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The only tourist in Moldova

telegraph.co.uk

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Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#331

Post by biztos »

kwhitefoot wrote: post #223
userulluipeste wrote: post #84

"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-...

Yikes, where do they drink 70% Slivovitz?

A fairly strong one is 42%, same with most other alcohols, even grappa. I’ve had 60% and it was distinctly unpleasant, felt like something you’d drink on a dare instead of for pleasure.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#332

Post by HideousKojima »

jajko wrote: post #322
alxlaz wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is only true in those parts of Eastern Europe were "vodka" retained its (old) colloquial use from Polish. So... Poland and maybe some parts of Ukraine, Slovakia etc.. If there are parts of Moldova where these drinks would be called "vodka", I haven't been to them yet :-). The local generic term for an alcoholic drink is different, but "vodka" is specifically used only for things that say "vodka" on the label pre…

Definitely not called vodka in Slovakia nor Czech republic unless its precisely that, using it in such way would show lack of pretty basic local knowledge (since alcohol use permeated much of the society). Neither has the taste nor smell any resemblance with vodka, usually much higher quality drink compared to standard vodka (ie from plums you smell and taste plums very intensively, and its 100% from just the fruit,…

>Definitely not called vodka in Slovakia nor Czech republic unless its precisely that, using it in such way would show lack of pretty basic local knowledge (since alcohol use permeated much of the society).

I can confirm this. When I lived in the Czech Republic I knew a local who made his own plum schnapps. He explicitly called it slivovice (and schnapps when I asked for the English name), not vodka.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#333

Post by _glass »

egeozcan wrote: post #222
rob74 wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

All Izmirian's I know told me that it is okay to drink with water, but they would never do :) So I always drink pure. I quite like the taste.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#334

Post by SomeoneFromCA »

throwaway290 wrote: post #328
SomeoneFromCA wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is so incorrect, it is boderline idiotic urban legend. post-Soviet cities have hot water year around; same heating plants used for winter heating, are used for hot water in summer time, albeit at lower power. Also waste heat from power plants used for the same purpose.

I'll fact check you since I was born and grew up in Russia. No water most of the summer used to be the norm in my city. Checking as of today, in two cities I know central hot water is off every summer for 2+ weeks. My city improved and another one regressed. In a third city I asked about (one of the coldest) it's off for just single digit days.

What you describe is not normal today (unless we are talking about some Mukhosransk type of cities), and certainly was not normal in USSR, which kept civil infrastructure in a good shape.

As someone who is currently living in Central Asia, yes I do have no water for two weeks a year, they switch it off for "maintenance". However all last 5+ years, I had water through summer, with only occasional failures. We did have no heating one year, but water was all the time present.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#335

Post by aa_is_op »

ossobuco wrote: post #285
SomeoneFromCA wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since what Moldova is Russia? Am I on reddit or 4chan?

Since history is a thing? Beside being part of the USSR, part of Moldova has also been in the Russian empire. Also a good portion of the population identifies as Russian.

...and before that was part of Romania, and the reason 80% of the country speaks Romanian.

Let's tamper down with the Russian imperialism. We see how well that's been going in Ukraine and the Baltics.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#336

Post by monero-xmr »

vasco wrote: post #240
ClumsyPilot wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is police / crime doing?

Terrible, as is inflation, as is almost everything else, and in the south of the country you got hezbollah bombing things. I'm not Lebanese so just know what I know from close friends, but the comment read very strange to me. Life is very difficult there, none of the Lebanese I know want to move back. I'm not sure why OP painted it as an anarchist utopia, that's definitely not what I hear.

I never said it was amazing, I said how the country is still functional and people are kept from starving to death, given the government is nonexistent

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#338

Post by another2another »

galkk wrote: post #201
kjkjadksj wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That didn't help the childrens hospital that was hit 9 days ago unfortunately. 40 people died in that strike.

The hospital toll is only 2 (other sources claim 3) dead. https://t.me/vitaliy_klitschko/3267 This is tragedy. I find it so weird, though, - rocket hits hospital (!) and only 2 dead, both adults, and 16 injured.

Air sirens had already started so most people had moved down to the basements. Probably some people who couldn't, or who were caring for those that couldn't be moved were caught in the blast.

Brutal thing to do. At least they didn't go for a double-tap, just for the lulz.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#339

Post by throwaway290 »

SomeoneFromCA wrote: post #334
throwaway290 wrote: post #328

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll fact check you since I was born and grew up in Russia. No water most of the summer used to be the norm in my city. Checking as of today, in two cities I know central hot water is off every summer for 2+ weeks. My city improved and another one regressed. In a third city I asked about (one of the coldest) it's off for just single digit days.

What you describe is not normal today (unless we are talking about some Mukhosransk type of cities), and certainly was not normal in USSR, which kept civil infrastructure in a good shape. As someone who is currently living in Central Asia, yes I do have no water for two weeks a year, they switch it off for "maintenance". However all last 5+ years, I had water through summer, with only occasional failures. We did have…

Sure, they keep water hot in select cities, and the rest is Mukhosransk territory that doesn't matter. You could be from Moscow with that logic!

Respectfully you have no idea, planned hot water downtime in summer is reality for most cities in Russia (including SPb with official maximum length of two weeks), don't try to paint it look better than the mess it is.

Other post-Soviet countries probably do better, especially in Europe, but I have no info

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#340

Post by alxlaz »

jajko wrote: post #322
alxlaz wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is only true in those parts of Eastern Europe were "vodka" retained its (old) colloquial use from Polish. So... Poland and maybe some parts of Ukraine, Slovakia etc.. If there are parts of Moldova where these drinks would be called "vodka", I haven't been to them yet :-). The local generic term for an alcoholic drink is different, but "vodka" is specifically used only for things that say "vodka" on the label pre…

Definitely not called vodka in Slovakia nor Czech republic unless its precisely that, using it in such way would show lack of pretty basic local knowledge (since alcohol use permeated much of the society). Neither has the taste nor smell any resemblance with vodka, usually much higher quality drink compared to standard vodka (ie from plums you smell and taste plums very intensively, and its 100% from just the fruit,…

Oh, yeah, hence the "maybe". I've never heard "vodka" used as a generic term for alcoholic liquids anywhere except in Poland, and even there rather rarely.
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