Transdniestria: The Country that Doesn’t Exist

While in Moldova I had the opportunity to visit Tiraspol, the capital of the self-proclaimed country of Transdniestria. After the breakup of the USSR, there was a brief civil war in Moldova in which Transdniestria declared its independence from Moldova.

While I had heard that crossing the border into the Transdniestria often involved confiscation of money and bribes, I was not too worried. I just brought a small amount of money with me, so there wouldn’t be much to take.

After a forty-five minute ride from Chisinau, we arrived at the border. First we were briefly stopped by a Moldovan guard, and then passed some soldiers and old fortifications. Finally we reached the Transdniestrian border post where we filled in an immigration form and stood in line to have our passports checked over by an unsmiling border guard. No bribes were taken and we were let through the border.

The first difference between Transdniestria and Moldova is in the language. Moldova uses Latin letters and its official language is Romanian. On the other hand, Transdniestria uses Cyrillic and the most used language is Russian. The landscape wasn’t much different from Moldova. Huge communist-era apartment building jostled for space with primitive looking houses.

The capital of Transdniestria, Tiraspol feels very provincial and sleepy. While there, I saw few people walking down the wide streets. Unfortunately due to a holiday, many of the stores were closed. However, I was able to change money into Transdniestrian rubles and bought some Cognac, a product that is supposedly famous in the ‘country’. For lunch, we went to restaurant that served sushi (I didn’t order that), something that was unexpected in a provincial place such as Tiraspol.


The Transdniestrian Ruble is completely useless outside the country – no other country recognizes the existence of the Transdniestrian Republic. It was quite amusing to see the place really trying to be a ‘real’ country. There were lots of flags, and signs, and there was even an Abkhazian embassy, another unrecognized ‘country’ in Georgia. The public buildings were small and ugly. There was a parliament building, a national theatre, a national bank and even a memorial from the ‘war of liberation’ form Moldova.

There was a significant military presence in the country, but if you look carefully at the soldiers you will note that they are actually Russian. Russia has a military base in Transdniestria and support its existence. There were various military checkpoints and poorly camouflaged military equipment in various places. I’m no quite sure why Russia supports the existence of Transdniestria, but it probably wants to project its power in a region that it used to control as the USSR.

After a few hours in Tiraspol, I had seen everything and was ready to leave. I don’t feel the need to return. While interesting due to the political situation, Tiraspol really has nothing interesting to see.

Moldova: The 'Bad' Country

Upon crossing the border from Romania into Moldova, I immediately noticed a change. There were fewer paved streets. The houses looked shabbier. Cars were older. The roads were appalling. The main highway to Chisinau, the capital, is full of potholes. No wonder Moldova is the poorest country in Europe.

Chisinau has a sleepy feel. There are few tall building and lots of shabby buildings the city center. Sidewalks are in poor maintenance. There is one mall in the entire country, built only a couple of years ago. There is not much to do in Chisinau except walk around, which I did. Like Romania, money changers are everywhere, indicating that much of the population has migrated.

While a democratic country, Moldovan voters have elected communist governments since the fall of the USSR. It doesn’t seem like the government has done much to lift the country of poverty. One a per-capita basis, Moldova is poorer than China and is at a similar level of development to some of the richer African countries.

When I took a taxi to the train station to catch my train returning to Bucharest, the taxi driver, who spoke some English, asked me what I thought of Moldova. I said I liked it. It was true, while boring, people were reasonably friendly, and visiting was a positive experience for me. The taxi driver told me he thought that Moldova was a ‘bad country’ and like many of his countrymen, he wanted to leave. I once read somewhere that Moldova was the least happy country on earth. I can now perhaps see why.

Fortified Churches: Biertan

I was disappointed to discover that the bike rental place was shut in Sighisoara when I went shortly after arriving. This forced me to take a roundabout route to Biertan (a fortified church, and supposedly the best) via train to Medias, followed by a bus.

When I arrived in Biertan at 12:45, I discovered that the next bus back to Medias left at 9:00 PM in the evening. This news was not unexpected, and so after viewing the church and having lunch, I decided to run the 10 KM to the nearest train station.

It is rather strange to see a cathedral-like building towering over a village of dirt roads and gypsies. As for the church in Biertan, it was lovely. Double-walls encircled the church, interspersed with imposing towers. Inside the church, there was a lovely altarpiece and a door with an unusual locking mechanism.

After finishing the church, I ran most of the ten kilometers to the train station. On the way, I went through an unusual village called Saros filled with gypsies who lived in a collection of shacks perched precariously along a hillside. The town also had a fortified church that was unfortunately closed.

The Saxon Cities of Transylvania: Medias

On the train ride into the city of Medias, my eyes were immediately assaulted by a number of unattractive factories and communist housing blocks. Deep within this architectural morass, I saw a lovely medieval tower emerge. Perhaps there was something attractive in this city after all. After leaving the train and exploring, I was able to find a well-preserved historical center. Unfortunately, none of the potential tourist sights was open (fortified church, fortifications, synagogue), and cars dominated the medieval center of town. Not a tourist was to be seen. I think that if the city cobbled some of the central streets and and if some restaurants in the center opened, Medias could be more welcoming to tourists. At the moment though, it is not that exciting.

Romanian Food

On the whole, the food in Romania has been disappointing. It seems to be primarily meat based, with a smattering of vegetables like cabbage and potato. A ubiquitous part of the cuisine is the accompaniment of polenta with many of the meat dishes. Some other particularities include the use of cheese. Romania’s cheese is very soft, much like feta, and is often sweet. A typical desert is deep-fried cheese with lemon.

Alongside the local Romanian restaurants in the cities are Italian restaurants. Pizza and pasta are very popular here, and Italian restaurants are fixtures of every city. This is good, because you can get some nice salads at these restaurants. Healthy food seems to be sorely lacking in the local cuisine.

The Saxon Cities of Transylvania: Sighisoara

The fortified citadel of Sighisoara is a UNESCO world heritage site, and is perhaps most famous for being Dracula’s birthplace. Coming on the train, it is a dramatic sight to see the citadel rise on a hill in a picturesque valley, with the spires of churches and a clock tower rising from within. However, compared to both Sibiu and Brasov, Sighisoara was just lacking something intangible. It lacked a certain energy, perhaps because of its small size. The hostel I stayed in was mostly empty and the town in the citadel was also quite empty. Really, I felt that an hour was sufficient to see all the sights in Sighisoara. While very pretty, it just didn’t have that magical draw for me that other cities did.

Fortified Churches: Sibiu

I also visited some fortified churches by bike while in Sibiu, another Transylvanian city. The first church I visited took me on a lovely bike rood through the forest to a small village called Cisnadioara. In the distance, I could see a stone structure at the top of a small hill at the edge of the village. The church certainly was in a dramatic setting. After the climbing the hill, I entered the simple church, which was largely bare inside. It was surrounded by a crumbling stone wall that ringed the hill. At the top of the hill I could see my next destination, the larger town of Cisnadie.

However, when I arrived at the massive church, it was closed and would not open for another hour. Hungry and impatient, I decided to return to Sibiu and also decided to tack on a third church to the day’s sightseeing. The third church was in a northern suburb of Sibiu. After a short lunch, I rode there and was disheartened to find that this church was closed as well. I don’t really think that many tourists would want to visit anyway. The town was primitive, with gravel roads and the stench of manure permeating the air.

The Saxon Cities of Transylvania: Sibiu

I was surprised that I liked Sibiu more than Brasov. While it does not have the dramatic natural scenery of Brasov, the city is grander and the three central squares are lovely. Like Brasov, the city had many tourists and many outdoor restaurants. But the city felt a little less like a theme park. There were parts of the old town that tourists did not even venture to.

Sibiu also had a surprisingly good museum, the Brukenthal Museum. Despite Sibiu’s small size, the painting had some great paintings by early Dutch and German masters All of these paintings are located in a former palace.

Apparently Sibiu was completely spruced up a few years ago when it was the ‘European Culture Capital’. The effort shows. Sibiu is one of the most attractive small cities I have been to in Europe, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.

Fortified Churches: Brasov

Transylvania is filled with fortified churches. These are basically churches with a wall built around them to protect against attack. When these were built, there was a constant fear of invasion from the Ottomans and Tatars, thus the churches were built with protection in mind.

Yesterday I rented a bicycle and took a trip to two fortified churches just outside Brasov. The first one at Prejmer, is a world heritage site, and was very unusual. The church itself was pretty standard, but the fortifications were unique. On the inside, facing the church, the walls had many doors with small rooms. I also went into the roof where I saw how they could repel invasions by shooting arrows from small holes in the walls.

The second church at Harman was a little bit different. I liked the church better, but the fortifications were simpler. There were only a few of the rooms built into the wall, and no big room like in Prejmer. While I haven’t been to the Fujian Tulou in China, the photos I have seen of them really remind me of these churches.

The Weird People you Meet in Hostels: Bucharest

Generally, the people that stay in hostels are young. Sometimes, if the hostel also offers private rooms, older people will also stay there. However, it is rare for a mature person to stay in dorms. It is clear why this is. Usually an older person will have enough money to stay in nicer accommodation. Dorms offer no privacy or comfort, and I often sleep poorly when staying in one due to people going to be late, being noisy, leaving the light on etc. If money was not a factor, I would probably stay in a hotel.

But, there is another factor that needs to be considered. If you are a solo traveller, hostels offer the benefit of meeting other people. This intangible benefit makes the choice of staying in a hotel (if money is not a factor) a little more difficult. With this information in mind, let us return to the question of the old in hostels. Assuming these old people are there for the social reason, why would they want to associate with the young? Or do they just not have much money?’

This is question I asked myself while staying in Bucharest. At the hostel there, an elderly Chinese man attached himself to me and seemed impervious to the social signs I made indicating that I did not want him to accompany me. He was irritating and odd, and even though I mostly ignored him, still spent some time with me. He first invited himself to a tour of the Palace of Parliament with me. That was ok, because he found someone else to talk to during the tour. He expressed interest in accompanying me to the art gallery after the tour, something I emphatically did not want. Thankfully, he said he wanted to eat afterwards and did not ask me to join him. I went to the art gallery in splendid isolation. That evening, back at the hostel, I ran into him and asked if he had gone to the art gallery after his lunch. No, he said. He said that he had eaten too much for lunch and ‘didn’t have time’. This answer puzzled me. We had left the parliament at 1:00. Did his lunch take the whole afternoon? Very strange.

The next day, he invited himself along with me to take the train to Brasov. We talked a little bit, but I’m sorry I didn’t inquire about what he did for a living. He told me lived in Ohio, and that was all I got. I should’ve tried speaking Chinese to him. He only went to Brasov for the day, so as soon as we arrived, we separated. I thought that was the last of him.

I was wrong. Although, I didn’t see him again, I did hear of him secondhand. At the hostel in Brasov, I met an Australian guy and we began talking about Bucharest. When he mentioned an odd 60-sometihng person staying at his hostel there, I immediately asked if it was the Chinese guy. It was! Apparently, he had tried to invite himself to go clubbing with the Australian at an ‘Indy club’, thinking it was an ‘Indian restaurant’. Needless to say, he bailed when he discovered it was the truth. But is inviting yourself to something really appropriate given the age difference? I don’t really think it is. You should try and at least have a good rapport with someone before suggesting doing something social together.

The Saxon Cities of Transylvania: Brasov

Until recently, Transylvania was a land populated mostly by ethnic Germans. It was only after the war and the rise of communism that most of them left. But there legacy still lives on in the form of the beautiful cities they built. In Transylvania, there are three main cities that form a ‘Saxon Triangle’ that forms the hub of tourist activity in the region. These three cities are Brasov, Sibiu and Sighisoara. In addition to these three ‘tourist’ cities, I also visited Medias, a city not on most itineraries. These cities will all be discussed over my next few blog postings.

This is perhaps the most touristy of the Saxon cities of Transylvania. While surrounded by a suburbia of unattractive apartment blocks, the center of Brasov is beautifully preserved and tourist friendly. The historical center is in a narrow valley flanked by two hills, one with huge ‘Brasov’ sign at the top, in imitation of the more famous sign in Hollywood. Tourists wander through the main tourist street and square, occasionally stopping to eat at one of the various restaurants with outdoor seating.

I liked Brasov a great deal. It was touristy, but not overrun, and there is lots to do there, mostly in the form of day trips. Sights around the city itself are limited. There is nothing I enjoy more during travel than sitting outside and having a meal surrounded by lovely buildings. This is something I could do in Brasov, although in many cases the food was disappointing.

The day trips around Brasov all involve castles, including Bran castle, which some claim is Dracula’s castle. In reality, he had nothing to do with it. The castle itself was disappointing. While it looks great from a distance, inside are just a bunch of uncomfortable rooms that are poorly lit.