Moldova – Transnistria
The border with the unrecognized country of Transnistria looked real – the boom gate, armed security, and passport control. In Transnistria, they do not stamp passports. Instead, they issue a paper slip with passport and entry details. After crossing the border, we stopped at the shopping mall to exchange money. Transnistria has its own currency – the Transnistrian ruble. No other currencies are accepted on its territory. The exchange rate was $1 USD = 16.5 Transnistrian rubles.
The city tour began right after that. I looked around and it was the USSR of my youth, a shard of the Soviet Empire that somehow survived. I was not surprised to see many Lenin monuments, I was warned about this. The thing that struck me about these monuments was that they were not the old identical ones that were mass-produced during Soviet times and the authorities did not bother to remove them. No, these were newly manufactured and quite artistically made.
Our guide showed us Transnistrian memorials to the same conflict and told us their version of the story. The guide kept calling his country its Russian name, Pridnestrovie. I asked him why it is not Transnistria as it is known in English. The guide explained that they do not accept the name Transnistria as it means “beyond the Dniester”. Moreover, it is officially prohibited in their country to call it Transnistria. What is beyond the Dniester depends on what river bank you are. For those who are in Pridnestrovie, Moldova is beyond the Dniester. The only correct country name is Pridnestrovie.
At the end of the day, we were taken to Holy Ascension Noul Neamț Monastery where the priest at length and in detail told us about the monastery history.
The priest led us to the cellar where the monks make monastery wine. The cellar is not deep as it was not originally dug out for wine making. The temperature in it is not low enough. Wine can only be kept in this cellar for 1 year. After that, it turns sour. We had to taste the wine which was not the best but there was no way for us to bow out without drinking it.
We finally got out of the monastery and checked into the excellent Russia Hotel. We had only a few hours left until the midnight. The New Year Eve dinner was booked at Back to the USSR restaurant. Everyone badly needed some rest and to make themselves presentable before we could start celebrating the end of 2025.