Our next stop landed us in Moldova. Moldova is rarely a country you hear about, let alone travel to, so my knowledge of Moldova or of anyone that knew
anything about Moldova was zilch. Nada. Nothing. I went in with zero expectations and came out impressed. The Moldovan people are a simple people- it is the 'poorest' country in Europe, but what they may lack in monetary riches they make up for in spirit! Perhaps money truly can not buy happiness.....
Moldova, an Eastern European country and former Soviet republic, has varied terrain including forests, rocky hills and vineyards. Its wine regions include Nistreana, known for reds, and Codru, home to some of the world’s largest cellars. Capital Chișinău has Soviet-style architecture and the National Museum of History, exhibiting art and ethnographic collections that reflect cultural links with neighboring Romania.
1. It’s the least visited country in Europe
If you do venture to Moldova for your holidays, you won’t be jostling for space with other tourists: only 94,000 foreigners are reported to have entered the country last year, making it the least visited in Europe. On a global scale only Bangladesh and Guinea are less popular destinations, according to Priceonomics.
2. It keeps a fine cellar
According to the venerable folk at Guinness World Records, the Mileștii Mici wine cellar in Moldova is the world’s largest with nearly two million bottles of plonk in its darkened vaults.
3. Its wine is banned in Russia
Traditionally Moldova’s biggest export market was Russia, which consumed up to 90 per cent of its wine. However, a diplomatic dispute in 2006 resulted in a Russian ban on Moldovan and Georgian produce, which has been devastating for its economy. Nevertheless, it remains the 22nd largest wine-producing nation on Earth.
4. It went nearly three years without a president
In 2012, after nearly three years of political deadlock, Moldova elected the veteran judge, Nicolae Timofti, as president – for the first time in 917 days, the country had a leader. Timofti is still in power today.
5. Most Moldovans are bi- or tri-lingual
Moldovans speak either Romanian, which is the native language, Russian or Gagauz. Some speak all three.
6. It has a critically endangered language
However, Moldova’s second language, Gagauz, is in danger of dying out. Spoken in the Autonomous Region of Gagauz, the Turkic language is classed as critically endangered by Unesco.
7. It’s poor
Moldova has the dubious distinction of being the poorest country in Europe with a per capita GDP of just $1,843 (£1,395), according to the World Bank. To put that into perspective, consider this: nearby Bulgaria, the poorest member of the European Union, has a GDP of $6,819 (£5,163).
8. It has a breakaway territory
The region known as Transnistria declared independence from Moldova in 1990, precipitating the War of Transnistria which secured a de facto independence for the territory. However, the region, which has its own currency and border controls, is not officially recognised by any member of the United Nations.
7. It’s the second booziest nation on Earth
According to the World Health Organisation, only Belarus tucks away more alcohol than Moldova, with each inhabitant drinking an average of 16.8 litres of booze per year (excluding under 15s).
8. It’s landlocked
Well, technically. In a bid to gain access to the Black Sea, Moldova did in fact make a territorial exchange with Ukraine in 2005, giving the country access to a 600m stretch of the River Danube, which flows into the Black Sea.
9. It’s great for twitchers
Moldova is home to an impressive array of birds, with roughly 300 different species calling it home. Some are year-round residents, some come to breed, some simply pass through en route to warmer climes, and others come to escape harsh winters further north. All of which is good news for birders.
10. The national dish is porridge
Ubiquitous on Moldovan dinner tables, Mămăligă is a porridge made out of yellow maize flour and often considered the country’s national dish. It’s traditionally served as an accompaniment to stews and meat dishes, and is commonly garnished with cottage cheese, sour cream or pork rind.
11. It has a whole day dedicated to wine
Actually, it's more of a two-day event. Wine producers open up their homes and vineyards to the masses on October 3-4 for
National Wine Day, in a country-wide celebration of local hooch. Wine tastings are cheap, and there's even a free bus to shuttle you between wineries.
12. It likes to make a song and dance
As with its languages, Moldovan music is greatly influenced by Romania. Miorița, a traditional Romanian ballad about sheep, is a Moldovan favourite – so much so, that the first two verses are printed on its banknotes.
13. They're strong
Nicolae Birliba is a world champion weightlifter, nine times over. In 2011, aged 49, he rasied a 16kg kettlebell 2,575 times.
14. You'll have to take your shoes off
When you're entering someone's home, it's considered impolite to leave your shoes on. Leave them at the door. The house rule applies in most formerly Soviet countries, for hygiene reasons. Guests are almost always provided with slippers.
15. It loves Christmas
Moldova celebrates Christmas from December 24 to 26, unlike its Russian-Orthodox neighbours (their main event is in January). Traditional preparations start in November, with the baking of cakes and the slaughtering of pigs, and culminate in three days of feasting, parties and gift-giving. The Russian Father Frost fairytale was banned after Moldova gained independence: these days, children's presents are delivered by Mos Craciun – who looks remarkably like our Santa Claus.
For dinner, we had chicken in a mushroom cream sauce- I'm not even sure how to pronounce it, mamaliga, salad and bread. For dessert we had Moldovan cheery pies.
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| I don't have a cherry pitter and never saw myself needing one again, so I had to pit all those cherries by hand. May not seem like a lot, but it was more than enough for me to never want to do it again! |
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| Look how those cherries boiled in to the most thick and gooey pie filling! |
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| no pie plate, just pat out by hand! |
The food was really good! The mamaliga totally soaked up the sauce from the chicken and was a perfect vehicle for all that creamy goodness. And once again, I failed at getting pics of the two of us...lame!! :)
