The Republic of Transnistria

We are now in an interesting place: Transnistria.  The UN and international community do not consider it to be a country, but rather part of Moldova. The Transnistrians, however, do not agree.  They have their own currency, postal system, legislature… and border control.  Which meant that crossing the border to get here was a little complex.  We came by car from Ukraine to the border, at a short bridge across a river.  First the Ukrainian border post, where we had exit stamps put in our passports, then another 20 feet to the Moldovan border post, where they stamped a passport entry.  Then we crossed the little bridge, and on the other side was the Transnistria border post.  Just as official-looking as any border you might cross anywhere, with customs and immigration staff, and border guards. They asked the same types of questions about why we were visiting, how long would we stay, what hotel we would be in, and then — not being allowed to stamp passports under international laws — they issued us each a paper visa for our two-day stay here.

We are staying in the capital, Tiraspol, a charming small city with very friendly people.  Spent our day walking and sightseeing, visiting a museum of local history, and enjoying a glass of local wine.  I will just post a couple of pictures, to show two attractive vistas in the centre of town.

Tomorrow we head onward to “the rest of Moldova” by bus.  We are now at the halfway point of the travels — and from experience we know that the rest of the trip is likely to fly by.  Ah, well…..