Worrall Travel R's

Worrall Travel R's
Roz and Russ

Worrall Travel R's - Kicking the Bucket List

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Moldova Independence Day, Moldova Exchange Day 2, WTRD 18


Today is our second day in Moldova.  It has been incredibly busy, starting early and ending late.  Moldova celebrates 25 years of Independence from Russia.




We started the day by meeting up with our Friendship Force group at 9:15 at the central park downtown.  Since our host does not have a car, we rode the bus.
Catalina and Marianna

Most of the streets were closed off because of the Independence Day parade so we walked several blocks to get to the meet up point.   Our host and her daughter had an out of town wedding to attend in the evening, and Marianna had many things she had to do before the wedding, so she and Catalina continued on their way.

We watched the Moldovan Independence Day Parade, consisting mostly of Romanian military regiments and those of nearby countries, also liberated from the USSR about the same time, in 1991. This day marks 25 years of Independence.  Unlike American parades filled with school marching bands, clowns, service clubs, car clubs, and bands, the Moldova style parade is still reminiscent of Russian strong men military with somber music and lots of marching men and women carrying arms.











We did see many people in traditional Moldovan and nearby countries traditional dress as their were several dance troupes in town performing for the celebration.  They did not walk in the parade however, and neither did the military band.



Not a Happy Camper!





Policemen stood shoulder to shoulder on the curb facing the spectators, lined up the length of parade route.


Often there was a double row of policemen.  There was some anticipation of a socialist protest...and apparently there was but not in the location we were.  Apparently, the police had to use tear gas when it got out of hand.  But with so many policemen, it was difficult to take photos of the parade.

After the parade where we stood for nearly and hour and half, we walked to the National Museum where we walked around some more, enjoyed seeing 4th and 5th century BC artifacts of the Greek and Roman Empire.  By the end of the museum time, we were ready to sit down.

Large collection of 4th-5th century BC Pre-Roman and Roman Artifacts.


1935 Moldovan School Photo

The Moldovan Welcome Tradition of Sharing Bread and Salt

We had a wonderful lunch giving us energy for the rest of the day.  We participated in an activity called City Quest, where we were divided into 4 groups with a Moldovan Guide, who would give us photos of Chisineau landmarks.
 Our job was to find the the landmarks and have our picture taken in front of them.

Our guide would only interpret for us, but not give us any hints.  

Our mission was to interact with Moldavians to ask directions. Many speak some English.  So we would approach people on the street and ask them first if they spoke English.  If they did, it was usually no problem.  If they didn't, we would show them the photo and ask them in English " do  you know where this is?"  Most of them understood what we wanted and were quite friendly trying to give us directions.  Our guide, did not interpret unless we asked him to do so.  We had a good time walking through the city streets and finding the locations.





Russ gets a Moldovan Pin for His Hat
We stopped a handsome young man on the street and asked if he spoke English. "No" he shook his head.  So at least he understood a little.  We showed him the photo and asked if he knew the place of the photo.  He said Romanian Consulate and he pointed in a general direction and started giving us directions in Romanian.  

Our guide was watching this unfold without interacting.  The young man flagged down a pretty young woman and asked if she spoke English?  She did.  He asked her to translate.  They started a lively conversation of which we did not understand.  There seemed to be some disagreement about the directions.  We finally got the gist of what we were told,  Thanked them and they walked off together in the opposite direction from where we were going.

Our guide then explained what had occurred.  This young man had hailed down the pretty woman, he suggested to her that they could guide us to the consulate together, charge a small fee and split it.  Haha!  He was getting to know her and was trying to come on to her while he was helping us.  Anyway, they walked off together.  Perhaps our interaction triggered a new relationship.  

The interaction was a good reminder how important understanding another language is or you miss the finer nuance of the conversation.  Eventually we found the Romanian Consulate. There are two consulates, a new one and an old one, both still operating.  After Moldova's Independence, the citizens were told they could hold two citizenships in any country that would grant them a second.  Most of them chose Romania.  There was such an influx of activity of people seeking second citizenships, Moldova opened a second consulate to process all of the requests.

Unlucky for us, our group surely had the longest route to walk.  We must have walked 6 miles on the Quest alone.  By the time we returned for dinner at 5:00 pm. our group was exhausted. We as a group all took taxies to where we were going to dinner by the train station because it was too far to walk. Turns out we took the same route by taxi that we walked on the city quest and were only a few blocks short of the restaurant and train station!   When we got to the restaurant, I drank a liter of water, and could barely bring myself to pickup my fork.

The spread of food for our Moldovan welcome dinner was wonderful.  Fresh and sautéed vegetables, cheeses, potato pancakes with cheese, stuffed cabbage rolls, polenta, sour creams grilled beef and chicken, red wine, white wine, and cherry and apple pastries for dessert.  Our hosts provided us with some lovely folk music and traditional songs.


Before Marianna left for the wedding, she came to the dinner for a little bit to drop off the key to her apartment.  She looked lovely and promised to tell us about the wedding the following day.

We optioned out of staying for the fireworks and returned to our host home by 9:00 pm, took showers, and at 9;55 we could hear, but not see the fireworks.  They lasted 5 minutes.  Not a very long presentation, but I am sure it was delightful for the free Moldovan citizens.

The people here are wonderful and we are enjoying our time. Tomorrow we are driving out of the city to visit some old Roman ruins.

All is Well  With the Worrall Travel Rs in Chisinau Moldova.

Friday, August 26, 2016

Hello Moldova - Friendship Force Greetings, Exchange Day 1, WTRD 17, August 26, 2016




Sleeper Cabin is a Euphemism for Sleepless Cabin

Our sleeper car on the night train to Chisinau, Moldova turned in to a sleepless cabin.  I actually slept pretty well until a 2;30 am nature call.  It went downhill from there.  About 3:30 just as I was getting back to sleep, our car conductor, opened our door, turned on the overhead lights, and said that we would soon be boarded by Romanian Check Out officials.  First officer was passport control.  He peered at the passports, then us with our train tossed hair to see if we were a match, then thumbed through the double thick passports to find our Romanian entrance stamp so the he could place the exit stamp in close proximity.  Next came the customs agent who wanted to make sure we were not smuggling cigarettes and art antiquities out of Romania.

Heads back on the pillow for 10 minutes while the train moved across no man's land between Romania and Moldova., then the process repeated itself, but this time it was check in with Moldovan Passport control and customs.  

We were not in a cabin directly over train wheels, but other FF members were.  They had an additional visitor  The tracks in Romania and Moldova have not matched since the the communist era.  Apparently the rails on one side or the other are thicker or thinner.   Consequently, all the wheels on the train have to be changed upon arrival and departure between Romania and Moldova.  No kidding!  Look at the length of this train!


Each car on the train is jacked up and down, and moved back and forth, rumbling and grumbling and the wheels get changed.  Those who have a cabin above the wheels gets an extra visit from the wheel men to make sure everything is ok.

By 6:30 am, Russ and I gave up trying to sleep, got up, cleaned up, ate some protein bars, and I had some coffee.  Like the Chinese and Russian trains, this train had a boiler full of water.  I carry a thermos bottle and instant coffee, so I got my morning fix.    Our train arrived at the Chisinau station around 9:00 am where we were warmly greeted by our Moldovan Friendship Force Hosts, and reunited with members of our Sacramento club who came a day earlier directly from the US.  Our hosts arrived with flags, smiles, and fresh bread.  The symbolic Moldovan welcome  is offered and each guest partakes in bread dipped in salt.




Once we have accepted the welcome offering, we are partnered with our host.  Our host is a single mom, Mariana and her 8 year old daughter Catalina.  After a wonderfully sweet breakfast of Moldovan pastries and coffee at a nearby restaurant with our hosts,  we have a short orientation meeting and our Moldovan Exchange coordinator explains the week's schedule to us.  It is going to be a busy weeks starting with the Moldovan 25th anniversary making its Independence from the USSR.



Our host actually had to return to work, so one of the other host/coordinators drove us to our accommodations, where we spent the rest of the day catching up, sleeping,  relaxing, and getting to know our host family.

Mariana and Catalina's cozy apartment is up 5 flights of steps.  We will be able to work off all of the treats we have been eating.  Mariana has fixed up her living room as our bedroom.


Mariana cooks us a t nice meal, plinimene  (similar to raviolis) with fresh cream.



















After the evening meal, the four of us took a walk to see Catalina's school and then shared with our hosts some gifts that we brought from California.  

All is Well with the Worrall Travel Rs in Moldova.



Brasov - Sinaia: Peles Castle – Bucharest Evening Train Departure to Moldova, Tour Day 7, WTRD 16, August 25, 2016



 Brasov - Sinaia: Peles Castle – Bucharest Evening Train Departure to Moldova

Bran Castle also known as "Dracula Castle"

was built in 1377 to safeguard the trading route between Transylvania and Walachia.

It has been enlarged and restored a few times to become a royal residence in the 1920s under Queen Mary of Romania.   Bran castle (no connection with Bram Stoker.  Bran is the name of the village) was built as a guard house with a view of the pass between Valachia and Transylvania.



The gothic style defense fortification was built by the Saxons who were brought in to defend Transylvania.  It has many secret rooms and passage ways.

Climbing up a steep, narrow, secret passage way.



Towers, corners, narrow walk ways, spiral stairs. lookouts.
Bram Stoker in 1890 described this castle in his FICTION, but Stoker's depiction of this castle in the book was between Transylvania and Moldavia because the scenery was more dramatic.  So what exactly if fact or fiction based on some semblance of fact or of folk lore?

Possible Connections with Vlad Draculea the Impaler, 1456 - connection with the castle.  

1) He may have conquered the castle when he was trying to pass from Valachia to conquer Transylvania.
2) He may have conquered and passed through to Brasov without even entering the castle.
3) When he was overthrown in 1468 he may have died in the dungeon at Bran Castle.

Connection with Vampires.  Romanians do not have vampires, but there are some folk stories that are religious.  Their is a creature, strigly (ghost or curse) that can appear after a person passes.  In the Eastern Orthodox religion the dead must be buried in the ground.  After 7 years, in a religious ceremony, the coffin is exhumed to see if the body has decomposed.  If there are bones and they are white, the body has rested in peace.  If it is still fleshy, it means the person has done something wrong and its spirits are not at rest, but roaming around haunting people.

How do you get rid of a srtigly?  In the old days, during the ceremony of exhumation, three men with no family left (if you fight evil, evil will fight back)were chosen for the exhumation.  They take the strigly body, chop of the head, and impale the heart.  The haunted persons must drink some potions.  This is still done in secret in rural areas, but is against the law now.

For those abiding the law, the ritual is mostly symbolic  Saint Andrew's Day is celebrated as the day of the dead.  At midnight, all families go to the cemetery, light candles, and priests perform a service releasing the spirits still left in all the bodies without exhumation.  Mourners light candles for good spirits, and the haunted go a different way home for the bad spirits cannot find them.  But just in case, garlic is spread all around the home's windows and doors.

Romania also has vampire bats that may have contributed to Bram Stokers fiction.

After our visit to Bran Castle we had some time to shop.  This shop caught my eye.
Can you find the doe with her fawn?  Two violins?

We also had the opportunity to  taste cheese made by a local shepherd, cheese man.

We tried a smoked cow cheese, a salty feta goat cheese, and a cheddar cheese.  The last cheese we tasted was from a crock.  It was a fermented sheep cheese.


All were tasty, but no one wanted to buy cheese and transport it in their luggage to Moldova.  Many of us do not appreciate the small of warm cheese in close quarters, and we will be sharing cabins on the train tonight.



























We continued with our scenic drive to Sinaia mountain resort. Named after St. Catherine Monastery on Mount Sinai, Sinaia became the unofficial capital of the Kingdom of Romania towards the end of the 19th century.  The resort area is nestled in a valley with tall imposing mountains, 2000 meters high. People come here year round to ski, to play, to relax, and to visit the castle.  There is a large Casino building, with its architecture inspired by the one in Monte Carlo. 


Before our last tour of the castle Peles, we all sat down together in a restaurant for our last meal together.  We raised our glasses and thanked our guide and driver for a wonderful tour, memorable and safe experience.  We lunched together quickly so that we would not miss the last English tour of the day at the castle.




 A tisket, a taste, George shared his berry basket.



Our group took a guided tour of the Peles Castle and Gardens in Sinaia, the royal residence of King Charles I of Romania and known as one of the most beautiful summer royal residences in Europe.



The castle is Bavarian style surrounded with English gardens.  I thought the castle looked like a Tudor with the dark would and white washed walls with stucco.  The Castle is considered the most beautiful castles in Europe and the highlight of Romania.  

The interior of the castle is magnificent; the most outstanding feature is the dark wood, ornate, and beautifully carved.


Unlike the palaces of Russia and France, this castle does not glitter from every angle nor is everything crusted in gold.  It is turn of the century modern with elevators, electricity, and central vacuum system.  The Castle is considered the most beautiful castles in Europe and the highlight of Romania.

Taking our last photos of the castle,






our group headed back to Bucharest through many miles of grass land and sunflowers.


We met up with two more of our Friendship Force group members at the train station.
Our Sleeper Cabin

Our train left promptly at 7:15  We turned in early (10:00) as we knew the night would not be peaceful.  We have had a wonderful time here in Romania, and are happy we returned.

All is Well with the Worrall Travel R's our last day in Romania.