bus station that I got to on the bus from Chisinau.

Then, straight to the metro, that I really recommend, even people who cannot read cyrilic alphabet will be fine, there is an English caption under all the Ukrainian stations' names. After I got out it was still very easy, there are boards with the tourist map all over the city center.

I had a little walk, passed university building and Vladimirskij Sobor and I reached my place to sleep for today - Railway hostel at Semena Petlury str. Making long story short - not recommended! Perfect location and comfortable bed but don't count you will be able to sleep.

In the afternoon some more walking, Museum of Ukrainian Literature and the desired one - Maidan! Just 3 days before the violence broke out. Impressions? The atmosphere of a family picnic. With some seriously looking people around  with their faces covered of course, but anyway very nice feeling. Lots of people that were just walking through, parents with children, on the stage a couple just getting married and after a performance of Ukrainian traditional music. Shortly, a lot of fun. It was hard to belive how fast the situation got so bad from that point.


The the business time came out, I was sitting few days in the small village near Kyiv, watching TV and not beliving what I see. And the last day, on Thursday, when the situation got really bad came time to go to the city to catch a bus. They were saying that the roads are closed and we can not even get into, but we were lucky and we got to the city without any problems. Then it got a bit more complicated. Almost all the buses were cancelled, including mine. Luckily, there was one that went. 7 hours of waiting at the station, but still very good news. At the beginning, lots of people were waiting in the McDonald's nearby, but they close it like 2 hours earlier and told us to leave. So we waited in the waiting hall of the station, with the TV on showing what's going on so close to us. The atmosphere of tension and nervousness. The bus welcomed with a relief.

After the bus left we still managed to see the face of revolution, the road was blocked by the protesters, we passed their barricades like 5 times. Twice they got in to check the bus, but we were able to go without too long stops.

Maybe it was nothing special, but when we crossed the Ukrainian border I was so happy it is over and I'm at "home" now, in a safe, welcoming place. But Kyiv will have another place in my stories, I'm sure of that. Just in better time...