Moldova

We're back in Europe for our 135th country. Moldova (not to be confused with the Maldives), is one of those tiny countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union.  All 13,068 square miles of this country is tucked away between Romania and Ukraine. 

When I start out a country we do flags first (starting and ending with the current country), and then I run through the stats. The boys know enough to know the 'County Since' for some countries is going to be the same. For example, 17 African countries became independent in 1960 (It's called 'the year of independence). And, the 16 former Soviet Union countries became countries in 1991, including Moldova. 

Moldova is Christian majority country, with 93% of the population identifying as Christian. The area has deep tied to religion as seen in our landmark, Orheiul Vechi, a cave monastary carved into the limestone cliffs by monks way back in the 13th century. 

The caves were inhabited until the 1700's. Restoration started on them in 1996, and today they are a popular tourist destination about a half hour from the capital of Chisinau. Just up the road from the caves is a tourist center and a museum, along with six other complexes of interlocking caves. (They, sadly, are not to be explored without an official guide though). There's also a Turkish bath house. 

Moldova might be a small country, forgotten by most travelers. But, it has one fun distinction of being the only country in the world named after a dog. There's a legend that says the first ruler of the territory of Moldova, Prince Dragos, had a dog named Molda. Molda died on a hunting trip, when she drowned in the river. In honor of Molda, the river was named after her- and then the country followed suit. 

What Moldova is really known for isn't the dog, or the cave monistary, it's their wine. In Moldova tours of vineyards and wineries are popular. In fact, the world's largest wine cellar is located in Milesti Mici in Moldova. It's 124 miles of wine barrels and bottles. They say there's almost 2 million bottles in the wine cellar. Youtube even has a tour of the place! 

Red wines are the most popular in Moldova. Most villagers grow their own grapes and press their own wine. They say rural households press thousands of liters a year. 

Moldova's fertile soil and their climate is a great place for growing grapes, but it supports a wide range of crops. The orchards throughout the country also produce significant amounts of plums, apricots, cherries and peaches. There is also a long tradition of growing lavender in Moldova, as there are purple fields strewn along the countryside. 

The boys made their Moldova postcards. 

Calib's featured lavender fields, wine, and the 'Thanksgiving Monument', which is Moldova's monuments of all monuments. Instead of honoring people, it is in memory of all the destroyed monuments throughout the country. 

Peyton's featured a little stick guy stepping on grapes. 

And Hayden included Molda the dog in his. (I like how he thinks a wine cellar is just called 'Wine Shop') 

For Moldova Dinner we had Chicken Kotleti, Cartofi Taranesti (Peasant Potatoes)  , Russian Cabbage Salad, Baked Apples with a twist, grapes and peaches 

This dinner earned five spoons up. 

In a rare dinner feat, everyone cleared their plates. The only hit or miss item was the salad, but those of us who didn't love it, ate it anyway. 

There was lots of fruit, because Moldova has some great soil for agriculture. You could also throw in a glass of red wine if you were feeling fancy (we should have gotten that bottle last time we were at Trader Joes, dang it). 

Full disclosure, the apple recipe did not call for slicing them, but we've tried whole apples before and the boys seem to struggle with them. 

Moldva got a light blue color, squeezed between the light brown Ukraine, and the purple Romania. 

That's 135 down, 61 to go

Next Up: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines