Hangovers in Hungary, trains across Ukraine, and trotting through Transnistria

[RooFlyer]

Fabulous! So many thanks! I learned a lot.

 

[VPS]

Very interesting - thanks

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks for writing a TR about an area that is just about a blank page to me.

 

[RB]

Thank you- very informative report

 

[drron]

A very readable TR with a very different place.will certainly put in some more research.

 

[Cossie]

I sent the link of this TR to my friend that I mentioned above, he said his son and then girlfriend had issues with getting a Moldovan visa to enter from Romania a few years ago as well.

I'm sure he won't mind me posting this:

"So my cousin from Ukraine drove Mark and his then girlfriend all the way north through Romania, around Moldova and got visa’s for them in Ukraine and entered Moldova through Transnistria. It’s a crazy part of the world."

Great TR, thanks.

 

[Mattg]

I just read this trip report again, and it takes on a bit of a new meaning in light of current events.

I now wish I had visited Ukraine a few years ago

 

[Dudditz]

I just read this trip report again, and it takes on a bit of a new meaning in light of current events.

I now wish I had visited Ukraine a few years ago

I was just looking back at my photos and memories from my Ukraine and Ethiopia trips in late 2019 and felt sad but fortunate to visit both amazing countries. To walk the same streets and meet the faces that are living this now is just heartbreaking.

 

[JohnM]

I just read this trip report again, and it takes on a bit of a new meaning in light of current events.

I now wish I had visited Ukraine a few years ago

Don't tell me!

I had a DONE4 trip booked in early 2020 that, inter alia, took in Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia. Cancelled because of Covid.

That's all now totally Putininsed forever.

I would like to add, in something to support Ukraine, that I had a super el cheapo whY flight booked directly on Ukraine Air to get me from Kyiv to Baku (obviously not part of the DONE4). It was something like $170 for a 3 hour flight late on a Saturday night.

I cancelled it and did no more than that, fully expecting that it was like a QF Red-E el cheapo and gone forever.

Stuff me, a while later I get a personally-constructed email in perfect English from an agent at Ukraine Air to say that I was due a refund and how could they get it to me?

Un-f-believable. Go Ukraine!

 

[kileskus]

I just read this trip report again, and it takes on a bit of a new meaning in light of current events.

I now wish I had visited Ukraine a few years ago

The places you visit will always have a little more significance to you than others. Although all conflicts are tragic, following the news from Ukraine and just feeling that recognition of the people, the accent, landmarks, and infrastructure makes this hit closer to home.

I was fortunate to have been able to visit Ukraine before this invasion, but I trust that the features that made Ukraine such an interesting destination - the patchwork of history and future, and especially the resilience of the people - will still be there when the war is over. Hope you get to visit eventually.

 

[RooFlyer]

Having just visited Moldova (and Transnistria) and re-read this TR before and after, I can only observe that Chisinau seems to have come on a lot since your visit and that my own observations on Transnistria were pretty shallow - although I can blame my one-day tour guide a bit!! It too seems to have come on (as in commercialise) a lot. You wrote about not wanting to emphasise the old Soviet icons; on my visit (again a mere day), they certainly weren't in-your-face. Basically a few busts of Lenin and the hammer-and-sickle on (most) of the Transnistrian flags. Funny how it was absent from some. It is a fascinating place politically.

 

[kileskus]

Having just visited Moldova (and Transnistria) and re-read this TR before and after, I can only observe that Chisinau seems to have come on a lot since your visit and that my own observations on Transnistria were pretty shallow - although I can blame my one-day tour guide a bit!! It too seems to have come on (as in commercialise) a lot. You wrote about not wanting to emphasise the old Soviet icons; on my visit (again a mere day), they certainly weren't in-your-face. Basically a few busts of Lenin and the hammer-and-sickle on (most) of the Transnistrian flags. Funny how it was absent from some. It is a fascinating place politically.

Thanks for stopping by. I also like reading reports from others going to places I've been to to see what it was like before/after I went there. I followed yours of course, downtown Chisinau looked more western than I remember it but of course the ubiquitous babushkas selling flowers.

Only just noticed your thread about Moldova from last year where you tagged me and a couple of others for tips/pointers on visiting. Sorry I missed it then, but you seem to have found interesting things to do. I'm a little envious (though mostly excited) that you got to see Gaugazia