Time travel. Not per Tardis, but with an Ural
Everyone who's a fan of Dr. Who is you know you make the best time travel with the Tardis. But you can also make your own time travel with conventional transport.
At the fringes of Europe, time seems viscous to still. We can go there. But almost nobody does that, because the price fighters are not flying and because an all-in in Turkey is simply safer. Although we do not know how long that will last.
Moldavia
The Republic of Moldova (Romanian: Republica Moldova) belonged to 1991 to the Soviet Union. It is now a republic in Eastern Europe, largely located between the rivers Proet and Dnestr. The country is bordered on the west and south by Romania and on the north and east by Ukraine. The capital is Chisinau. The country is one of the poorest countries in Europe. They speak Russian and Romanian. And Romanian looks a little bit like French.
Tourism in Moldova
Ha! There is actually no such thing. Moldova is virtually virgin tourist. The land is flat, somewhat hilly in the north, almost entirely agricultural and, well, left behind. The Moldavians have not had it really rich for centuries. But in their most recent good time, they depended on Putin & Co. Because all of their agricultural products, the country's main export tool, went into Putin's direction. When the Moldovans looked a bit in love at Europe, Putin immediately stopped buying their things.
The country has 7 major cities. Chisinau, the capital, is the largest and has fewer than 700.000 residents. Soroca is the smallest big city and has about 37.500 residents.
In Moldova, horse and wagons and unpaved roads are not a thing of the past. You actually experience the entire country as a past. And the chance to experience that is now there.
Moldova by sidecar
But the real Middle Ages are of course already over in Moldova. Mihai ('Mike') Cecan was born in Chisinau, is web designer and guide for…. Yes: Tourists.
He loves old motorcycles and Vespas, the local cuisine, wine and landscapes. And he is the proud owner and all the staff at Ural Tours. Mihai's earnings model was based on a day of driving around the capital with someone behind and someone "in the cup."
The interest is growing
But through his customers and the internet he discovered that quite a few people see Moldova as a kind of largely unspoiled open air museum. And that there are classics. Well: many abandoned vehicles from the past history of the country.
Organized trips
That is why Mihai ('Mike') is now organizing trips through Moldova. He already has a fleet of four Urals. That trip story has not yet fully crystallized, but you can sign up for a guided visit to the poorest member state of Europe. And you can tell that later that you were 'one of the pioneers'.
Because what you will now see in classics and their remains will be gone in ten years. You can reach Mihai via his facebook page 'Ural Tours'. And if his site is online - is being worked on - it will be www.ural.tours and probably something else ...
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