Yesterday I took an excursion to Transnistria-a place I heard about earlier in the trip and badly wanted to see.
One reason I chose this hostel is because they mentioned they offered trips to Transnistria. When I got to the hostel, I was told how to get here by independent transportation, which was about 20 euros. I was also told that I can go with a guide for 100 euros. I like to go somewhere and understand what I am looking at. Therefore while 100 Euros is more then I wanted to pay, I was willing to pay it if necessary.
Fortunately, I learned that someone from a sister hostel was also willing to go to Transnistria, so I was able to go with the guide for 70 Euros. (yes, I asked why not 50 euros-since 100 for one and there we're two of us-they just said the price is 70-so I went)
The guide came to the door and picked me up, and then the person in the other hostel. A taxi driver took us up and drove us there. The first thing I spotted out the window was the taxi driver drinking out of his flask.
On the 2 1/2 hour journey to Transnistria, we stopped at a gas station with a mini mart. Since I didn't eat breakfast, I bought some biscuits at the mini mart, and offered them to the guide, driver, and the girl from the other hostel. The driver took a few and had another few sips from his flask, and joked "whisky and crackers-a good combination" (translated by our guide). Drinking and driving is not discouraged here!
After the dissolution on the USSR, most of the Moldova was anxious to become an independent country, and adapt the Moldovan and Romanian languages. Transnistria, however is a "state within a state", all who loved the USSR and wanted to remain part of the USSR. Since 1990, there was a civil war with Moldova to declare independence.(The majority of Moldova evidently receives most of it's drinking water, and other resources from Transnistria, and that is why they refused to grant independence from Moldova). Today, Transnistria maintains it's own government and currency, with a border station checking passports.
Once we got to Transnistria, the guide showed us an ornate Orthodox church, and a large memoiral park commemorating heros from the last wars for the Soviet Union. We also saw various government buildings in the capital city, where statues of Lenin are still present and in view. I also bought a postcard saying something like "Lenin will always be needed".
(In other post-Soviet countries statues of Lenin and other communist leaders we're either destroyed or put in special "momento" parks-but only here are they in full display). The Transnistria flag, and signs, still have the "hammer and sickle" that symbolized the USSR on them. Seems like these people are nostalgic for the past.
We had a good lunch at a restaurant with authentic Modolvan-Transnistrian food-(I had some time of fish turnover, shopped for some souvenirs, and then headed back to Chisinau.
Once back around 4:30, I took a nap, and then went to a big dinner of salad, soup, lasagna, and more Moldovan wine.
