It took us only one day to explore the Chișinău, formerly Kishinyov, capital of Moldova, situated along the Bâcu River in the south-central part of the country. The first documentary reference to Chișinău dates from 1466 when it was under the rule of the Moldavian prince Ștefan III. After Ștefan’s death, the city fell under the control of the Ottoman Turks. Gradually Chișinău’s trading importance increased, though the city suffered severe destruction in the Russo-Turkish War of 1788. In 1812 Chișinău was ceded to Russia with the rest of Bessarabia. It was henceforth known by its Russian name, Kishinyov. By the late 19th century the city was home to a large Jewish population, but simmering anti-Semitism within the Russian Empire manifested in brutal pogroms in 1903 and 1905. The bloodshed in Kishinyov was immortalized in verse by Hebrew poet Haim Naḥman Bialik. Following World War I, the city was included in Romania as Chișinău, but it was ceded with the rest of Bessarabia back to the Soviet Union in 1940 and became the capital of the newly formed Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. Heavy damage was inflicted on the city in World War II, but after the war, Kishinyov was rebuilt. After our arrival, we took a short walk around the city center followed by a light meal at Vdrova Pub (Two burgers with two beers – 415 MDL). The next day was full of walking around the city with lunch at Andy’s Pizza (Pizza Pepperoni 90 MDL, Pork steak with potatoes 115 MDL, Lemonade 1 l / 70 MD). In the evening we met at Rock’n’Roll Café our fan from IG – Alexander Stachursky. The next morning he joined us for one day in Transnistria to make a video about our expedition for his YT channel. After the meeting, we tasted local cherry liquor with the crowd on the street in front of Piana Vyshnia. And then we went for the last beer in a popular Barbar bar.
Parking location – Chișinău: 47.029014N 28.841340E