Moldova Day 1

November 24, 2016

With many days at my disposal, I chose to spend my country's Thanksgiving and a final adventure of 2016. I happened upon a cheap flight on Turkish Air, The seem to be going where I want to go and for amazing prices, This adventure brought me back to Europe with my first new country there, in over six years, Moldova, as it is no longer the danger it once was and with the help of EU and Unesco projects, i was now ready to experience Moldova and its break away, Transnistria.

I chose a great sear aisle, one row back from a bulkhead row, I had lots of room as was able to sleep much of the BOS to IST leg. I actually fell asleep before the end of my movie, Ghostbusters so I'll have to catch the end on the return,

I had a 4 hour layover in Istanbul which always consists of a visit to the Bazaar and a but at my favorite cafe, They have great omelets and always tasty desserts. I had a warm blueberry and pistachio tart with vanilla Gelato.

I watched some episodes of Poldark and Versailles and soon it was time to get to the gate.

This part of Ataturk is always crowded, so many gates are crammed together. I hate it. It's always hot and loud, UGH!

Anyway 30 minutes late, we boarded, but did take off almost on time. I was falling asleep and think I did for a bit until an attendant brought me my lacto-ovo meal 😊 after eating, I tried my best to stay awake, I watched another episode of Versailles and soon we were descending,

It was cold in Chisinau (Kishinev), just below freezing, as I brought a winter coat, I welcomed it.

We were bussed to the terminal...very small for a European capitol but..small country.

There were no custom or immigration forms and the lines were nonexistent. I walked right up and handed over my passport, he looked at it and me, swiped it, stamped, it and handed it back. There was no "welcome to Moldova" but, it's ok.

Customs check was nonexistent and I entered the terminal. As usual, I was inundated with "taxi" proposals. I said "no" but then asked about where the rental car desks were...blank stares. No English, I guess.

I found an information center and was guided to Sixt, one of my "go to" rentals in Europe. The guy was very friendly paperwork was easy, he even gave me a " power of attorney document" for my border crossing into Transnistria, he let me call Alina, to let her know I was on my way into town and even set my gps for the apartment, he gave me advice regarding speed limits and the cameras., 50 kph in the city and 70-90 on the highways.

The highway was in good condition, wide, and very few cars. It took me only 20 minutes to get to Kishinev but the address that was input 28, should have been 27. There actually a significant distance between the two and it's not obvious what to do. I called Alina and she sent Nikita to find me. He came to my car and gave me directions. It was very close but very dark. He found me a place to park and then brought me up to the apartment. I got the quick overview, vibe number, wifi, arm, market, etc.

A little unpacking, a little texting, a little facebooking and I was beat. I did flip through tv channels and watched a bit of a Moldovan soap opera (in Russian). It was very dramatic and quite funny. A very handsome man in a suit walked into an apartment. He stared at a lady in the couch, sleeping. He walked over to the coffee table in front of the couch and moved some papers around and HAPPENED to find a sonogram photo. He thinks it's his...maybe, maybe not. She is fake sleeping...the camera draws closesr. It was too funny.

Late and foggy, I had a pro bar and protein drink for my Thanksgiving meal. Really, my meal in Istanbul is what I count.

Tired but comfortable, it was time for rest. I hope Moldova has some interesting, yet uneventful adventure planed for me.

We'll see 😀