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"Sergiu exuberantly offers up shot glasses of mulberry vodka, pine-needle vodka, strawberry vodka, “medicine” vodka, “78 per cent proof” vodka" Although Moldova has vodka-drinking Slavs in it, the beverages described are not vodkas. Vodka is made of cereals or potatoes, whereas these are nicer-flavored, fruit-based distilled beverages that locals call "rakiu", in English it would be schnapps: https://en.wikipedia.org…
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Well yeah, Belarus is essentially off-limits to a large part of the world due to Russia's war with Ukraine. Belarus does seem like a wonderful country at its core, but after the election fraud all progress just froze and the country is (once again) seen as Russia's de-facto vassal state. This sucks for the people of Belarus who got caught up in this, but for the average tourist going there is not something to conside…
I had to laugh at "this country is not safe" :D my country also advised that, but I've been there many times. It's about the safest country in Europe IMHO.
Another place I'd like to go is Kyrgyzstan. And Turkmenistan. Why? Because no one goes there. What other reason do you need?
> And Turkmenistan. Almost impossible to get a visa; probably easier to get a tour in North Korea.
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They've already been sold the whole suite of Western air defense systems in addition to the ex-Soviet gear they've already had. Patriot, HAWK, Gepard, etc.
That didn't help the childrens hospital that was hit 9 days ago unfortunately. 40 people died in that strike.
Somewhat surprisingly (to me at least), they produce some pretty good red wine (i.e. Purcari). Recently found it while checking out an eastern European grocery store.
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The funny thing is, coming from Washington DC, I felt about or more safe in Ukraine as I do here day to day. I wasn't worried about being carjacked, I wasn't worried about someone with mental health or drug problems robbing me, and I wasn't worried about being shot (as I write this it feels hyperbolic to say but I live about 10 mins walking from the capitol and in the two years I've been here there have been multiple…
They have hit apartments and hospitals before so its not only military/government/infra targets any longer. I'm surprised they haven't been sold an iron dome or a similar system by now to be honest.
I was in Belarus recently and it did feel like I was the only non-Slavic person, and tourist, on the bus there (yes, bus, because no European country except for Turkey is flying to Belarus). Everyone else seemed like locals going back home for a visit (including my wife!). But once you get to Minsk, it's actually pretty modern and nice, extremely clean... and clearly a vibrating city with lots of things to do, buy an…
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Non-Asian man + Asian woman couples have long been normalized. Asian man + non-Asian woman couples were/are comparatively extremely rare.
That said, thanks to things like the tech industry (nerds are no longer automatically “ewww”) and the popularization of K-Pop boy bands, I’d say the image of Asian men in the West is on the rise nowadays.
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Do you even Prague, bro...
Budapest is also a great eastern Euro vibe. Especially the old, Soviet-looking street cars and busses!
What I have learned in a half century of travel is you learn a lot more about a place trying to talk to its citizens than you ever can visiting monuments or museums. Plus you can make some life long friends.
"Sergiu exuberantly offers up shot glasses of mulberry vodka, pine-needle vodka, strawberry vodka, “medicine” vodka, “78 per cent proof” vodka" Although Moldova has vodka-drinking Slavs in it, the beverages described are not vodkas. Vodka is made of cereals or potatoes, whereas these are nicer-flavored, fruit-based distilled beverages that locals call "rakiu", in English it would be schnapps: https://en.wikipedia.org…