SOVIET TOUR

DAY 1

Day 1: Arrival day

Chisinau

On arrival at Chisinau International Airport, you will arrange your own transfer to the hotel in Chisinau (optional private transfer upon request). After settling in, you can have a walk through downtown and explore the city centre on your own.

Optional (not included in the price): dinner at a local restaurant (Russian ) where you will have the possibility to taste Russian “” with pickles.

DAY 2

Day 2: Time travel in Tiraspol – Back in the USSR

Chisinau – Tiraspol – Milestii Mici – Chisinau

In the morning, you will set off on a time travel in . During the city tour in Tiraspol, you will discover Vladimir Lenin’s monument and the tank left from the Second World War. The city seems to be a vestige of the Soviet past. Nevertheless, you will be amazed by the contrasts, one of which is the football complex “Sheriff” - a pearl of contemporary architecture.

In the afternoon, you will have at a Soviet canteen where you will enjoy lunch in a USSR atmosphere.

After Chisinau city tour, you will take a ride to Milestii Mici winery located at a depth of 40-85 m in Milestii Mici village. Measuring about 200 km, all underground streets make up the largest network of caves ever dug by a human being, which appeared after the extraction of limestone deposits. The winery holds an impressive collection of more than 2 million bottles. The "Golden Collection" of Milestii Mici winery, which has over 1,5 million bottles, is the pride of the whole country, as in August, 2005, it was registered in the Guinness World Records as the biggest collection in the world.

In the evening, you will return to Chisinau.

Optional: dinner at Lo restaurant ().

HIGHLIGHTS: Tiraspol city, Milestii Mici winery, DAY 3

Day 3: Chisinau city tour and Cricova winery – the pearl of -making

Chisinau – Capriana – Cricova – Chisinau

This day will begin with the city tour of Chisinau. During the tour, you will discover the main historical and cultural sights such as the Nativity of Christ Cathedral, the Bell Tower, the Arch of Triumph, the Monument of Stephen the Great, etc. You will also see some soviet buildings and apartment blocks, such as Circus building, Romanita Collective Housing Tower, Library din Hol, Soviet Memorial to Communist Youth, Chisinau Hotel (an excellent example of Stalinist Empire style architecture), etc.

In the afternoon, you will have lunch at the restaurant.

Next, you will travel to Capriana Monastery, founded in medieval , which is one of the oldest monasteries in the country. It is located in Capriana in a picturesque forested area once called Codrii Lapusnei. The first significant reference dates from a document issued in 1429 that gave Capriana the status of royal monastery on behalf of Alexander the Good. During a long period, Capriana Monastery acted as the residence of the Moldovan archbishop. Being closed and devastated in the post-war years, it was one of the first monasteries that reopened in 1989, becoming soon the symbol of national revival.

In the evening, you will travel to Cricova winery – the only wine enterprise that was awarded the highest state prize “The Order of the Republic” and has been declared by law a national cultural heritage. During the excursion at Cricova winery in the tourist train, at a depth of 80 m, you will discover the wonders of this place. Cricova underground galleries are formed by over seventy streets covering an area of nearly 120 km, each bearing Bacchic names: Sauvignon, Cabernet, Cahors, etc. The jewel of the underground treasure is the National Collection, including over 600 types of wine totaling about 1 million bottles. There is one story always told in this place about the Russian pilot Yuri Gagarin, who during a visit in 1966 got lost and missed the exit. He went out the next day, having spent the night in the tasting room, currently named after him. In one of Cricova’s luxurious tasting halls, a couple of years ago the former Russian president Vladimir Putin celebrated his 50th birthday. Here you can admire the oldest bottle of wine - "Jewish Easter Wine", dating from 1902 and discover the tastes of Cricova .

In the evening, you will be transferred to Chisinau.

Optional: dinner at a local restaurant ().

HIGHLIGHTS: Chisinau city, Capriana Monastery, Cricova winery,

DAY 4

Day 4: Discovery of Chisinau – Comrat – Besalma – Chisinau

You will start the day by travelling to Comrat where you will enjoy a city tour. Comrat is the capital of the autonomous region of Gagauzia, located in southwest Moldova. This is a very interesting territory since the majority of its habitants are Gagauzians. These are the only representatives of Turkic origin that affiliated with the Eastern Orthodox Church. Gagauzians migrated from Bulgaria together with ethnic Bulgarians and settled in Moldova in 19th century.

You will continue your trip to Vinuri de Comrat winery, which is the oldest winery of southern Moldova. Here you will discover the tastes of Vinuri de Comrat wines and Gagauz cuisine. For over 100 years the winemakers of Comrat are preserving and transmitting from generation to generation the classical traditions of making fresh and naturally elegant wines based on the unique winemaking technology characteristic for the south of Moldova. Vinuri de Comrat is a modern complex processing 4 thousands tones of wine and spirits using closed-loop cycle, including production and processing of , production and bottling of dry, semi-sweet, desert, selected and vintage wine, production of wine spirit. Its portfolio lists more than 50 collections of wine, however, it is very famous for the Cahors wine.

Next, you will visit the National Gagauz Museum of History and Ethnography “D. Cara- Ciobanu” in Besalma village in Gagauzia. The museum presents the history, culture and everyday life of the from ancient times until nowadays. One of the personalities of this small nation was the writer D. Cara-Ciobanu, who spent his life promoting this culture. He founded this museum, which features more than 6,000 exhibits, including works by famous writers, poets and famous artists in Gagauzia.

In the evening, you will be transferred to Chisinau.

Optional: dinner at the restaurant (Caucasian cuisine).

HIGHLIGHTS: Comrat city , Vinuri de Comrat winery, National Gagauz Museum of History and Ethnography “D. Cara-Ciobanu”,

DAY 5

Day 5: Departure day

Chisinau

On departure day, you will arrange your own transfer from the hotel to Chisinau International Airport (optional private transfer upon request).