Entries about vinyard

After last night's debauchery, I am in a deep sleep when the alarm goes off this morning. Unfortunately not mine. Debauchery, that is; The alarm is sadly very much mine.

I notice a huge bruise has appeared on my wrist from yesterday’s encounter with the stocks at Bendery Fortress. That’ll teach me. Not.

As we exit the lift at the ground floor on our way to the breakfast room, there is a burly security guard between the lift and the exit – maybe to stop guests leaving without paying?

We take breakfast in another retro-style dining room, and it appears that we are the first - and only - guests to surface this morning. I am not surprised.

When Valeriu arrives to pick us up, we tell him about the girls last night. “Oh they are hookers” he shrugs.

Back into Moldova

From Tiraspol it is only about half an hour drive back to the border with Moldova, but we have to make sure we leave the country before 10:04:14! It’s been a memorable visit for sure, but I have to concede that Transdniestr is one of those places you visit in order to be able to say "you’ve been", rather than as a result of any attractions it may or may nor have. Unless you are after stunningly beautiful hookers, of course, then Transdniestr should be right at the top of your travel wish list.

The border formalities in this direction are smooth and easy. In no-mans-land Leonid awaits us and we say goodbye to our Transdniestrian driver Ivan. Soon we find ourselves back in Moldova, singing the old Beatles song “Back in the USSR” at the top of our voices.

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Church of Assumption of Mother of God, Căuşeni

The church is officially closed for restoration, but the curator kindly opens it especially for us and gives us a guided tour.

The sign says: CLOSED FOR RESTORATION

The church, which dates from 1763, is set three feet below ground level as the Tatars only allowed the construction of churches on the proviso that the roof was no taller than the height of a man on horseback with his sword pointing up into the air.

In 2002 the roof tiles of the church were all changed with the help of US funds in order to protect the frescoes inside the church from moisture damage. The curator explains how the tiles were made – the curved shape was obtained by forming the clay around the potter’s thigh, and on most of the tiles you can still see their fingerprint.

Just like we’ve sponsored a plank at the zoo in return for a plaque; in those days the donors who gave money towards the construction of the church had their portraits pained on the walls.

The first church on the site was made from wood; later stonework was added. In 1977 an earthquake caused a crack in the walls.

The entire interior of this small, but impressive church – the oldest in Moldova - is covered in frescoes. These are the only preserved Medieval frescoes in Moldova.

Excellent acoustics are aided by empty clay jars, and the early morning light that enters through the windows is said to create a symbolic cross.

Three doors separate the nave with the altar area, but only men are permitted to enter this area.

And now for something completely different...

Et Cetera Winery

Our last stop in Moldova is the small family owned winery of Et Cetera, where we are greeted by Igor, one of the owners, who gives us a guided tour.

Frustrated by the lack of high quality wines in Moldova, Igor and his brother Alexander bought the land in 2002 and subsequently planted 50 hectares of vines that they imported from Italy and Georgia. Today they employ 20 people in the production of an excess of 10,000 bottles of superior wines annually.

The grapes will be ready to harvest next month (October) - they are all picked by hand. The grapes are collected in small boxes; then carefully sorted, with each berry checked to ensure that only the best are fermented.

Next the grapes are placed on the vibrating table where the berries are separated from the stems and other unwanted bits.

They then travel up this conveyor belt…

… to the steamer where the skins are removed…

… and into the presser. Only the white grapes have the skin removed before juicing; for red wine the skin is retained.

We are given a glass each and head into the factory which is full of huge storage tanks for maturation of the wine.

Degustation takes the form of opening a tap on the side of the storage tank!

Today the bottling and labelling plants are devoid of any action.

The wine is really excellent and we buy three bottles to take home.

Back at the Winemaker’s Cottage, the sound of a piano fills the air and we discover Valeriu singing self-composed love songs. This trip seems to be full of surreal moments such as this!

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Lunch at the winery
Lunch is in the bright and airy conservatory, and starts with the unfortunately named ‘Bride’s Placinta’, a cheese and potato pie cooked by Alex and Igor's mother.

A chicken and vegetable soup follows.

I ask Valeriu what the main course consists of. “That’s rabbit casserole,” he tells me, “But…” he continues, pointing to the side dish, “That does not have an English name”. “Kasha?” I ask rhetorically (and to Valeriu’s surprise; he obviously isn’t aware of my great love – and knowledge – of food), “that is called buckwheat porridge in English.”

Romania

After a big lunch with lots of wine, sleep is unavoidable on the four-hour drive to the border between Moldova and Romania; in fact only Leonid, the driver, (thankfully) manages to stay awake.

Exiting Moldova is smooth and easy, whereas entering Romania – and thus the EU – is painfully slow. First of all they want our passport and the car documents, then they check the luggage. Eventually, after queuing for nearly an hour, we are in; and meet up with our new (Romanian) driver-guide Andrei. It is very sad to say goodbye to Valeriu and Leonid, they’ve been such good company for the last five days in Moldova.

But now it’s time to explore new horizons with new people. Andrei is very different to Valeriu – where the Moldavian guide was our age and rather traditional (old fashioned even); his Romanian counterpart is a much younger 'free spirit' and a bit of an anarchist.

Again we doze in the car most of the way from the border, it soon gets dark, therefore making it hard to see anything along the way.

Dinner at Hanu Ancuţei Restaurant

Once we reach Târgu Neamț, we stop for dinner in a rustic and cosy restaurant, as we still have a number of miles to go today.

Although the menu has a convenient English section, the choice is so great that we ask Andrei to pick something typically local for us. He orders a selection of three dips to start – zacusca (aubergine preserved in oil and spices - absolutely delicious! ), white bean pure with fried onion, and mashed beans with smoked meat.

We follow that with a soup of veal with beetroot and soured cream, and for afters we share a plate of little pastries.

Casa Felicia

After dinner, which was accompanied by an excellent botle of wine, we again struggle to stay awake on the way to Sucevita and our accommodation for the next two nights: the delightfully rustic Casa Felicia. By the time we arrive it is nearly midnight, so we merely collapse into bed after a long day with many miles - and three countries - covered.

Thank you to Undiscovered Destinations for arranging this trip to one of the least touristy parts of Europe.