Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova

In the ’90s, my wife, Alice, and I three times hired a car and drove through the newly opened countries of Eastern Europe, but we had yet to visit the three countries that were former Soviet states: Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova. In May ’05 we made up for that omission.

If we were younger, we would have handled the trip totally independently, but we’re now in our mid-70s and the thought of arriving at airports and train stations and trying to sound out the Cyrillic alphabet (let alone understand the language) in places where few speak any English was daunting.

We turned to a company that advertises in ITN, MIR Corporation (85 South Washington St., Ste. 210, Seattle, WA 98104; phone 800/424-7289 or visit www.mircorp.com). They set up for us a brief 2-week visit to those three countries’ capital cities: MINSK, KIEV and
CHISINAU, respectively.

MIR arranged the air flights, train rides and hotels plus transfers between hotels and airports or train stations. What they did not arrange were meals, admissions and local transportation, so we were free in each city to explore on our own, select our restaurants and foods, choose which museums to visit, and ride the local trams and metros.

The cost of the package was $5,700 for the two of us. That covered flights from Philadelphia to Minsk via Frankfurt; transfer from the airport to Hotel Minsk and three nights at that hotel; transfer to the train station; overnight train (first class) to Kiev; transfer to the Camelot Hotel and three nights there; transfer back to the train station; day train to Chisinau; transfer to the National Hotel with three nights there; final transfer to the airport, and flights home via Vienna (where we, at our expense, laid over for four nights). Also included were the visa costs for the three countries. All hotel stays included breakfasts.

Admittedly, this gave us just a brief glance at each country. But we saw the major cities, and from the train windows we were able to see some of the countryside and the farms and villages.

We were pleasantly surprised by our visits. Based on a visit to Albania in 2002 and to Romania in 1996, we had expected things to be less “up to date” than they were.

All three cities have very wide streets and sidewalks, with the streets lined with trees. All were clean and tidy, although Minsk was the cleanest and the most orderly of the cities. There, people waited in lines, with no one crossing streets against red lights. Minsk also had the most beautiful young women, stylish and tall; we thought of Estonia or Scandinavia. Of the people in the three cities, we found the Belarusians to be the least open and the most private.

Kiev was the most cosmopolitan city. Its main street, Kreschchatyk, was like any other main street in Europe — bustling and full of energy. Kiev offers visitors the most to see, including Orthodox churches and monasteries. It also had the most helpful people; whether we stopped on a street corner to look at our map or hesitated at a lunch counter, someone was at our elbow offering help. English is widely spoken in the city.

Chisinau is the poorest city, with sidewalk paving broken here and there and with women from the country selling their bits of produce on street corners. But because it was the most relaxed, it had a certain charm and was the nicest city to stroll through.

All three cities, with trees lining all the streets and the numerous parks, were much greener than we had expected.

MIR put us in nice hotels. Hotel Minsk, the top hotel in the city, sits right on the main shopping street, Skaryny. From the hotel, you can walk to most of the central area, although we did learn to also use the buses up and down Skaryny. The hotel offered a Finnish sauna, a Turkish steam room and a Jacuzzi free to guests. The breakfasts were buffet.

Kiev was hosting the European Song Contest, and all the hotels in the central area were filled. MIR placed us just one metro stop from the center in a small private club, the Camelot, complete with indoor swimming pool and wonderful breakfasts served in our room. It was just a half block from the metro station,

In Chisinau we were placed at the National Hotel in a suite high up on the 11th floor. Newly refurbished, it had separate sitting and sleeping rooms. Breakfasts were buffet.

The costs we incurred were small. Public transportation was about 10¢ a ride. Admission prices to museums were low. A bottle of vodka cost $2.50. Bottles of beer at sidewalk cafés ranged from 40¢ to $1. For the two of us, dinners ranged from a low of $6 at a small cafeteria in Kiev to $20-$30 at better restaurants.

An example of the latter was the dinner at Kozachok in Kiev for $30 plus tip. For starters, we had one vodka, a plate of pickled apples and another of fried chicken livers. One of us then had half a chicken with cranberries plus a garniture of buckwheat; the other had an earthenware pot of veal and French beans along with scalloped potatoes. Also two beers, one large, one medium. No dessert; we’re getting older!

There were few “must sees” on this trip. An exception might be the Caves Monastery in Kiev. So our days were spent strolling and exploring, snooping through supermarkets and open-air markets, finding good places to eat (those featuring national cuisine), sitting at many sidewalk cafés (beers in Belarus and Ukraine, wine in Moldova) and sometimes just resting.

We felt perfectly safe on the entire trip.

We made one unusual side trip. In Moldova we took a minibus from Chisinau to Bendery, a town just inside the region of Moldova known as the “republic” of Transdniestria. The bus cost very little to get there, but it took a long time because we had to cross a guarded border to enter.

This border is guarded by a combination of U.N., Russian and Moldovan army units (resulting from a civil war that ended about a decade ago). Transdniestria is self-proclaimed as autonomous and has its own currency and stamps, but it isn’t recognized by the international community.

We found ourselves in a place where no one spoke any English. We were hauled off the bus twice, once going and once returning. On the return trip, no one could understand how we were entering Moldova when the slips in our passports said we were registered at a Moldovan hotel the night before. It took 10 minutes of hand motions before we were finally understood. And then it was all smiles.

This was a good trip for those who have been to the “rest of Europe.” It’s also a trip on which to avoid your fellow countrymen, for we didn’t encounter one other tourist from the USA.

BILL STELTZER
West Grove, PA