[HN Gopher] The only tourist in Moldova
___________________________________________________________________
The only tourist in Moldova
Author : dotcoma
Score : 64 points
Date : 2024-07-14 16:58 UTC (4 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.telegraph.co.uk)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.telegraph.co.uk)
| dotcoma wrote:
| https://archive.is/kQ4lp
| atlasunshrugged wrote:
| This is a very nice take on the country. I visited a few years
| ago (took an overnight train from Romania which was a blast,
| albeit not the most restful experience) and I would just say that
| there isn't all that much to see or things going on. Not to say
| it isn't a nice enough place, it's just not one I'd ever
| recommend as a tourist destination for people. If you want more
| Eastern Europe vibes I think Romania is just fine for that with
| much more going on -- if you're more adventurous Lviv and Kyiv
| are fantastic (I was just there in April, still gorgeous cities
| with great restaurants, bars, and art). And if you want old
| Europe with a post-Soviet flavor, nothing beats Estonia and the
| well preserved old town in the capital
| WXLCKNO wrote:
| > more adventurous > Kyiv
|
| Understatement of the year
| atlasunshrugged wrote:
| The funny thing is, coming from Washington DC, I felt about
| or more safe in Ukraine as I do here day to day. I wasn't
| worried about being carjacked, I wasn't worried about someone
| with mental health or drug problems robbing me, and I wasn't
| worried about being shot (as I write this it feels hyperbolic
| to say but I live about 10 mins walking from the capitol and
| in the two years I've been here there have been multiple
| carjackings and shootings in my neighborhood -- even a
| Congressman was held up at gunpoint next door to me). The
| idea that missiles could come raining down was scary, but
| there are shelters everywhere and it felt like the likelihood
| of getting hit was pretty low being in random
| bars/restaurants and not any
| government/military/infrastructure facility. Maybe I was
| calculating the odds all wrong in my head, but I didn't feel
| particularly unsafe while I was there (that said, wouldn't go
| further east or to Odessa right now).
| kjkjadksj wrote:
| They have hit apartments and hospitals before so its not
| only military/government/infra targets any longer. I'm
| surprised they haven't been sold an iron dome or a similar
| system by now to be honest.
| atlasunshrugged wrote:
| Yeah, I've seen that (and some of it unfortunately is not
| directly from missile attacks but falling debris after
| missiles were intercepted) but apart from some horrendous
| cases, the likelihood still seemed relatively low that
| they'd target the bar/hostel/restaurant I happened to be
| in, and without enough time for me to get to a shelter.
| The only time I was really nervous was when an air raid
| siren went off when I was in the train station at Lviv
| and I wasn't sure whether to go to a shelter or the train
| (I chose the latter which was good because the train left
| on time)
| psunavy03 wrote:
| They've already been sold the whole suite of Western air
| defense systems in addition to the ex-Soviet gear they've
| already had. Patriot, HAWK, Gepard, etc.
| kjkjadksj wrote:
| That didn't help the childrens hospital that was hit 9
| days ago unfortunately. 40 people died in that strike.
| justsomehnguy wrote:
| Let's be glad what they only managed to 'hit' a hospital
| with only 1 missile from the pack of 6.
| pydry wrote:
| Hamas managed to overwhelm iron dome just with their
| jury-rigged home built rockets:
| https://scitechdaily.com/iron-domes-vulnerability-how-
| hamas-...
|
| It wouldn't stand a hope against Russian missiles.
| generic92034 wrote:
| It is also a numbers and a money game. Those Russian
| missiles are as numerous as they are cheap.
| datameta wrote:
| The Shahed style drones are cheap, but the ballistic and
| cruise missiles hitting Kyiv and Odesa certainly are not.
| generic92034 wrote:
| Compared to a Patriot missile?
| actionfromafar wrote:
| The solution is to take out where the missiles come
| _from_. I.e. down the bombers.
| jemmyw wrote:
| They can't really afford to pay for such systems, the EU
| and US are propping up their economy right now. But also
| Israel refused to sell or give them the iron dome tech
| for rather bizarre sounding reasons:
| https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-rules-out-giving-
| ukr...
| Culonavirus wrote:
| Do you even Prague, bro...
| atlasunshrugged wrote:
| Fair, Prague is amazing!
| 2o3jr2o34j wrote:
| Prague is central Europe
| jahnu wrote:
| It's even a good bit further west than Vienna.
| utensil4778 wrote:
| Prague is _fantastic_ if you can avoid the tourist crowds.
|
| I lived there briefly with a Czech roommate who took me on
| tours through the "real" city. Also had a British friend
| there and we went through the usual tourist destinations now
| and then. The astronomical clock was neat, but the castle was
| so much more interesting and _far_ less crowded than the old
| town.
|
| Incidentally, I didn't drink before said roommate introduced
| me to Czech beer. What I wouldn't give for a nice frosty
| Kozel here in the states...
| SOLAR_FIELDS wrote:
| Not only is it delicious but it's often 25% of the price or
| less than other European countries. I am not sure why beer
| is so cheap in Czech Republic specifically but every
| country that surrounds it is significantly more expensive
| darknavi wrote:
| Budapest is also a great eastern Euro vibe. Especially the
| old, Soviet-looking street cars and busses!
| chx wrote:
| Bad news -- actually good for residents -- those socialist
| era trams and buses are gone by now. The typical "UV" trams
| manufactured between 1956-1965 have been retired in 2007.
| The Ikarus 260 and Ikarus 280 buses last ran in 2022
| November.
|
| OK, some old trams remain but they have been throughly
| modernized so that old feeling is basically gone.
| rmason wrote:
| I was in Budapest last summer and it was terrific. Lots of
| historical places that have been well preserved. People
| were friendly and it was easy to engage with them.
|
| What I have learned in a half century of travel is you
| learn a lot more about a place trying to talk to its
| citizens than you ever can visiting monuments or museums.
| Plus you can make some life long friends.
| Eavolution wrote:
| I was on that sleeper a week ago, most soviet thing ever! How
| long did it take for your conductor to take his top off?
| jmspring wrote:
| Estonia's old city is a treat to explore. Last time I was there
| was several years back during the winter and it was -30c or so
| out. Didn't stop some drunk Brits from having a good time.
| euroderf wrote:
| It was a top destination for Brit bachelor parties some years
| ago but that trade seems to have dried up of late. Good
| riddance.
| natmaka wrote:
| "bald and bankrupt" take on this (2019) was enlightening:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnDxHTaeNX0
| datameta wrote:
| Obligatory PSA that he is allegedly* a sex tourist with highly
| dubious practices off-camera.
|
| Edit: Context provided by senorrib below -
| https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldAndBaldrDossier/
|
| * Make your own conclusions
| suslik wrote:
| Is he?
| datameta wrote:
| https://eightify.app/media/fact-checking-allegations-
| against...
| beeboobaa3 wrote:
| > Eightify - YouTube Summary with ChatGPT
|
| Do you not have a more reliable source than youtube
| videos summarized by a LLM?
| datameta wrote:
| The original video within this reddit post where I
| learned of this has since been taken down. https://www.re
| ddit.com/r/internetdrama/comments/meo391/baldn...
| senorrib wrote:
| https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldAndBaldrDossier/
| datameta wrote:
| Forgot about this, thanks.
| r0ks0n wrote:
| what service does this announcement do to the public exactly
| datameta wrote:
| Perhaps people may not want to watch content made by an
| alleged rape apologist.
| DiggyJohnson wrote:
| You aren't saying very much. What is a rape apologist in
| this context?
| datameta wrote:
| He takes advantage of lower socioeconomic status women in
| poor countries with uneven gender dynamics and makes a
| jokey travel vlog in between. He has also given the
| classic "it's basically their fault" argument.
| tagyro wrote:
| I've been to Moldova a couple of times and after watching the
| video I'd like to offer my take on it.
|
| Some parts are really on-point - especially the wall of thieves
| - and I understand it's hard to present an objective
| perspective of the country after one visit and without having a
| more thorough deep-dive into its past 30 years (and don't get
| me wrong, I don't expect tourists to do that for their travel
| destinations) - but take the video with a (big) grain of salt.
|
| While I understand it's not the most "visit-able" country in
| the world, the people I've met have been nothing but wonderful
| and I've developed a deep respect for them, especially in light
| of all the challenges they've faced.
|
| My 2 cents: If you don't feel confident enough to visit Moldova
| yet, maybe try their wines, they're not too shabby (this is not
| an alcohol commercial, please drink responsibly).
| madaxe_again wrote:
| People go to Chisinau, and that's kinda it, and it's _really_ not
| representative of Moldova as a whole.
|
| You cross the border from Romania, and you're immediately struck
| by the road turning to cobbles, and the modern street lamps
| turning into gas lamps. Ox carts bearing peasants in home-sewn
| clothes trundle by under their burden of hay. A rusted old lada
| serves as a roadside goose coop. Wattle and daub houses stoop by
| the dusty road, old men in flat caps sat on a bench by the roses
| climbing the crumbling wall. It's like the most remote and rural
| corners of Transylvania, and then some - it's still 1924 out
| there.
|
| The cities - unremarkable, Soviet slop with the usual fistful of
| monuments and bits of history - but the countryside is the most
| authentic time warp I have experienced in Europe, and I have been
| to most of Europe.
| atlasunshrugged wrote:
| Have you been outside the capital in Albania? I visited Tirana
| and was quite surprised (pleasantly) but didn't have time to
| adventure further
| petertodd wrote:
| The Albanian Alps are beautiful, and rapidly developing with
| brand new roads and other infrastructure.
| paavohtl wrote:
| I visited Tirana and Durres about 5 years ago. Durres was a
| pretty great place to visit with its long beach, views of the
| Adriatic, decent restaurants, roman & other ruins and a nice
| archeological museum. Certainly more touristy than Tirana,
| but at least back then it was mostly locals.
| petertodd wrote:
| > and the modern street lamps turning into gas lamps.
|
| Really? Gas lamps are usually the luxurious option, only
| maintained at great expense out of nostalgia; Moldova has
| almost no domestic gas production.
| madaxe_again wrote:
| Oh, I didn't say they _work_ - but yeah, they had a good bit
| of money a century ago and invested in modern infrastructure
| - and not a jot since in an awful lot of the regions.
| rubymamis wrote:
| Staying in Moldova for 2 weeks proved to me that even the most
| boring of places can be amazing with the right people.
| xenospn wrote:
| No place is boring if you're naturally inquisitive. How can a
| place you've never been to be boring?
| throwaway3306a wrote:
| Visit Transnistria for another level of amazement if you're in
| the area. The last Soviet republic.
| eesmith wrote:
| And both mentioned and visited in the linked-to article. With
| pictures.
| euroderf wrote:
| There's a BBC short series from some years ago where our
| intrepid correspondent visits twilight zones. The episode on
| Transdnestr is really a trip. He even manages to visit an arms
| factory masquerading as making consumer stuff. The episode is
| worth looking up.
| trte9343r4 wrote:
| This would fit maybe in 2019, but Moldova now has many
| foreigners. Hotel prices went up considerably!
|
| For "Europe's least visited country" try Belorus, Ukraine,
| Russia, Ossetia or Armenia.
|
| Traveling to Mariupol as a tourist is the real deal in 2024
| atlasunshrugged wrote:
| Every time I've been to Armenia there are many people visiting,
| although I think probably 80%+ are diaspora or descendants of
| diaspora folks
|
| edit to add -- not sure Ossetia is technically a country... the
| Georgians might quibble with you on that one
| nasdaq-txn wrote:
| The Georgians and the other 187 UN member states that don't
| recognize either South Ossetia or Abkhazia.
| thriftwy wrote:
| I think it's obvious that unrecognized states are hot
| contenders for "least visited".
| geoka9 wrote:
| > Traveling to Mariupol as a tourist is the real deal in 2024
|
| Don't. It's impossible to do from the Ukrainian side and
| illegal from Russia.
| riehwvfbk wrote:
| Illegal? Why?
| swozey wrote:
| I have a Russian friend who is adamant that I would really
| enjoy and have a great time in Russia. IIRC he tells me to go
| to St Pete more than Moscow.
|
| But I cannot imagine doing that as an American. It kind of
| makes me wonder if he's messing with me but he hates Russia and
| Putin and I don't know why he would. I feel like I would be so
| unsafe. I'm a very "American" looking person and I only know a
| handful of Russian words. Well, I guess I look more German,
| blonde/blue eyed.
|
| Maybe just very different apprehensions when it comes to
| travel. He seems to be willing to go to literally anywhere.
|
| Ironically I always expect an American to start shit with him
| when I'm out drinking with him so I sometimes deviate
| conversations away from him having to talk about being Russian
| at every bar we're at. He's only been in America a few years so
| as soon as he speaks the entire bar knows he's Russian.
| starik36 wrote:
| There are tons of foreigners in Armenia from all over.
| Including a metric ton of Russians who don't want to be
| drafted.
| generic92034 wrote:
| I wonder what will happen to them if Ukraine loses to Russia. I
| have heard Moldova already has issues with Russian separatists.
|
| EDIT: Changed an offensive use of a definitive article. ;)
| datameta wrote:
| Fyi: Including "the" changes the meaning - it alludes to
| imperial language aking to calling the nation The Periphery.
| generic92034 wrote:
| I am not sure what you are talking about. Could you please
| elaborate?
|
| EDIT: Found https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#Etymology_a
| nd_orthogra... now. Thanks for the correction!
| atlasunshrugged wrote:
| Referring to Ukraine as "the Ukraine" is a symbol for many
| people of when it was a colony of part of the Soviet Union,
| rather than an independent nation. Similar to how many
| people use to refer to Kyiv as Kiev but changed as that was
| the more Russian spelling
| JoshTriplett wrote:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#Etymology_and_orthogr
| a...
|
| It's the difference between a descriptive name for a region
| and the name of a sovereign country. This is particularly
| relevant given the repeated attempts to conquer it and make
| it no longer a sovereign country.
| datameta wrote:
| The Ukraine is a translation of Imperial Russia's name for
| the country. Whereas Ukraine is the self-selected name for
| the Sovereign Nation.
| brabel wrote:
| I was under the impression that Russian does not even
| have articles??! What do you mean by that? How can "The
| Ukraine" come from the Russian language??
| datameta wrote:
| Using "the" affirms it as "this one particular borderland
| (of Russia)" instead of the name of a specific country. I
| misused the word "translation". Not sure if
| transliteration is more apt.
| justsomehnguy wrote:
| > does not even have articles
|
| Yes.
|
| > How can "The Ukraine" come from the Russian language??
|
| When you suddenly find what you desperately need to stir
| international[0] attention to some totally unknown to
| them country somewhere in the backyard of Europe.
|
| It's not like English is the official language in the
| Ukraine either but the endless supply of goody two-shoes
| who 'corrects' everyone around them for thoughts and
| pray^W^W^W sorry, support in the war efforts made this a
| reality[1]
|
| It's even more amusing if you actually dig the source of
| this 'correction' and don't stop with a 'AP style guide'.
|
| [0] read: US
|
| [1] read their logic up there in the thread and apply it
| to The Netherlands.
| rdlw wrote:
| Sorry, how does that refute anything?
|
| The point is that in English, adding the definite article
| makes it sound like a region rather than a country: "the
| mountains", "the veldt", "the border land".
|
| Removing the article is appropriate for a country, unless
| grammatically necessary like " _The_ United States of
| America ", but not "The America" or "The Germany".
| generic92034 wrote:
| Misread the paragraph first, then edited the edit. Sorry!
| rdlw wrote:
| Oops, that makes sense. Sorry that instead of thinking
| you reasonably missed two letters in that sentence, I
| assumed you were an idiot and started arguing with you.
| Personal issues.
| stevekemp wrote:
| Nowadays people prefer to call the country "Ukraine",
| rather "the Ukraine". I admit I've made that mistake more
| than a few times.
|
| See here for some backstory and history:
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_Ukraine
| brabel wrote:
| You're thinking of Transnistria:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnistria
|
| The history of that area is complex. Moldova itself was part of
| the Ottoman Empire, then it was ceded to the Russian Empire,
| united with Romania, then the whole are became part of the
| USSR... and after the dissolution of the USSR, Transnistria
| became an unregognized, but de facto autonomous "country".
| Moldovians see the area as still part of Moldova (with some
| still considering the whole country as part of Romania!). The
| EU sees it as a Russian-occupied area since Russia supports the
| local government, and without Russian support the Moldavian
| Government would've probably taken over the area already (it's
| a frozen conflict area... Eastern Ukraine is headed for the
| same destiny, it seems).
| generic92034 wrote:
| Ah, thanks for helping my memory!
|
| However, it remains to be seen if the war in Ukraine can be
| frozen. If a certain large supporter of Ukraine stops the
| support, Ukrainians might simply lose it all. But will Russia
| stop there?
| ricardobayes wrote:
| Can't help but think at 2850 pounds (3650 USD) for 7 nights of
| course they are going to be friendly.
| brabel wrote:
| I was in Belarus recently and it did feel like I was the only
| non-Slavic person, and tourist, on the bus there (yes, bus,
| because no European country except for Turkey is flying to
| Belarus). Everyone else seemed like locals going back home for a
| visit (including my wife!).
|
| But once you get to Minsk, it's actually pretty modern and nice,
| extremely clean... and clearly a vibrating city with lots of
| things to do, buy and see... there's quite a few non-westernerns
| there (Indians, Chinese and other Asians, Africans), seems like
| mostly students. I was told they have programs to have exchange
| students which was already going on since Soviet times, and
| Belarus has some pretty good universtities apparently.
|
| We also had very international food! I noticed there's Domino's
| Pizzas everywhere. One of the best restaurants we visited was a
| big Chinese one in the most popular area of the city. Also tried
| the local Belarussian cuisine, of course, a large Georgian
| restaurant (both were delicious and really good prices), some
| Italian food etc.
|
| We visited lots of museums and art galleries, and they have
| excellent ones! In most of them we were very nearly the only
| visitors, despite being in the middle of summer. The attendants
| were really happy to receive us, and we had basically private
| tours of everything, they gave us much more attention than I've
| ever got anywhere else. Forget queues to get in or crowds around
| the main attractions!! My wife had to translate every word, but
| they still made sure to answer every question and point out every
| detail to us, slowly so that my wife could translate everything.
|
| Even though our world is messed up and Belarus right now is seen
| as an "enemy country", I hope people can understand that they're
| a beautiful, honest people just trying to live life, like all of
| us. I think if more people visited, perhaps we would be better
| able to understand each other and keep a closer connection that
| could've avoided the mess we're in. I know the EU was trying to
| get closer to Belarus and vice-versa before "you know what" (I
| saw some restored buildings in a country town that were paid for
| by the EU!).... that totally stopped now, unfortunately. Hope
| countries like Belarus and Moldova continue their modernisation
| and getting closer to the rest of Europe without changing their
| own cultures too much, they have a rich and proud history and
| culture that should be maintained, we shouldn't make the mistake
| of expecting them to become just like us... they don't even want
| that, they just want to be as prosperous, which is a very
| different thing.
| Freak_NL wrote:
| Well yeah, Belarus is essentially off-limits to a large part of
| the world due to Russia's war with Ukraine.
|
| Belarus does seem like a wonderful country at its core, but
| after the election fraud all progress just froze and the
| country is (once again) seen as Russia's de-facto vassal state.
| This sucks for the people of Belarus who got caught up in this,
| but for the average tourist going there is not something to
| consider.
|
| The travel advice for Dutch tourists, for example, is literally
| _don 't; this country is not safe for holidays_. And that's
| ignoring the additional warnings for LGTB+ folk.
| brabel wrote:
| I had to laugh at "this country is not safe" :D my country
| also advised that, but I've been there many times. It's about
| the safest country in Europe IMHO.
| playingalong wrote:
| Until some special operation happens or some other one off
| event.
|
| At the same time, yes, I wouldn't worry for theft or
| robberies.
| lostmsu wrote:
| It well may be the safest country in Europe, provided you
| shut your mouth instead of talking much about important
| matters.
| riehwvfbk wrote:
| Talking about matters that are important to the powers
| that be is always unsafe, unless you vehemently agree
| with them. You are only safe in the West if the
| government considers you a clown that nobody will pay
| attention to. Someone like Julian Assange they will do
| their darndest to destroy.
| localfirst wrote:
| especially given the violence in New york and California
|
| America is safe to travel is what that New Zealand senior
| couple were thinking when they visited California.
|
| its funny how some country is "safe" yet far far dangerous
| than these "that country is bad they are the enemies its
| not safe"
| euroderf wrote:
| Belarus shot down that hot air balloon some years ago, based
| on some lame excuse. Pretty sh#tty.
| localfirst wrote:
| I see lot of East Asians dating/marrying Eastern Europeans I
| was shocked that there was nowhere near the level of hatred and
| bigotry towards men of East Asian descent normalized in America
| and Western Europe
|
| Traveling made me think how much actual structural racism
| exists for Asians in America and Western Europe despite
| announcing themselves as the champion of multiculturalism and
| diversity
|
| Belarus is a beautiful country and I look forward to visiting
| again.
|
| Hopefully some of the bros read this before this comment
| inevitably gets flagged
| decafninja wrote:
| It's mostly Asian men that are negatively stereotyped.
| Usually as being "weak" or "nerdy" or "feminine".
|
| Non-Asian man + Asian woman couples have long been
| normalized. Asian man + non-Asian woman couples were/are
| comparatively extremely rare.
|
| That said, thanks to things like the tech industry (nerds are
| no longer automatically "ewww") and the popularization of
| K-Pop boy bands, I'd say the image of Asian men in the West
| is on the rise nowadays.
| AlbertCory wrote:
| Another place I'd like to go is Kyrgyzstan. And Turkmenistan.
|
| Why? Because no one goes there. What other reason do you need?
| pydry wrote:
| Kyrgyzstan is a good place to take in a game of kok buru, which
| I found endlessly entertaining - much more fun than football.
| AlbertCory wrote:
| > Six hours later, the minibus rolled into Barskoon
|
| shut up and take my money
| geoka9 wrote:
| > And Turkmenistan.
|
| Almost impossible to get a visa; probably easier to get a tour
| in North Korea.
| xenospn wrote:
| I've been to both and the Turkmenistan visa took me a week.
| North Korea required 2.5 years.
| paganel wrote:
| Kind of crass for The Telegraph to write this when there are
| Ukrainian men getting shot by Ukrainian border guards for daring
| to cross into Republic of Moldova, but that's on brand for this
| media entity. From here [1]:
|
| > A body with a gunshot wound was found near the border of
| Moldova with UkraineCivilians & politicians
|
| > Last weekend, while harvesting wheat near the Klokushna-
| Sokiryany checkpoint, local residents discovered the body of a
| man with gunshot wounds. The body was found 250 meters from the
| border. As it turned out later, the murdered man was a 32-year-
| old Ukrainian. Presumably, he was able to cross the border into
| Moldova, but he was noticed by Ukrainian border guards. They
| probably opened fire on him. The bullets hit him in the head and
| back.
|
| [1]
| https://old.reddit.com/r/UkraineRussiaReport/comments/1e6e0y...
| DiggyJohnson wrote:
| How is that most than slightly relevant?
| racional wrote:
| The Telegraph article predates the shooting incident at the
| border by 14 days.
|
| You are referencing "men" getting shot when the incident
| involves 1 person getting shot, and this is the only such
| incident that has been reported 2+ years into the full-scale
| invasion.
| sva_ wrote:
| Somewhat surprisingly (to me at least), they produce some pretty
| good red wine (i.e. Purcari). Recently found it while checking
| out an eastern European grocery store.
| colkassad wrote:
| I've always understood Moldovan wine to be quite respected. I
| love the wine from that general region...my favorite is Crimean
| wine, the semi-sweet variety.
| kjellsbells wrote:
| Central Asia still remains largely untouristed. I loved this
| article from the New York Times concerning a boy who taught
| himself Russian and then went to Kazakhstan with his father to
| immerse himself.
|
| The Foreign Language That Changed My Teenage Son's Life
| https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/17/magazine/russian-language...
| sandworm101 wrote:
| Moldova is sandwiched between NATO (Romania) the active war in
| Ukraine. Please avoid, and if you cannot then please prepare to
| take care of yourself should things heat up. Every time a
| conflict starts there are tourists demanding their home countries
| send helicopters to rescue them. At least remember to register
| your exact location and details with your embassy. And have a
| car. Be ready to drive yourself should the trains/power be cut.
| If you are adverse to driving, keep enough food/water/shoes on
| hand for a multi-day walk should that be necessary.
| victorbjorklund wrote:
| Russia hasnt taken a single large city since the start of the
| war. They are struggling to even keep the front intact (which
| is why Putin now begs for peace). They wont suddenly blast
| through all of Ukraine and invade a new country just over a
| night. But sure never hurts to be prepared.
| sandworm101 wrote:
| And if it is NATO blasting through Moldova into Ukraine?
| leapingdog wrote:
| I have never been but comedian Tony Hawks' 2001 book "Playing the
| Moldovans at Tennis" was my introduction to Moldova.
|
| "All I knew about Moldova were the eleven names of men printed on
| the inside back page of my news paper. None of them sounded to me
| like they were any good at tennis."
| userulluipeste wrote:
| _" Sergiu exuberantly offers up shot glasses of mulberry vodka,
| pine-needle vodka, strawberry vodka, "medicine" vodka, "78 per
| cent proof" vodka"_
|
| Although Moldova has vodka-drinking Slavs in it, the beverages
| described are not vodkas. Vodka is made of cereals or potatoes,
| whereas these are nicer-flavored, fruit-based distilled beverages
| that locals call "rakiu", in English it would be schnapps:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schnapps
| g1sm wrote:
| I'm guessing it's actually rachie from pine cones, not needles.
| Either way, now I'm curious to try it.
| thriftwy wrote:
| They will also not be considered vodka in Russia, rather
| 'nastoika'.
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