A view of the statue in the center of Piata Libertatii (Liberty Plaza).
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A Visit to Moldova - Photo Album December 1998 |
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We'll get acquainted with Moldova by strolling up the main street in the capital city of Chisinau, from the Piata Libertatii past the shops and state buildings to the main central park... Parcul Stefan cel Mare.
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A view of the statue in the center of Piata Libertatii (Liberty Plaza). |
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If you look up the side street from the Piata, you can see this nice church. |
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Your tour guides. Chris on the left, me on the right, looking up the boulevard. |
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Chris and I ducked into the Unic department store... we bought Russian-style hats, made out of rabbit fur. They were a steal at $8 (62 lei) each! It's also great fun to try and figure out what everything is by reading the signs. Romanian's pretty close to Latin, as well as other Romance languages. |
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Not quite midway along Stephan cel mare, looking across the street to the "Sala cu Orga", or Organ Hall. There's always art for sale in the small park... so we sauntered on over. |
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I check out the art for sale. The day were were there, there were lots of pastoral scenes, and lots of black-velvet science fiction planetscapes. Judith says this was where she bought an elegant breadboard with the country's coat of arms carved on the back for $2. |
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Looking up at the top of the theater. |
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Well, we just had to do it... we were getting to be some very hungry Americans. I can safely say, yes, it tastes the same... though it doesn't cost the same. A "Big Mac Menü", what we call a "Number 1 Value Meal"--Big Mac, fries, drink--costs 16 lei, or $2, compared to the $3.25 or so it costs in the U.S. Maybe it's cheap there because ketchup costs extra. |
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Mmmm... here, Chris, Shirley and Judith enjoy their tasty treats. |
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A bit more up the street is the main cathedral, undergoing renovation at the moment. It's kind of interesting that it has a more Mediterranean feel to it than a central or northern European look. |
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Across the street from the cathedral (so I've been told) was the Supreme Soviet. Now I believe it's called the Government House. In front is the Arc de Triomphe, built in the 1840's. |
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The State Opera House is just a short walk away. The day we were there, an awfully loud punk band was playing. |
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And right next to the Opera House is the Presidential Palace. |
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Well, we made it, so we strolled around the park. We saw this curious restaurant. |
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And just beyond the restarant, we found this neat statue of some bears! |
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