Chišinau

Chišinau is one of those places that seems forgotten by the rest of the tourist industry. Maybe its because there is a lack of advertising or a drive for tourists, but considering I visited in June, there didn't seem to be a lot of tourists about.

I know a lot of people heading to Transnistria sort of use Chišinau as a stopover. I wasn't visiting Transnistria, a couple of the people  staying in the hostel were, but for me, it didnt have a massive appeal. I'm more about learning about history and culture of places, and plus, considering the trouble Ive had because I am missing an exit stamp for Montenegro, which has caused me massive problems trying to leave Turkey, I thought it was better not to risk it.

There's a couple of interesting museums in Chišinau, The two main ones being the National Museum of the history of Moldova, and the Ethnography and Natural history museum. Both, I will be honest, are very dated, and English translations were few, but they were very creative museums, with plentiful examples of folk costume, as well as artistic landscapes done to compliment the exhibits. Worth a look if you are in the area.

However, the two things that held my attention the most were the Etenitate memorial, an imposing red monument to the lives lost in the second world war, and the triumphant arch, built to celebrate the Russian's victory against the Ottoman empire. The arch is just by the central park, which had some sort of exhibition about graffiti on. Both are worth seeing, and especially the Etenitate memorial, is a quiet place for reflection and thinking.

For me, Chišinau was a good place to stopover before I headed into Romania. I stayed at the city centre hostel, which was clean, welcoming and a good place to stay. Check it out if you are staying over in Chišinau. My next stop is Iasi, which will coming soon!