Moldova în 26 fotografii de pe Instagram

Craig și Linda, un cuplu căsătorit care își petrec viața călătorind prin întreaga lume. Aceștia au ajuns și în Republica Moldova în luna octombrie. Iară experiența lor într-un podcast audio și 26 fotografii de pe Instagram.

Chișinău

The victory arch is one of the symbols of Chisinau, in this photo it comes complete with Moldovan flag and protesters behind. Goodbye Chisinau! It's been fun, and I'm sure we'll be back. Now, we're on the train, heading to Odessa.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 11, 2015 at 9:38pm PDT

This statue of Stephen the Great has pride of place in the center of Chisinau. The main street of the city is named after him too!

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 15, 2015 at 10:12am PDT

This protest in the center of Chisinau is the reason the wine festival has been canceled. However, there are still plenty of things going on: when we flew in this morning a folk band was playing music to welcome passengers and we were given a mini bottle of wine to try. In other news WE ARE IN MOLDOVA. I don't know if I've ever been quite as excited about visiting a country, I've been looking forward to this for so long.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 1, 2015 at 12:27pm PDT

Delicious and beautiful fruit in the market of Chisinau.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 12, 2015 at 1:56pm PDT

So, I got slightly lost on my way back from the supermarket this afternoon. Upside: I got to see this monastery. I thought all of Moldova's monasteries were in the countryside, but this one is right in the middle of Chisinau.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 6, 2015 at 10:27am PDT

Balloons at Chisinau city day celebrations yesterday. Happy birthday, Chisinau!

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 14, 2015 at 9:51pm PDT

Happy City Day, Chisinau! Our lunch today was ribs and sausages with a locally brewed beer, from a street stall in the main street of the city. It was blocked off from traffic and bustling with people, and stalls were selling honey, crafts, food… All sorts of things. It was awesome, and tasty.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 14, 2015 at 12:14pm PDT

As we drove back into the city after a day of wine tasting, traditional food preparation and a winery visit, we were treated to a stunning sunset behind the Chisinau sign. I like Moldova.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 3, 2015 at 1:16pm PDT

Wine

We might have made it to Ukraine but we arrived tired and a bit sick, so we crashed out in the hotel to watch the Rugby World Cup quarter finals. Hence, no photos of Odessa yet, instead you get one of Moldovan grapes that will be Moldovan wine when they grow up.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 19, 2015 at 12:04am PDT

Et Cetera winery is conveniently located on the road from Chisinau to Odessa, so we visited this morning before finally making it to Ukraine! The highlight was trying wine straight from the vat.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 18, 2015 at 6:37am PDT

Although the wine festival in the main square of Chisinau has been canceled this year, the small producers have gotten together to have a mini festival near the town of Orhei, Moldova. We've tried a few wines so far — all delicious. We are most excited about a local grape, the Rara Neagra.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 3, 2015 at 5:37am PDT

Old wine vats and flowers at Asconi Winery, Moldova.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 2, 2015 at 12:43pm PDT

Cheers from Moldova! This is young wine (must) similar to sturm in Austria and Germany.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 5, 2015 at 11:54pm PDT

Of all the cellars we've seen over the last couple of weeks, I think this one is the most beautiful. You can't see the two wings in this photo, but it's shaped like a cross, and it was recently refurbished.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 18, 2015 at 11:08am PDT

Soroca

The Soroca fortress was a lot smaller than we expected it to be, but gorgeous. There were fantastic views of the river from the towers and two wedding parties were having their photos taken there.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 11, 2015 at 12:43am PDT

Our Moldovan adventure for the day was a trip to Soroca in the north of the country to visit the fortress. There are some great views from inside, like this hobbit-hole window. Seems appropriate, since we're from New Zealand!

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 10, 2015 at 10:18am PDT

Here's another photo of the Soroca Fortress, which we visited a few days ago, this time from the inside. This building was built around 1499 — that's some time ago!

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 13, 2015 at 9:30am PDT

This is the Candle of Gratitude monument in Soroca, Moldova, which we visited a few days ago. It's at the top of a hill and accessed by many steps, but we came the long way around, through Gypsy Hill, to see the unfinished Roma mansions.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 12, 2015 at 11:27pm PDT

Transnistria

I love this little shrine in the center of Tiraspol, it's so pretty. We were there a few days ago on our way back from the Ukrainian border.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 16, 2015 at 12:41pm PDT

The churches in this part of the world are so beautiful, inside and out. This is the Nativity Church in Tiraspol, Transnistria.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 15, 2015 at 11:31pm PDT

I love stained glass windows, but it's not common to see them relating to cognac production. But in the museum of the Kvint factory in Tiraspol, Transnistria, that's exactly what this window depicts. (Later we tasted cognac, yum.)

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 8, 2015 at 11:41pm PDT

We might have arrived too late to go into the Bender fortress in Transnistria, but at least we got a beautiful sunset. And then, a mad mini bus drive back to Chisinau, but that's another story.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 8, 2015 at 11:06am PDT

Orheiul Vechi

Yesterday, after visiting the mini wine festival at Butuceni, we wandered up to the monastery at Orheiul Vechi. There's a little hermitage cave in the rock that we visited, and then we went to the main building on the top of the cliff. The view was great and the building gorgeous, but the smell of incense and the sound of the monks singing was amazing.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 3, 2015 at 11:38pm PDT

A goat at the Orheiul Vechi monastery in Moldova.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 5, 2015 at 12:14am PDT

Incense spilled out the door and the sound of monks singing filled the air as I took this photo at the monastery at Orheiul Vechi. A magic moment.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 6, 2015 at 4:08am PDT

Another angle of the monastery at Orheiul Vechi, Moldova… Such a beautiful place.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 6, 2015 at 11:48pm PDT