Can't help but think at 2850 pounds (3650 USD) for 7 nights of course they are going to be friendly.
Yeah, it's quite an exorbitant price for the trip described. It said flights included which I have to hope is the majority of it.
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The only tourist in Moldova
221–230 of 427 posts
Re: The only tourist in Moldova
#222Earlier quoted context omitted.
Rakı is deceptively strong, especially the Cretan version, from which I am proud to have recovered.
It's also important to distinguish between the "Balkan" rachiu/rakija/whatever (which can be distilled from several types of fruit and isn't further processed) and the Turkish/Greek raki/ouzo (which is distilled from grape pomace, flavored with aniseed and generally drunken with water, which gives it a characteristic cloudiness - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rak%C4%B1 ).
Traditionally, Greek Ouzo is mized with just ice (at least that's what my Greek friends thought me), Turkish Rakı is mixed with water and ice. In some cycles though, drinking Rakı without ice/water is a party trick (it's very bitter and strong so a very unpleasant experience - not everyone can do it).
Source: I'm originally from West Turkey.
Re: The only tourist in Moldova
#223"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…
78% or 78 degrees proof? They are different measures in different places.
Slivovitz, for instance, is typically 70% alcohol. Proof spirit (100 proof) in the UK is 57.06% alcohol by volume, in the US and Australia it is 50%, in France Gay-Lussac defined proof degree and percent alcohol by volume to be the same.
See https://www.britannica.com/story/why-is-alcohol-measured-by-...
Re: The only tourist in Moldova
#224Can't help but think at 2850 pounds (3650 USD) for 7 nights of course they are going to be friendly.
Yeah, it's quite an exorbitant price for the trip described. It said flights included which I have to hope is the majority of it.
Considering you can fly from London to Chișinău for around £36 at present ($45) on a low cost EU airline, then it probably isn't. The Telegraph is a right leaning newspaper for a wealthy readership, so their travel articles offer luxury. (The details of the holiday provider mention 4 star hotels.)
Plenty of indie travellers potter around in Eastern Europe via flight hops or train, and could spend a similar amount for a whole summer's travel.
Re: The only tourist in Moldova
#225This would fit maybe in 2019, but Moldova now has many foreigners. Hotel prices went up considerably! For "Europe's least visited country" try Belorus, Ukraine, Russia, Ossetia or Armenia. Traveling to Mariupol as a tourist is the real deal in 2024
On the contrary, if you pretend to be an idiot, and ask some Russian government-affiliated NGO “helping Donbass” if you can have a look yourself to be “free from Western propaganda”, I am sure they can pretend to get some positive publicity that way, and add you to this or that group of journalists and government officials who are shown Potemkin reconstruction (on a guided tour in presence of totally not plainclothes agents).
But I don't see any point in doing that. If you follow the timeless advice of Egor Letov, and read some North Korean or Soviet books, you would know everything that is going to be said. Why waste time watching someone perform the stupid play?
Re: The only tourist in Moldova
#226"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…
"rachiu" in Romanian/Moldovan is brandy in English.
Those drinking ракия know that it’s not a brandy, although it can be made to resemble brandy or even in the image of some whiskeys but is essentially made from completely different produce, and usually also process.
Re: The only tourist in Moldova
#227Earlier quoted context omitted.
They will also not be considered vodka in Russia, rather 'nastoika'.
Not exactly. Nastoikas are vodkas and other similar strong spirits infused with different aromas after distillation. You could buy a vodka bottle from the store and make a nastika at home from it. Rakia is a strong spirit which is distilled from a different base than vodka. Whereas vodka is distilled from grains, rakia is distilled from fruit. You could also do a nastoika from rakia, I suppose.
You can absolutely make one, and very popular is the rakia infusion with Rodiola, which is adaptogen itself.
Re: The only tourist in Moldova
#228"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…
These are often described as vodkas in practice, even if they technically aren't. Applies to other eastern Europe products too. For example https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C3%B3dka_%C5%BBo%C5%82%C4%85... is fruit/herb based, but is commonly known as vodka and even was labelled as such.
I am a Croat and no, we dont describe them as Vodka, nor are we aware that people call them Vodka.
The beverage you linked is not rakija, and it’s not even similar.
Rakija is made from grapes, Vodka from potatoes. We don’t have enough potatoes to throw away
Re: The only tourist in Moldova
#229I've been to Moldova this year during my 15-countries 2-week solo road trip. To be honest it was hard to find interesting (for me) places to visit there. I found Old Orhei, which they try to make a big tourist attraction, to be kinda boring, same for Stephen the Great Central Park, but really liked brutal building of Chișinău State Circus and Romanița Collective Housing. I've skipped Mileștii Mici Winery, as it didn'…
What about Romania, which is basically the same country (and was before the Soviet Union decided to mess things up)?
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Re: The only tourist in Moldova
#230"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…
78% or 78 degrees proof? They are different measures in different places. Slivovitz, for instance, is typically 70% alcohol. Proof spirit (100 proof) in the UK is 57.06% alcohol by volume, in the US and Australia it is 50%, in France Gay-Lussac defined proof degree and percent alcohol by volume to be the same. See https://www.britannica.com/story/why-is-alcohol-measured-by-...
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