Moldova in 26 Instagram photos

Wine, culture, food, religion, wine… I’ll be honest. It was wine that brought us to Moldova, and wine that kept us keen. Every year, during the first weekend of October, this eastern European country hosts a wine festival to promote its (very tasty) wine.

We based ourselves in the capital city of Chișinău, and did day trips to small towns and wineries throughout the country. While wine logically held pride of place, we also enjoyed our visits to the breakaway republic of Transnistria and the northern town of Soroca, famous for its fortress.

Moldova once formed part of the USSR, and declared independence on its dissolution in 1991. Since then, it has been largely unnoticed by the rest of the world, but that’s starting to change. It signed an Association Agreement with the European Union in 2014 (causing problems with Russia) and is rapidly opening up. Budget flights even fly there now — so you have no excuse not to head there next October to take part in the wine festival.

In the meantime, enjoy these Moldova Instagram photos. While you check them out, take a listen to our Moldova podcast: hit play below or find episode 309 in iTunes, Stitcher or Soundcloud:

Chișinău

The victory arch is one of the symbols of Chisinau, in this photo it comes complete with Moldovan flag and protesters behind. Goodbye Chisinau! It's been fun, and I'm sure we'll be back. Now, we're on the train, heading to Odessa.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 11, 2015 at 9:38pm PDT

Delicious and beautiful fruit in the market of Chisinau.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 12, 2015 at 1:56pm PDT

So, I got slightly lost on my way back from the supermarket this afternoon. Upside: I got to see this monastery. I thought all of Moldova's monasteries were in the countryside, but this one is right in the middle of Chisinau.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 6, 2015 at 10:27am PDT

As we drove back into the city after a day of wine tasting, traditional food preparation and a winery visit, we were treated to a stunning sunset behind the Chisinau sign. I like Moldova.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 3, 2015 at 1:16pm PDT

Wine

We might have made it to Ukraine but we arrived tired and a bit sick, so we crashed out in the hotel to watch the Rugby World Cup quarter finals. Hence, no photos of Odessa yet, instead you get one of Moldovan grapes that will be Moldovan wine when they grow up.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 19, 2015 at 12:04am PDT

Old wine vats and flowers at Asconi Winery, Moldova.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 2, 2015 at 12:43pm PDT

Cheers from Moldova! This is young wine (must) similar to sturm in Austria and Germany.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 5, 2015 at 11:54pm PDT

Soroca

The Soroca fortress was a lot smaller than we expected it to be, but gorgeous. There were fantastic views of the river from the towers and two wedding parties were having their photos taken there.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 11, 2015 at 12:43am PDT

Our Moldovan adventure for the day was a trip to Soroca in the north of the country to visit the fortress. There are some great views from inside, like this hobbit-hole window. Seems appropriate, since we’re from New Zealand!

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 10, 2015 at 10:18am PDT

Here's another photo of the Soroca Fortress, which we visited a few days ago, this time from the inside. This building was built around 1499 — that's some time ago!

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 13, 2015 at 9:30am PDT

Transnistria

I love this little shrine in the center of Tiraspol, it's so pretty. We were there a few days ago on our way back from the Ukrainian border.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 16, 2015 at 12:41pm PDT

The churches in this part of the world are so beautiful, inside and out. This is the Nativity Church in Tiraspol, Transnistria.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 15, 2015 at 11:31pm PDT

I love stained glass windows, but it's not common to see them relating to cognac production. But in the museum of the Kvint factory in Tiraspol, Transnistria, that's exactly what this window depicts. (Later we tasted cognac, yum.)

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 8, 2015 at 11:41pm PDT

Orheiul Vechi

Yesterday, after visiting the mini wine festival at Butuceni, we wandered up to the monastery at Orheiul Vechi. There's a little hermitage cave in the rock that we visited, and then we went to the main building on the top of the cliff. The view was great and the building gorgeous, but the smell of incense and the sound of the monks singing was amazing.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 3, 2015 at 11:38pm PDT

A goat at the Orheiul Vechi monastery in Moldova.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 5, 2015 at 12:14am PDT

Incense spilled out the door and the sound of monks singing filled the air as I took this photo at the monastery at Orheiul Vechi. A magic moment.

A photo posted by Craig and Linda (@indietravel) on Oct 6, 2015 at 4:08am PDT

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Source: IndieTravelPodcast.com

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