Moldova is not one of those countries most people dream of going to. In fact, this small nation is completely off the radar to many…even European travelers. Moldova, when heard, is evidently mistaken by some as “the Maldives”. But we can attest, for a small landlocked country, its people, food, and wine pack a big punch and are absolutely worth a detour. We feel lucky to have been some of the only 11,000 annual tourists to visit this off-the-beaten track European destination.

So, let’s start with the question on a lot of your minds…where is…Moldova? Only slightly larger than the state of Maryland, it is wedged between Ukraine and Romania and was oddly inconvenienced of a coastline on the Black Sea by a just a few kilometers making it a landlocked country. It is also ranked as Europe’s poorest country, by GDP. In 2017 the GDP was $2300 placing it at the economic bottom for Europe and the CIA ranked it similar to Nigeria in per capita. Paradoxically, it was significantly more expensive to be a budget traveler in Moldova than in neighboring Ukraine, our costs were ~40% higher by comparison. It’s hard to talk about Moldova without mentioning Transnistria, Moldova’s entire eastern flank. Transnistria is a bizarre breakaway (unrecognized) state within Moldova ruled by proxy by Russia. Transnistria has its own central bank, currency, justice system and border checkpoints. (Although it’s not recognized by the UN).

Thus, to get to Moldova’s capital, Chisinau (KEE-she-now) instead of going the direct route through Transnistria (3 hours), we opted to go around it (5 hours) to avoid what we read could be challenging border situation.

This was Grace and Larry’s (our accompanying parents) first experience of how we travel….On a very stuffy public bus, as there was only one train per day from Odessa, which went through Transnistria anyhow, so bus was our best option. They didn’t seem thrilled however, especially when we entered Moldova and the poorly maintained roads became increasingly… challenging.

More their speed, the Moldovan restaurant, Las Taifas ? was really delicious Moldovan fare. Moldova takes great pride in fresh ingredients and it shows at the local markets and restaurants. Also, all locally produced food is organic (and mostly cheap!) as pesticides are too costly to apply. Talk about a silver lining.

Our very friendly waiter wearing a traditional Moldovan outfit.

Roasted veggies, creamy chicken, minced meatballs and wine. Oh the wine….

Speaking of wine, Moldova has an extensive and old wine making tradition and… in fact, just outside of the capital Chisinau you can find the world’s biggest wine collection. With top rate wines at inexpensive prices, relative to other countries. Many Moldovans also grow their own wine grapes to craft their own homemade wine. Alcohol consumption here is significant! Moldova’s per capita alcohol consumption rate is among of the world’s highest. Oh, but the wine is yummy!

The next day we went to the biggest wine cellar—in the world—the underground wine city of Milesti Mici on a fabulous tour organized by OK Travel in Chisinau. (If in Chisinau, organize a private guide and tour with OK Travel, they were so super helpful.) The fountain out front welcomed us with wine before we even went in.

This is a map of the network of cellar tunnels. We only saw a small portion of this massive wine city!

In August 2005, this state-run cellar was registered by the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest in the world. The cellars are an astounding and labyrinthine 200 kilometers (120 miles) underground that hold 2 million bottles the oldest dating from 1973. More than 70% are red, 20 white and 10 dessert. Remarkably you drive — in a CAR — through the tunnels of this wine city. seeing the size and number of huge barrels that line the roadway(?) as you drive by is even more astounding.

Entering one of the main cellar rooms.

Yes, these are all wine bottles! Wines are exported from Mileștii Mici to Sweden, Japan, the USA, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Poland, Greece, Germany, Denmark, Finland, and China.

Acting playful! And we hadn’t even had anything to drink yet!

Aged in every sense of the word.

Each “wine cove” has the wine name and number, year harvested (1987), year bottled (2000).

Walking along the tunnels, we suddenly got to an inconspicuous outer door that slid open with the push of a lever. It was about two feet thick and weighed five tons. Ala Indiana Jones. Inside there were more secret doors. These were about 10 feet tall wine barrel doors which spun slowly to reveal…

This magnificent dining hall 67 meters (180 feet) underground where we had a four course meal, and seemingly endless wine pours.

Noroc! (Cheers!)

And the official certificate so we know they’re not lying.

Some of the amazing people we met on our tour. Starting with the ladies at OK Travel. We became quick friends. Mandy even made a real connection and had a coffee date with Tonya the day after. This is why we travel. The Moldovan people were incredibly hospitable and kind.

And it was easy to do so, as most of the people we encountered spoke excellent English. The language spoken in Moldova is now essentially Romanian, a Latin-based language. After a recent amendment to the Moldovan constitution, however, it is officially the “Moldovan” language, not Romanian. This constitutional move was made to help thwart any movement toward unification of Moldova with Romania. Opinions widely differ on calling it Moldovan or Romanian, but it’s said to be the same minus a few select words, similar to American vs. British English.

Although it’s an entirely independent country now, historically Moldovans were culturally more aligned with Romanians, but following the breakup of the USSR  seems caught between Russia and Romania in crafting its state identity. Everyone we met was bilingual (or trilingual) and spoke Russian regularly.

Strolling the streets of Chisinau. Pretty sure this church is Armenian(?)

Street scene in the capital.

The official beer.

The Metropolitan Cathedral. Sadly, Moldova is not known for incredible architecture. Much of the city was level destroyed in WWII and rebuilt by the soviets.

A beautiful fountain.