Moldova

M is for Ten in Moldova

Two of the top ten reasons to travel to Moldova are in caves. Maybe that should be three since reason number ten includes two underground wine cellars, Cricova and Milesti Mici. The other cave destination is a monastery. This post is one in a series of short posts including the number 10 in the firstContinue reading “M is for Ten in Moldova”

Holidays Around the World: International Women’s Day

My first exposure to International Women’s Day (IWD), March 8, was in Romania in 1978. That was one year after the United Nations began observing it as a holiday, but Romanians had been celebrating the holiday for longer as the origins go back much further. International Women’s Day is one of two international celebrations thatContinue reading “Holidays Around the World: International Women’s Day”

Transnistria: Just One More Little Country You Probably Haven’t Heard Of

This week I posted a video about Transnistria, a country in limbo at the edge of Europe, on Facebook. The reaction made me realize I haven’t done enough to tell my personal story about living next door to Transnistria. Here is my story, Traveling Through Transnistria, as published in the Third Edition of The Guilded Pen,Continue reading “Transnistria: Just One More Little Country You Probably Haven’t Heard Of”

T is for Transnistria

“Transnistria” (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by Marco Fieber/Ostblog.org Transnistria, a sliver of land at the eastern border of Moldova, right next to the Ukraine, wanted to be part of Russia, not Moldova, when the former Soviet Union broke apart in 1992. Refusing to assimilate into Moldova, Transnistria continued to use the Russian ruble even after Russia had issued newContinue reading “T is for Transnistria”

M is for Moldova

“Kishinev morning” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Clay Gilliland When the former Soviet Union broke apart, the small country of Moldova was one of many that emerged from its ruins. Many pundits expected it wouldn’t last, that it would be absorbed by its neighbor to the west, Romania, as part of a grand reconstruction of what had been theContinue reading “M is for Moldova”