TIRASPOL, TRANSNISTRIA...have you heard about this “country”?

For our one free day in Moldova, we decided to do some exploring on our own. We rented a car from Alex, who owns a local car rental company called irent.md

So we jumped into our very comfortable Toyota Hybrid to drive a little over an hour to reach the city of Tiraspol.

This city is located in the “Republic of Transnistria,” which is an unrecognized state between the river Dniester and the Ukrainian border, officially recognized as part of Moldova.

Moldova recognizes Transnistria as an ‘autonomous territorial unit,’ meaning that they have their own government, parliament, military, police, postal system, currency, and even vehicle registration!

To enter Transnistria, we had to pass through a military checkpoint with a special permit to enter.

Ever since the start of the Covid pandemic, no tourists have been allowed to enter, but we were luckily contacted by the owner of one of the most popular restaurants in Tiraspol, Igor, who was able to arrange a special pass for us to enter with our rental car!

The border guard checked our passports and car documents, but it was all straightforward, and they were very friendly.

When we arrived, we could tell straight away that there is something different about Tiraspol from the rest of Moldova. The city still retains much more of its Soviet atmosphere and architecture in a very well-preserved way. Images and statues of communist-era icons are displayed much more prominently than in neighboring Chisinau.

After exploring for a little while, we met up with Igor in a modern cafe near a park, who told us more about the city and about his own traveling life.

Later we met up with him and his son, Ivan, for a drive around the city in his original 1960s Volga car, which was a luxury soviet car brand at the time!

They took us for lunch, and a traditional Soviet-style restaurant, where everything is exactly like it would have been back in the 1970s USSR!

After lunch, Ivan helped us go to the bank to exchange some of the local Transnistrian currency, which is made of plastic and looks like pieces from a board game!

We had a great time with them, and our experience of Tiraspol would not have been the same without them!

On the way back, we visited the city of Bender to see the Benderi fortress, which dates back at least as far as 1408 and is one of the most important historical monuments in Moldova.

It was getting very cold, so we decided to head back to Chisinau, but we accidentally drove back to the wrong border control. We hadn’t realized that whatever checkpoint you enter through is the one that you have to return by!

We definitely want to come back here and see more of the region!

Follow Igor's travel journey at Путешествия с Милыми!