transnistria: bender and tiraspol again

I admit that part of the reason I did this trip was because I wanted to retake some of the photos I'd taken during my first trip, but lost when I lost my camera. I found a set of flights that wasn't too expensive, and the timing of the flights worked out really well for a weekend trip. My first trip had been three days, but this time I smushed everything into two days.

Since I'd already done it, getting to Transnistria was easy and convenient. I took the first bus from the airport in Chisinau to the central bus station, so I was able to catch an earlier marshrutka to Bendery. 

The last time I did this trip, I'd spent a day in Tiraspol, a day in Bendery, then the last day in Tiraspol.

After going through border control, I got off the marshrutka at the bus station in Bender. The outside of the station still has the letters CCCP on the front, though who knows how long they've been there.

I didn't intend to buy any tickets, but I went inside the building anywho, as I wanted to see how the inside was decorated. I also went inside because I hadn't done so during my first visit a few months earlier.

The inside was perfectly arranged, complete with a large wall decoration on one side. There were plenty of benches on which to wait, I wonder how often they're used?

I walked out the other side of the bus station, toward the city center. I'd seen one of the streets in my earlier visit, but not the market area. As I walked through the market area I wanted to take photos of the people as they sat next to or behind the goods they were selling, but I've never felt entirely comfortable taking people photos from up close. 

Most of the goods being sold were second hand or older, and heaps of them were stereotypically Soviet.

It didn't take me long to spot an exchange booth, which was sorely needed at that point. I needed water and food, but couldn't buy any until I had the cash to do so. Since I already had a general idea of how much money I'd be spending during the weekend, I felt a lot more comfortable with how much money I exchanged.

As soon as I got cash, I walked straight to a supermarket and got drinks and snacks. 

Drinks and snacks make half the yuckiness from travel go away almost immediately.

Condensing all my visiting into two days instead of three days was much easier because I already had a pretty good idea of how Bendery was set up. I knew how to get to Lenin street, which went straight across the city. I walked the street, it didn't take long to get to the statue of the man.

I was surprised to see that Lenin was covered in even more yellow dust than during my visit a few months ago. 

For a man who was a hero of the Soviet Union, in a country that still essentially reveres the Soviet Union, I was surprised he wasn't given a regular cleaning, especially since the area around the statue had been landscaped during that same time.

Walking to the end of the street didn't take long, and I made sure to stay in the shade of the trees. Despite this being the end of August, it was still plenty hot and humid, and I was sweating all over the place.

The train station was just as empty as the last time I saw it, and I still loved it. I'm always going to be a sucker for bigger staircases and columns and big entry halls. This time I decided to step outside the backside of the train station, out to the tracks/platforms. It looked (to me) quite similar to what I remembered of the backside of the train station in Tiraspol.

On the way back through the train station I looked into a waiting room, and the area where you buy tickets, both of which were totally empty. Does anyone work here? How often does a train come through?

I turned around and walked right back toward the city center, heading as straight as I could to the stela that designates Bender as a city of military glory. This monument sits in the middle of a traffic circle, there is another war memorial on one side of the traffic circle, with a tank.

The war memorials were quite close to the bender city sign, it was convenient to take the city sign photo on my way to my next sight. This spot in the city was the one place I felt a military presence of sorts, as there is a large army-like tent maybe 15 meters away. I have no idea what it is, or who is there, but I do admit to being slightly worried.

From there I started what I knew would be the longest and hottest part of my day, the mostly unshaded walk to the military cemetery in the northern part of the city. I walked quickly, hoping to cut down on time spent in the direct sun.

The cemetery was just as solemn as I remembered, and just as empty of people. I assume there are visitors from time to time, but I don't know when they come.

Just as during my last visit, I went to the supermarket across the street just after leaving the cemetery. 

I knew exactly where to stand to take advantage of the air conditioning, which felt wonderful. I bought the same things as the last time: ice cream and drinks.

I walked through the victory arch again, marveling that something so grand was in a country that clearly as economic problems. It was definitely in better shape than the Lenin statue, no doubt it is much newer.

One of the reviews on google maps says the victory arch was built in 2008 to honour the 600^th anniversary of the first historical mention of Bender. That's certainly an anniversary I've never before seen celebrated!

I walked back toward my last sight of the day in Bendery, the old/new fortress. As I entered the gates of the general area I noticed a whole bunch of soldiers marching, so I took photos. I assumed they were going back to the army base I know is close to the fortress, but who knows. The march was rather casual, but with the fortress in the background it was a neat photo to take.

The fortress was just as disappointing as the last time I visited, I went through much more quickly. I knew which photos I wanted to take, and there weren't other people to get in my photo frame. The better part of this visit was that the church was open, and I enjoyed taking a peek inside.

The outside of Alexander Nevsky church is what I call puke yellow, which is a fairly boring colour for a church. The inside was much more interesting, there were frescoes everywhere and a bright gold iconostasis up front. 

Just like everywhere else I'd been in town, there was no one around.

At that point I knew I'd seen everything I had on my list for this visit to Bendery, so I made my way back to the city center to catch a bus. There are other random places around town that might be interesting to visit on a future visit, but I don't know if I'll come back to Bender.

Since I knew where I was, and where I wanted to go, I hopped off the bus to Tiraspol in the middle of the city, instead of waiting to get to the end of the line. It was easy to find the accomodation I'd booked, and easy to check in.

I ended up relaxing/cooling down/charging electronics for far too long, but I felt like I had an excuse. My feet were tired from the walking I'd already done, on top of really feeling the heat. I went out in the early evening, hoping to see a few things before sunset.

I headed toward Park Pobeda, and was just as unimpressed as the last time I saw the park. There was no one around, and not much to see. I hope this gets better at some point during the year, maybe when it isn't so hot?

I passed the theater on my way back to the train station, it was just as pretty as I'd thought the first time I saw it. I wonder what the inside looks like, and whether its worth trying to see a performance if I ever come back to Tiraspol.

By the time I got back to the train station I wasn't able to go out to the tracks, as the door was locked. I suppose that means there were no trains coming through after 1800 or so?

I walked back to the 25^th of October street, then followed the street to the heart shaped city sign at one intersection. It's a cute sign, and the first time all day I saw other people around. (Other than on the bus I'd ridden from Bendery to Tiraspol.)

Across the street in a big platz in front of a movie theatre was a fountain with flowing water, loud music, and heaps of people. I noticed a sign that said the birthday of the city (or was it the country,) was the following Monday, so everyone (including the government,) was starting the celebration a couple days early.

It was neat to finally see people, so I found a place to sit and just watch everyone for a while. Some were dancing to the music, but most were just hanging out with family or friends.

As it was early evening, the sun was starting to go down, and temperatures were starting to cool down. I imagine that was part of the reason people were out, as I had finally stopped pouring sweat.

After watching people for a while I went to get dinner, then back to my hostel. Even though I'd already taken a short nap in the afternoon, I crashed early, and it felt fabulous.

The next morning I got up early (since my body was an hour ahead on Moscow time, getting up early was easier,) and ready to go for the day. 

It was easy to get myself sorted, and ask the owner to leave my pack during the day.

My first sight of the day was the train station, since I hadn't been able to take the photo I'd wanted the day before. The doors to the tracks were unlocked, so the photo was easily and quickly done. From there I walked back to the main street, heading toward the building that I think is the supreme court of Transnistria. (At least, that's the translation of the name on the building.) It isn't big, but it does look nice.

From there it was an easy walk to Suvorov Park, back to the monument of a guy on a horse. The landscaping had changed slightly from my last visit, but the statue was just the same, of course. I looked at the area that has all the flags of the districts/states in Transnistria, but the wind wasn't blowing, so there wasn't much to see.

Further up the street I was back at the huge government building with the tall Lenin statue in front. Good times, and I felt as if I was back in a ghost town. There was no one around, either near Lenin nor on the sidewalks. Weird.

I went back to the local history museum across the street, and actually enjoyed it as much during this visit as I had during my first visit. There is something about old photos that always catches my eye, particularly when the photos are of people and groups. Everytime I see old photos I wonder what those photographers would think of group photos today, and I wonder how photos will look decades from now.

The only disappointment about the museum visit was that I wasn't able to get close to the Lenin statue out back this time around. The gate to get there was closed, and I don't think it is opened very often, darnit. 

After leaving the museum I started walking, knowing that I had just one sight left on my list, and knowing that the walk there wasn't going to be short. I'd found this sight on a travel app, but there was no address, so it took a bit of searching the city map to sort out the actual location.

Over an hour later I found what I was looking for, a memorial with a jet. I think it was dedicated to pilots who fought, something along those lines. There are a few benches around the memorial, and several of them actually had people on them, yay for being in civilization again. 

Quite a few of those people were looking at me as I took my photos, I got the impression there aren't a lot of foreign visitors coming out to see this memorial.

From there it was an easy (but just as long,) walk back to the city center, I had timed everything quite well. I knew what I wanted for dinner, so I was able to order as soon as I sat down in the restaurant. When you order that quickly, they bring the food pretty quickly, and I ate quickly.

Feeling good about everything I'd seen over the weekend, and having a full belly, I was in a great mood as I walked back to my hostel to pick up my bag. The walk to the bus station went as expected, and I had exact change to buy my bus ticket. I didn't have to wait long for the next bus to leave, and the whole ride went as expected.

Back in Chisinau I went for a walk down the main street of the city, instead of heading straight to the airport. 

This walk brought back some vague memories of my visit 10 years before, and made me realized I want to come back to Moldova and explore a lot more at some point in the future.

Anywho, the bus ride back to the airport was still super cheap, and the rest of my trip went exactly as planned.