Launch of ESU Moldova

Moldova is a landlocked country bordered by Ukraine and Romania. Politically, it is an independant republic, with a population of about 4.5 million. The Ukraine was regarded as the breadbasket of the USSR, but Moldova, with a similar agricultural economy, made its contribution.
It is known for its wines which are already a major export although they are looking for new markets.

The Republic is about 350 km long and about 150 km at its widest part. This is roughly the size of Nova Scotia (without Cape Breton Island) or somewhat shorter and wider than Lake Michigan. The eastern border with Romania is the Prut River, which joins the Danube at the southern tip of the country.
The language is Moldovan, which is, basically, Romanian. It is a `romance` language and has similarities to French, Spanish and Italian - for example, the police are `carabineri` and street is `strada`. As a result of USSR programs, many speak Russian, and Cyrillic script is very much in evidence.

The capital is Chisinau, a bustling city of about 800,000 situated in the geographic centre of the country. In older maps it has its Russian name, Kishinev, and the airport code is still `KIV`.
The weather during our stay was warm and sunny. Daytime temperatures were in the 28 to 30 range (around 80 F). There were two rain storms, short lived but quite violent, which caught out a few members of the group.

Tuesday, May 29th. After an overnight flight and a change of planes at Heathrow, we arrived in Vienna just after lunch time. After checking in to the Mercure - Grand Hotel Biedermeier, a snooze was the first priority, then a short stroll but no serious sightseeing, followed by dinner at the Weissgerberstube (White Hart Inn) attached to the hotel. The hotel is an old building with a modern interior. Comfortable and pleasant.

Wednesday, May 30th. After a two hour flight from Vienna in a turbo-prop `puddle-jumper` we checked in to the `Jolly Alon` hotel in the early afternoon.
The hotel is rated **** and the lobby certainly looks like it. The rooms were comfortable, well equipped and clean but not luxurious. Our room had a balcony overlooking The Old Park.

The park was the place to be on a hot day. Old growth trees provided shady pathways and the fountain was an irresistable drawing card for children and a gathering place for young people.

At the far corner of the park is the statue of Stefan the Great and Saint. He ruled from 1457 to 1504 and in that time fought 36 battles against invading armies from Poland, Hungary and the Ottoman Empire (and is said to have lost only two). After each successful battle he built a monastery.

Stephan casts his shadow over the street which bears his name bul. Stefan del Mare si Sint. Beyond the main square is the downtown shopping area.
The currency is the lei at about 16 to the Euro or 11 to the Canadian dollar. There are many competitive money changers among the shops and 40 Euros netted about 648 lei. The first money spent was on having photos transferred from my camera to a CD. This amounted to 15 lei, about a fifth of the price in New Zealand or Chile.

The imposing Catedrala Nasterea Domnului (Birth of Christ Cathedral) is just off the main square. There is a resurgence of religion as is common in Eastern Europe and the churches were clearly well maintained.
Later we met two others of the party (Sofia and Sabine), who we knew from Chile. They joined us for dinner in the hotel dining room. Four waiters brought out our four main dishes and served them with a flourish. The guide book says that many prices are in $US or Euros. Dinner for two, with wine came to 330, but 330 what? Euros would be beyond belief. $US would be outrageous. Lei would mean an inexpensive meal. The price was in Lei.

Thursday, May 31st. After tackling the well-stocked breakfast buffet - juice, fruit, cereals, cold cuts, cheeses, smoked salmon, and a chafing dish with scrambled eggs, blinis and vegetables - we took things easy until lunch time. The parliament building - imposing, Soviet style architecture - is next to the hotel.
The launch program started with a reception in the Jolly Alon where we met the Steering Committee, headed by Elizaveta Onofreiciuc, and the other delegates.

Friday, June 1st. The first official function of the launch was a visit to the State University of Moldova where Lord Watson spoke on The Rise and Rise of English. His speech traced the predominance of English today from the first settlement in Jamestown in 1607 and is based on his book Jamestown - The Voyage of English.

The Rector, Gheorghe Rusnac, then explained, through an interpreter, that the award of an honorary degree to Lord Watson depended on the approval of his speech by the audience. Needless to say . . .

A panel discussion on Moldova`s approach to English followed Lord Watson`s award of `Honoris Causa` and a short break for coffee and refreshments. The panellists were Prof. Cornelia Cincilei, Marina Telpiz, a senior official of the Ministry of Education and Youth, and Melnie Doina, a John Smith Memorial Trust Fellow.

After the Panel we crossed the street to a `government cafeteria` for lunch, passing the water tower which now houses the City History Museum. The `government cafeteria` was a pleasant restaurant which served a 3-course lunch.
After lunch we were taken on a tour of the city.

City transport is mainly by bus and trolley-bus. Many of the busses are these 14-seaters which seem to be very effective in traffic. They have regular routes with a destination board in the front window. This one is Route 124. In rush hour thay are packed and may have one or two uncomfortable looking standees.

The unfortunate driver of this trolley-bus stalled it half way through a left turn at a busy intersection. Cars had no hesitation in making their turns with two wheels on the sidewalk or driving right across the sidewalk. Even so, traffic quickly backed-up for a couple of blocks.
It was so pleasant to walk in the shade of the old growth trees which seemed to line every street.

Dinner on Friday was at a `typical Moldovan restaurant` where we were entertained by a trio and celebrated Mariana`s Birthday.
The `wine cellar` was a refrigerated room which was a very pleasant place to visit on a hot day. A good Moldovan wine of the `Cabernet Sauvignon` type complemented our dinner.

Saturday, June 2nd. Culture Day. Our bus took us about 60 km northwest of Chisinau to the monastery at Hirjauca. The church is beautifully restored and work is in progress on the other buildings. We were offered bread and honey, and wine, all produced by the monks. At this time there are just 7 monks. This is a result of the the clampdown on religion under the Soviet regime.

From the monastery we went to the `Parent`s House`. Our guide, Tatiana Popa, explained that her family had been displaced by the Soviets and her father sent to Siberia for 10 years. This happened to many families who were prominent in some way - wealthier, better educated, civic leaders, etc. They had eventually returned to their village and, after her parent`s death, she had turned the house into a museum/shrine in their remembrance.
The pictures are: a sampler (in Cyrillic), pottery items, a mural behind a flower bed, and a bread wreath.

Lunch was served on the veranda of the house. The main course was stuffed grape leaves. The stuffings were basically rice, varied in content and seasonings, and proved very popular.
Jugs of locally produced red and white wine were very tempting on a hot day, so it is just as well that bottles of water were available.

After lunch we were treated to a display of folk dancing by local children while eating a fruit dessert and drinking dandelion (or other) tea. The first dance was `on horseback`.
The lady in the blue skirt was our guide, Tatiana Popa, who joined in the a capella singing which accompanied the dances.

The final dance involved several members of our group.
For many of us, this was one of the highlights of the week. The combination of the setting, the children, the costumes and the singing made it memorable.

In the evening we visited the Milestii Mici vineyard. For this trip we changed from the motor coach to three mini-busses. We found out why when we arrived - they plunged straight into the galleries dug into the cliff.
The certificate on the wall is from the Guiness World Records and the citation reads `The cellars of the Milestii Mici wine-making plant in Moldova contain over 1.5 million bottles of wine. The bottles are stored in 55 km (34 miles) of underground galleries excavated in lime mining operations. The first bottle was stored in 1968, and new vintages are added each ` (It should be `limestone` mining.) The scoring on the ceiling in the lower right picture shows the standard size of the blocks mined.

The banquet hall at Milestii Mici is part of the cave system and may be 30 m or more below ground. Each two places had 3 plates in front of them: salad, cold cuts, vegetables. This raised the question of whether this was the meal or just the first course. Seven wines were offered for tasting with the promise that whichever one you selected would be served to you for the remainder of the meal. We concluded from this, correctly as it turned out, that the main course was yet to come. The wines covered a range from a fruity Reisling type to a heavy, sweet dessert wine, with a couple of very drinkable reds in between.

We left Milestii Mici a little after sundown. There was just enough light to appreciate the two `wine` fountains. The `red` one is very similar.

Sunday, June 3rd. Culture Day. Our destination was the medieval town of Orhei with its museum, typical peasant house and a very unusual monastery. As we approached we stopped on a ridge overlooking a fertile valley and an escarpment. The village is hidden on the reverse slope of the escarpment. We thought that our destination was the church on top of the ridge but we found out that the monastery is in the caves below the track at the right of the picture.

This map was on the wall of the museum. Looking at the inset on the right, the previous picture was taken near the `Pensiune` (just below the T of Trebujeni) looking towards the `Monastir`. The house in the next picture is in the village of Butuceni. The area is a designated as a United Nations historic site.

`Traditional peasant house, 19th - 20th centuries. Complex of vernacular architecture typical for the area of Orheiul Vecchi. The household is composed of a house for living, basca, cellar, loznita, mill, etc.
The house represens the centre of the household being provided with a porch and stone pillars; vestibule; bedroom with kitchen range, fireplaceguest`s room.
The living complex is arranged with diverse elements typical for the life of the peasant.
The other complexes have an auxiliary function: basca - summer dwelling; cellar - a place for the storage of wine and other food products; loznita - furnace to prepare dried fruits and the mill - to obtain flour and cereals`

For lunch we went to Trebujeni. The lady in charge of the guest house was, that day, running for the office of Mayor.

Sunday evening dinner was at the Cojusna vineyard. The building looked like a medieval castle and our guide led us below ground into a subterranean world of grottos and stacks and stacks of bottles of maturing wine.

We were entertained at dinner with Moldovan folk songs by three ladies in traditional costume (the fourth member of the group remained seated to the right). The lady in the blue and white blouse is Tatiana Popa (of the Parents House).
Martha`s chair is made of three pieces of wood - a solid backboard, a seat and a solid board (instead of front legs) - assembled without nails. A different face was carved on each of the 50 similar chairs in the room.
As at Milestii Mici, in front of each pair of place settings were three plates, salad, cold meats and, in this case, cheese and walnuts. The main dish of meat and vegetables was served in ceramic pots with a crust to seal in the aroma.

Monday, June 4th. Official Launch. We returned to the State University for the official launch ceremony. Speeches by Lord Watson, H.E. Mr John Beyer, the British Ambassador, Marina Telpiz, Ministry of Education and Youth (2nd from the right), and Valerie Mitchell preceded the presentation of the ESU flag. Elizaveta Onofreiciuc, until then Chairman of the Steering Committee and now Chairman of ESU Moldova, (2nd from the left) made a moving and beautifully articulated response.

Representatives of each of the groups present then made short speeches of welcome, and presentations to ESU Moldova.

As the final event we were welcomed by the Ambassador to a garden party at the Residence. On a warm and sultry evening the men were glad of the Ambassador`s insistence on `shirt sleeve order`.

Our hostess, Mrs. Beyer (centre) listening to Lord Watson responding to Mr. Beyer`s welcome. Gillian Parker (right) was one of the two staffers from Dartmouth House charged with making sure everyone was in the right place at the right time. Not an easy task.

The garden party was a chance to chat with some of the Moldovans we had met at the several functions over the previous five days. The included the steering committee, people from the University and from the Ministry ….

…. and, of course, to the other delegates, before we went our separate ways with memories of a full and pleasant week, new friends and a sense of the determination of Moldova to take its place in European economic activity.

A final note on architecture. Many buildings are sheathed in stucco or cement and painted, usually pastel, often a cream or slightly more yellow.

The standard construction approach seemed to be reinforced concrete pillars and beams with concrete blocks used to fill in. A closer look and the visit to the limestone caves at Milestii Mici brought the realization that the `concrete` blocks were, in fact, limestone, mined to a standard size

On the way home we stopped over in Vienna for 3 nights. Lunch at the Hotel Sacher just had to end with Sachertorte.