05.01.2007
 Eastern European Travel Log
by Josh Wilson
I took some vacation time this November. Being the adventurous type, I forsook the usual destinations from Russia: Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and other sunny, warmer, resorts where Russians often travel due to visa-less regimes and low prices. My Russian colleagues looked incredulous as I explained that I was going to see places I had long wanted to see – in Eastern Europe. In college, I read a book called Balkan Ghosts by Robert Kaplan. He journeyed through Yugoslavia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece describing the people, the landscape, and the history beautifully and apparently for no other reason than he was personally curious about these places whose modern history was largely missing in my textbooks. He instantly became a hero of mine. The route I took was different, as I was coming from Moscow and wanted to travel by land to see the maximum of the countryside and people. The plan was to travel to Odessa in Ukraine, through the troubled region of Transdnestria to Chisinau in Moldova, Bucharest in Romania, then to Ukraine's "other half" in Lviv, and back home to Moscow. It would take about two weeks, and I would save some money and add adventure by buying my tickets as I went. Being a "stranger in a strange land" needn't be considered such a strange or dangerous thing to do and, in fact, I hope to encourage its practice as its educational value can be phenomenal. However, there are several things one should know before embarking. First, I was not traveling alone – I was with a good friend with whom I could share the experience, expenses, and rely on in case of emergency. Second, I speak both English and Russian, which is indispensable along this route for dealing with the bureaucracy involved, and to socialize along the way. I would recommend that students have at least one of these criteria for their trip: a friend or fluency in Russian. The rest of this article will focus on some of the more bureaucratic aspects of the trip, with a few notes about why I recommend travel in Eastern Europe. Just before and after each border, the train or bus will stop. Officials will check and stamp your passport, and often check your luggage and question you about its contents – in Russian at all points except Romania. Ukraine currently has a scam of sorts at its border. Along with the officials will be a nice young woman who will tell you that foreigners need to buy insurance. She is nice and the insurance only costs about four dollars. However, it is not actually needed and if you press her on the issue, she will eventually leave. Beyond that, entry is very easy – US citizens who already have a visa to the Russian Federation currently need no visa. Just buy a ticket a go.  Odesa was highly enjoyable. The central city is well developed with tasty, cheap restaurants of various ethnicities, shops, and several decent hotels. I stayed at Hotel Pasazh, which my Lonely Planet disparaged, but which I found to be reasonably priced and staffed by friendly people. Granted it was a bit run down and the hallways reminded one of the hotel from The Shining, but one does not travel Eastern Europe for the luxury.
The main highlight of Odessa was seeing the Potemkin Steps from Sergei Eisenstein’s classic Battleship Potemkin. However, other highlights were just as enjoyable – walking down the main streets and seeing economic growth flood the city, shopping in an outdoor market that looked like it was housed in a bombed-out train station with the Victorian walls still surrounding, tasting these strange waffles with cheese and olives from a kiosk vendor. The most enjoyable part of traveling for me is always just the wandering in search of new sights, new food, and new people. The man at the Moldovan embassy in Moscow emphatically stated that of course Transdnestria is part of Moldova and a Moldovan transit visa (about 40 USD, good for three days of travel) will be sufficient when crossing into the region. However, as expected, the Transdnestrian border guard disagreed. The story as to why the tiny entity has proclaimed its independence and why the entire rest of the world still considers it part of Moldova is a long story (read about it here). It's also one of the main reasons I wanted to travel there – to see what happens when such a situation occurs (there are four such cases in the FSU).  The officer in charge took us to his office and explained that because Transdnestria is not recognized by any other country, they have no embassies and thus no visas and hence, is only officially open to Transdnestrians. The only way we could pass through is if he chose to "look the other way." He would not state how this would happen, but presented with twenty dollars, he protested slightly that it was too little, and eventually wrote out a special twenty-four hour transit pass – a small stamp and his initials on a 1" x 1" piece of receipt paper. I considered it a well-priced visa and given the circumstances, I also didn't mind buying it in such an unofficial manner.
Besides, Transdnestria itself obviously needs the income. There are crumbling, Soviet-era factories, homes, and concrete walls with patriotic slogans such as "Transdnestria is our Pride!" spray-painted on them. There is little else. Political uncertainty has contributed to economic stagnation now for more than a decade. A little girl entered our bus at the station and gave a long story about her father being disabled and her family not having any food. She accepted no cash and gratefully thanked everyone who gave her something edible. She shared it with her small brother outside. Transdnestria was not the most aesthetically pleasing destination - or the easiest to get into. But I do feel that I understand the "frozen conflict" there better because I've not only read about it, I've traveled through it. I wish I had had more time to explore it.  At the "border," the Transdnestrian guards took our "visas" and the Moldovans did their own passport checks, indicating the two do consider each other de facto separate entities.
Moldova's capital is also not the grandest. An ineffective government and a lack of substantial resources has kept most of the city a museum of sorts of gray Soviet architecture. Lonely Planet, in fact, only recommends spending a couple of days absolutely drunk in the city. I didn't bother with the drinking, but I did meet a very interesting man at a local café - a New Yorker that had built a successful business helping governments and companies build infrastructure in Moldova. (Read an interview with him here.) He also pointed out the best places to see in the city – the Stefan de Mare Public Gardens and the Sun Shopping complex on Pushkin Street.  Entering Romania is like entering a completely different world. Romania is striving to become a part of the EU and while its economy is not performing as well as the local population would like, it is attracting considerable foreign investment and its stability seems to have spawned a hope that is flowering into development, especially in Bucharest. The general population (including the friendly border guards) speaks little Russian but is largely fluent in English, even in more rural areas of the country. As an aspirant to the EU, Romania requires no visa for American citizens.
Romania is a beautiful country full of great, fabulously cheap food, great pubs with good music, and friendly people who not only give friendly, professional service, but who will stop on the street if you are looking at a map (this occurred about sixty percent of the times I looked at my map) and ask (in English) if you need directions and then give them as best they can. I went hiking in Transylvania, heard good rock music over tasty, cheap beer surrounded by intellectuals, and had a generally fantastic time. In short, if you get the chance to go to Romania, do it! However, be advised that there is no direct connection between Romania and western Ukraine. This epiphany was one of the biggest adventures I encountered. Due to the mountainous country and the historical development, the USSR chose to route almost all traffic from the Balkans through Chisinau – which still requires a visa to even travel through. Having already spent longer in Romania than originally planned, I couldn't afford to spend more time on another Moldovan visa – nor did I want to return to Moscow on the same route I had come in on.  The solution was a surprise visit to Budapest. Hungary requires no visa and provides direct access, through Ukraine, to Moscow. I was only able to spend a few hours in the actual city as the route added about twenty four hours more on the train. Therefore, I can't say much about it except that the part known as Buda is a lovely tourist attraction filled with restored buildings and, well, tourists, and the Pest side is largely a gray Soviet monstrosity. Both sides have very lax working practices which means nothing is open on Sundays and on weekdays nothing opens until at least 10. If you are hungry at any other time, you will probably be at McDonald's. Returning to Moscow several shots of vodka later, compliments of a Ukrainian construction worker who shared our sleeping car, we were tired and dirty after so many hours on the train. The trip had entailed destinations that many would consider odd, and was certainly not a tidy tour group. However, I feel that I understand this part of the world that I've studied a little better in addition to enjoying some great meals, meeting some good people, and exploring several new cities. Call me a geek, but how much more fun could I ask for? Find Out More!
Internships in Russia and Central Asia
Study Abroad in Russia and Central Asia
SRAS Guides to Russia and its Cities
About Transdnestria
Tourism in Romania (official site) Questions or comments about this article? Contact the author.
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