TauniChișinău
[pronounced Keesh-ee-now, or we heard it as Keesh-ee-no ]
TAUNI: We didn’t know what to expect from Chisinau– we had done our research, like always, but Moldova felt much more mysterious than the other countries. It was cited as the ‘least traveled country in Europe’ multiple times – but that wasn’t going to stop us. It enticed us in some ways too, always interested in the road less traveled. We asked our driver on the way to Chisinau what it was like, and instead of the hearing the positive aspects that we expected, he said it was like Bucharest, but older. Bucharest had not been our favorite city on the trip, so that put us on edge that we might not like it. I had heard that Moldova was a wine-producing country but we knew we didn’t have that much time so hadn’t booked a tour. But hearing the driver’s opinion of Chisinau made us think we might not need as much time to see it. So, while we were still on the road, I found a winery tour for the next afternoon and booked it there and then. Ah the power of smart phones!
We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Chisinau, with points. I had never written a Tripadvisor.com report before, but I was so impressed by the Courtyard Chisinau staff and service that I wrote them up. When we signed in, as a Marriott Bonvoy points member, they asked me if I wanted free breakfast or points. When traveling I will always take the free breakfast as it often carries us through the whole day to dinner and frees up time for seeing more things. The second day I asked to book a taxi to the airport at 4 AM, as we were flying home the next day and didn’t want to be late to the airport. As soon as we got up to our room, the phone rang and the front desk asked if we would like a breakfast packed for us since we would leave too early for breakfast in the restaurant. I said, yes, of course. After I hung up, the front desk called again and asked if there were any dietary restrictions – I said I was a vegetarian. The next morning, our taxi was on time and we had two boxed breakfasts – one vegetarian for Tauni and Michele’s with meat. Maybe it’s a small thing, but it was so thoughtful and I have rarely seen such a genuine thoughtfulness. It was also a brand-new hotel, and it was really very nice. It was a little outside of city center, so we had to use taxis, but that was a small price to pay for what we got. It was also next to Malldova – yes, a mall. We never made it to Malldova, but I took a selfie in front of it because … Malldova!
After we checked in, after our hair-bending ride from Brasov, we were ready for a quiet dinner, so asked the hotel for a recommendation. They suggested: Fuior Gourmet. It was perfect, quiet, and comfortable. They had local fare, including the plachenta [pies] we’d had recommended to us. It was also centrally located in the downtown/cultural area, so took the opportunity to explore that area after we ate.
And .. contrary to what the driver had told us, I thought Chisinau was lovely. It was small enough to walk, the parks were beautiful. It was peaceful, the people were friendly, and I would go back to Chisinau again.
We saw:
- Cathedral of Christ’s Nativity – (Moldovan Orthodox) Cathedral Park – we were lucky enough to get there during a service, and were allowed to enter and participate as long as we covered our hair with scarves which were provided for us.
- Triumphant Arch
- Stephen the Great Statue and Park- green and peaceful, with fountains and a few cafes with outside seating
- Parliament of Moldova
- National Museum of History of Moldova (we didn’t have time, but would have loved to visit)
- Government House of Republic of Moldova
Michele mastered the Taxi app Yandex Go – their version ‘Uber’ to ferry us back to the hotel and to the markets.
Then the next day, we had time to go to the Chișinău Market before our big event of the day: Cricova Wine Tour
- Market: As I’ve said, Chisinau is not tourist-central, so the market was definitely designed for the residents. There were open-air stalls selling everything from clothing to tools, to food. Going to the markets is always one of the highlights of a city and this was no exception. We found a few T-shirts to bring home to the family, and then stopped at a grocery store to buy chocolates and candy. Grocery stores are also always a highlight to me – you never know what you’re going to find in grocery stores in other countries. Yogurt, chocolate, candy, alcohol / wine, etc – always very interesting selections.
- Cricova: We had booked a tour from our hotel, so a nice, young English-speaking man came to pick us up, and drove us the ~45 minutes to the winery. He stayed with us until we got our tickets and got onto the tour – which was frankly a bit confusing, so we were glad for his help. We hopped on buses – more like golf carts on steroids – and drove into the winery, which was built in an underground cave complex. The cave keeps the wines naturally at the right temperature and the complex was vast. We watched a film about wine-making, then toured an area where the wine was kept in bottles to age, with women turning the bottles a ¼ turn every day. We passed through a wine cellar where famous and wealthy people kept their personal stores of bottles. And then we got to the part we’d all been waiting for – the tasting. We tasted 3 – 4 wines, including white, sparkling, and red, which were all very good. And then of course we passed through the wine shop where we bought a few bottles to take home with us, hoping that the bottles wouldn’t break in our checked baggage on the way home. I managed to fit 3 wine bottles, plus a bottle of Ouzo from Greece, and a bottle of plum brandy from Brasov [Palinka] in my suitcase, and it all made it home. Overall – Cricova was the perfect ending to our perfect trip – a way of celebrating our trip, but also celebrating Moldova and its wine-making. Total recommend for anyone who enjoys wine. As they say in Romania and Moldova – Noroc! [Cheers!]
