20 March 2012
Officially, the worst day of travel.... This glorious day began with a long exhausting bus ride. After several bathroom breaks and bus presentations more driving ensued. Finally, we arrived in Iasi, our first real stop. Unfortunately, almost all of us felt as if we were dying of the plague, and were not overjoyed at the chance of walking around for an hour. However, we tried to make the most of it. The bus stopped right in front of the statue of Stefan Cel Mare (Stephen the Great). Here Ursula explained to us his significance to Moldavia. Stefan Cel Mare, the prince of Moldavia, was known for defending the principality from the Turks, Hungarians, and other invaders from 1457 to 1504.
After learning about this important figure in Moldavian history, we continued our short tour by visiting yet another Romanian Orthodox Church.
Following the conclusion of our short tour we were given the option of free time or following the professor and Ursula to see the Great Iasi Synagogue. Unfortunately when we got there we were less than impressed. The only assurance that we had in fact found the Great Synagogue was the sign in front of the deteriorating building that said "Sinagoga Mare" (translated to Great Synagogue)
It was sad to see what once was a majestic synagogue in complete disrepair. The unfinished restoration of the building was a further cause of disappointment. I had hoped, especially after not being able to enter the last synagogue, that I would be able to visit a beautiful Romanian Temple. This building, with its chained door, was not at all what i had expected. Luckily, the keeper of the Synagogue was home (in a house directly behind the building) and was kind enough to let us in. We saw the empty rooms where prayers were once held as he explained to us that the remaining Jewish congregation had emptied out the synagogue and taken all the valuables with them. He explained that they held services in a home of one of the members of the Jewish Community until the time when the Synagogue would be repaired. However, apparently the project had run out of funding and they were unable to continue at the moment. This made me extremely sad. With so many well conserved churched and monasteries of different christian sects, it was disappointing to see one of the few remaining synagogues completely uncared for. But I suppose it reflects the relations between the Romanians and their Jewish residents.
We headed back to the bus, grabbing a quick kebab on the way. And so we continued our long tedious journey to the unknown land of Moldova. Most of the ride was uneventful, and comprised mostly of presentations, sleeping, reading, and suffering. When we reached the border we successfully went through customs on the Romanian side without any trouble. Entering Moldova was another story completely.
After we had all turned our passports in to the professor who then gave them to the Moldovan authorities, we all waited patiently to continue on our way. An hour later we received our passports back. However, that was not the end of it. We were told later that the customs officials claimed that the bus drivers permit had not been stamped correctly at the Romanian border. The bus driver offered to drive the bus back to the border to get it correctly stamped, but the official told him he would give him a ride back to the Romanian side. While this was going on, other officials confronted our Professor, stating that they believed there was something not accurate about his visa. As the bus driver made his way to the Romanian side, the Moldovan driver asked him for "gas money" at which point our driver gave him 20 Euros. Immediately all the problems were solved. Our professor was set free, and the bus driver was driven back to us. We were finally allowed to go on our merry way after two and a half hours and a 20 euro bribe.
The rest of the ride passed in slow agony. The tour bus was beginning to resemble something along the lines of a hospital bus. Coughing, sneezing, and nose blowing could be heard constantly throughout the bus. As night fell and we continued driving into the unknown another uncomfortable feeling emerged: hunger. It was becoming increasingly apparent that we would not arrive in Chisinau in time to eat dinner as it was already 10:00. Two hours later we finally arrived at our destination. Too sick and too tired to do much else, we all silently marched into our hotel, went up to our rooms, and collapsed into bed.
After we had all turned our passports in to the professor who then gave them to the Moldovan authorities, we all waited patiently to continue on our way. An hour later we received our passports back. However, that was not the end of it. We were told later that the customs officials claimed that the bus drivers permit had not been stamped correctly at the Romanian border. The bus driver offered to drive the bus back to the border to get it correctly stamped, but the official told him he would give him a ride back to the Romanian side. While this was going on, other officials confronted our Professor, stating that they believed there was something not accurate about his visa. As the bus driver made his way to the Romanian side, the Moldovan driver asked him for "gas money" at which point our driver gave him 20 Euros. Immediately all the problems were solved. Our professor was set free, and the bus driver was driven back to us. We were finally allowed to go on our merry way after two and a half hours and a 20 euro bribe.
The rest of the ride passed in slow agony. The tour bus was beginning to resemble something along the lines of a hospital bus. Coughing, sneezing, and nose blowing could be heard constantly throughout the bus. As night fell and we continued driving into the unknown another uncomfortable feeling emerged: hunger. It was becoming increasingly apparent that we would not arrive in Chisinau in time to eat dinner as it was already 10:00. Two hours later we finally arrived at our destination. Too sick and too tired to do much else, we all silently marched into our hotel, went up to our rooms, and collapsed into bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment