Country Information
ChisinauChisinau is a surprisingly green city on the banks of the Bac (Byk) River, flanked by parks and lakes. Despite being the transport hub of the country, its pretty tree-lined streets resemble a provincial town in Romania rather than a capital city. Bombs in WWII destroyed nearly two-thirds of Chisinau's old buildings, and it's obviously a city on the remake. It still has a wealth of stately old buildings and onion-domed cathedrals, but mixed in with these are the stark, Gulag-grey boxy buildings from the Stalinist era, offset by a number of funky bars and cafes sprouting up around the city and trying hard to swim against the prevailing economic current. Once in the surrounding rural areas, however, the extent of the poverty becomes obvious.
With the exception of the statues of the famous writers Alexander Pushkin (who spent his exiled years in Chisinau) and Mihai Eminescu, nearly every other piece of upright masonry in the city is a war monument of some sort. Inside the Stefan cel Mare Park, which dominates the western flank of Blvd Stefan cel Mare, is the statue of Stefan cel Mare. Needless to say, the medieval warrior-prince is still something of a hero in Moldova.
There are a number of art and history museums scattered around Moldova, but there's a truly mind-boggling exhibition in the National History Museum. It's a life-size rendering of the Soviet invasion of Chisinau in 1945. As if the original wasn't enough! As an antidote to all these slate grey men on slate grey horses, head off to the Exhibition Hall, where contemporary art is exhibited. The Galeria Brancusi, inside the hall, has pieces for sale for those interested in collecting international objets d'art.
There are a number of art and history museums scattered around Moldova, but there's a truly mind-boggling exhibition in the National History Museum. It's a life-size rendering of the Soviet invasion of Chisinau in 1945. As if the original wasn't enough! As an antidote to all these slate grey men on slate grey horses, head off to the Exhibition Hall, where contemporary art is exhibited. The Galeria Brancusi, inside the hall, has pieces for sale for those interested in collecting international objets d'art.
Chisinau is tailor-made for the directionally challenged; straight streets in a rigid grid system. The main drag of Chisinau, the Blvd Stefan cel Mare, crosses the town from southeast to northwest. At the northern end is the central square, dominated by the blockbuster buildings, the main cathedrals and Moldova's Arc de Triomphe. Restaurants and hotels are scattered throughout the central city section. Although the streets are laid out in a straightforward fashion, the naming of them isn't. Some streets have their Moldovan name, some still bear their Russian name, and some have both old and new.
Unfortunately most of Moldova's wineries can only be visited on officially sanctioned tours, and guides can charge like wounded bulls for the privilege of tasting their local plonk in situ. But the wineries have their compensations and delights. Cricova lies some 15km (9mi) north of Chisinau and is the starting point for your Moldovan pub crawl with a difference. Cricova is completely underground with a labyrinth of subterranean streets stretching more than 60km (37mi). All the streets are named after wine types, so you can stagger along Cabernet Street before crawling east into Pinot Street.
Fifteen kilometres (9mi) west of Cricova is Cojusna, which produces the usual array of reds and whites as well as vodka and heavy port wines for the diehard drinkers. Cojusna is strictly geared for the tarry-and-tipple tourist, although this doesn't mean sipping old wines in French-style chateaux. There are no actual vineyards in Cosujna, as the cellars are stocked from the harvests of smaller vineyards in the district.
The Straseni vineyard, 12km (7mi) west of Chisinau, is renowned for its sparkling white wines. This is where you'll find the sprawling vineyards that you might have expected in Cojusna. A little farther north is the Romanesti winery, one of the largest in the business and the one-time leading producer of wines in the USSR. One of its more famous products is a Bordeaux-type red.
Capriana Monastery
You may be a little tired and emotional after your visit to the vineyards and ready for something restful and spiritual. There's an old monastery conveniently located 7km (4.5mi) southwest of Straseni in the isolated village of Capriana where you can repent of your drinking ways and give your liver a rest. It's a 14th-century monastery that miraculously survived the militant atheism of the Soviet era and its obligatory looting and pillaging. Sitting serenely at the edge of a lake, it's comprised of three sections, each built in a different era. The oldest is the church of the Virgin's Assumption, built in classic 14th-century baroque style. Saint Nicholas' Church was built in the 1800s and Saint George's church (abutting the abbot's house, refectory and cells) was built at the turn of the 20th century. Forty-two Orthodox monks still use the monastery today.
Three buses leave daily from Chisinau to Capriani, but they begin their 30km (19mi) trip back to Chisinau almost immediately. This makes a day trip difficult by bus. You can arrange a visit with a driver and guide.
