Poznan is getting popular for a long weekend Christmas market trip from the UK.
Back in 2019, I had a really fun girls weekend in Poznan. This was another bargain weekend with return Ryanair flights for £60 and a lovely wee Airbnb for £140 for the weekend.
Always check what “two bedrooms” means – in this case the 2nd bedroom was in fact the living room and the shower was in the kitchen!
Ok so it turned out that my bedroom was actually two mats ontop of a stack of crates but so what? It was cheap!
Posing with Mr Moonboot
Not even a disagreement with a pub trapdoor and subsequent broken foot dampened our enthusiasm!
Touching down in Poznan, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but didn’t expect such a large, modern airport. It took no time at all to whizz (and wizz – nice clean toilets with a luggage shelf in the cubicle – joy!) through the airport and in to a taxi. We pushed the boat out and spent a whole £8 on 30min taxi from the airport to the town.
Granny opens at 12!
Check-in wasn’t until 3pm so we did what any self-respecting Glasgow girls do when on holiday and headed straight for the nearest pub.
We came across this cosy bar, surrounded by cakes, beer and tempting garlicky smells wafting from grannies kitchen. Beginners luck, the menu was just what the doctor ordered –all platters of perogis and local beers. We settled ourselves in with a variety platter of the perogis and beers – The holiday had officially begun!
After the perogis and more than a couple of beers, we did the sensible tourist thing and headed next door to the tourist information centre where we were helped by a super efficient Polish lady who spoke perfect English and didn’t seem to mind our beery garlic breath.
For just £16, the City card gives free or discounted entrance to museums, discounts on restaurants cafes and bars and unlimited free public transport around the city (particularly handy for the moonboot)
2. Eat perogis. Dumplings of Eastern European origin, made by wrapping noodle dough around a savoury or sweet filling and cooking in boiling water, or pan-frying. We tried tuna perogis, chicken perogis, mince perogis, spinach perogis and garlic perogis. Cheap and very filling! I’ll stop going on about them now but they were SO GOOD!
3. Visit in December we arrived the on the opening weekend of the Poznan Christmas market.
Poznan has a cute wee Christmas market that won’t break the bank and isn’t overrun by tourists. It’s far superior to any of the Christmas markets in the UK and about a tenth of the price. Poznan Christmas market offers all the must-visit stalls selling hot spicy gluhwein, bratwurst, smoked cheese and wooden trinkets, they even have a gluhwein loyalty card – buy 9 wines and the 10th is free!
(
Then followed a hazy night round some of the bars in the main square, finishing at BeeJays bar and scarfing down a massive donner kebab and a sore head in the morning)
Weird museums are high on my list of favourite places to visit. WhilstI’m pretty good at going with the flow on holiday, I did mandate a visit to the croissant museum!
Trust me, there is nowhere better in the entire world to gain an in-depth knowledge of the history of polish croissants :-p
A special mention must go to the kind, helpful (and rather good looking) young man on the cash desk who not only found a warm space in the museum for my pal to rest her moonboot but also gave her a free wooden croissant!
5. Be awed by the 1956 memorial.
A memorial dedicated to the Polish uprising. I guarantee it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but the monolithic size and somber grey concrete certainly made an impression on me.
It’s about a 20 min walk from the main square or a few minutes by tram.
6. Treat yourself to some Michelin star quality food at a fraction of the price at Oskoma restaurant. Run by polish masterchef winner Adam my friends and I had a 4 course tasting menu plus wine and cocktails for £60 a head. I’m still not sure who we were mistaken for but everyone in the dining room kept looking over at us. Our waiter was friendly and again, pretty good looking. Here’s the tasting menu and a pic of the smoked sturgeon:
7. Enjoy panoramic views of the city from the observation tower in the Museum of Design.
Our Citypass gave us free entry into this museum. Whilst the museum itself was reasonably interesting (and VERY HOT!) with everything from pottery and textiles to furniture and film.
The best part of the museum was definitely the 7th floor observation deck with panoramic views over the city. (Oh and free, very clean toilets)
8. Don’t visit lake Malta. Well at least not in December anyway…. maybe it’s nicer in summer? Lake Malta was listed in various guides and blogs as a must-see. It’s a short tram ride away from the city centre. It’s not a picturesque lake, rather a large puddle beside a huge modern shopping centre. Perhaps it was just the time of year that made it bleak.
At least the short tram ride was included in our Poznan city card. I enjoyed zooming along the streets in the rapid little trams, clean and efficient.
We were cold and her ankle was hurting and we felt a little deflated..
Me taking in some of the local artwork looking like a bag lady
Re-energised from our dick hysteria, we spotted some spires in the distance and headed off to find out what they were. Poznans cathedral! We wandered through the Śródka neighbourhood admiring the Srodka tale mural and refueling.
9. Prepare to be very underwhelmed at the goat butting heads clock….but see it anyway! The most famous tourist attraction in Poznan is the ‘goat clock’ Every day at noon, two small wooden goats appear from a high tower and butt heads. A huge crowd gathered to watch. We happened to be in the main square just as noon struck and my pal nearly re-broke her ankle hobbling on the cobbles to catch a glimpse of the goats.
10. Meet the locals. I love meeting local people on my travels, especially in areas that are not super touristy. We were asked several times where we were from and then a pause followed by a genuinely curious “but why have you come to POZNAN?”
The people of Poznan are so warm and welcoming and everywhere we went people were kind and helpful. We met these lovely ladies in a bar and asked why they were all wearing headscarves – turns out they celebrate St Andrews Day by playing mystical fortune telling games about matrimony and fortune telling! We definitely bonded with our shared patron saint and our love of wine!
My recent ride on the overnight train to Moldova prompted me to revisit my longest and favourite train trip in 2019. From frozen wilderness to desolate desert including; 8 nights on trains and overnight stops at Lake Baikal, Ulaanbaatar and a night in with a Mongolian nomadic family in a Ger (Mongolian yurt). It could only be the Trans-Siberian Railway.
5,772 miles from Moscow to Vladivostok, the trains snake through taiga forest, frozen rivers, Siberian tundra, and windswept steppe. It’s the longest railway in the world bucket list trip!
My 16-Day Trans-Siberian & Trans-Mongolian Itinerary
Instead of the “traditional” trans-Siberian route all the way to Vladivostok, my 4735mile trip branched off at Ulan Ude, heading south on the trans-Mongolian branch through Mongolia’s vast landscapes ending in Beijing. With more time, I would have added a ferry to Japan via South Korea. Mad or Nomad has an incredibly detailed blog on this trip. It’s also on my bucket list!
The Trans- Siberian, Manchurian, Mongolian and the Baikal-Amur railways
I made a last minute decision to travel to St Petersburg before meeting up with my friend Stacey in Moscow. I could have taken a more direct route from the UK but had already booked (non-refundable flights) to Moscow. So I flew Edinburgh to Brussels, Brussels to Moscow and then took a Russian-Ryanair S7 flight* to St Petersburg
*(budget airline with free sandwiches for an hour flight!)
Day 1 – St Petersburg: The Venice of the North
With just 24 hours in St Petersburg, I squeezed in as much as possible — from pastel palaces and onion-domed churches to the intricate canals that earned the city its nickname. This quick stop before the main trip set the tone for the adventure ahead. I was so lucky to be picked up from the airport by Vlad, my Uber driver. In the short time from the airport to the hotel, Vlad told me about his and his parents views on soviet times and his views on Russian politics, best and worst food spots for food in St Petersburg and how “warm” it was for the time of year.
I only had 24 hours in St Petersburg so spent the day wandering taking photos and soaking up the breathtaking architecture. Here’s why they call St P’s the Venice of the North…
24 Hrs in St Petersburg in 3 mins – highlight videos
Day 2-4 – Moscow
The next day, I was back on another plane heading for Moscow.
Landing at Moscow Domodedovo Airport, I scrambled on to the express train towards the city centre. With no Google Maps for navigation, I managed to get lost at a metro interchange station much to the amusement from the railway staff and commuters. Eventually through a lot of pointing, smiling and sheer luck, I stumbled across the Hotel Vega, a curious blend of Ikea colour pallet and Las Vegas budget hotel where Stacey was waiting with a bottle of prosecco.
Hotel VegaIn all it’s blue and yellow glory!
There was just time for some hugs and to guzzle a bottle of prosecco before we headed off to meet the rest of our group (kinda tipsy) and enjoy our Russian dinner.
The next two days we rushed around Moscow trying to take in as much of the city as we could manage…here’s Moscow in a nutshell…
Day 5-8. Life Aboard the Trans-Siberian Railway
On the stroke of midnight, we hopped aboard ‘train 100’ towards Vladivostok. Stacey and I lucked out, acquiring two lovely Canadians, Monica and Tony (cribbage sharks) to share our second class ‘Kupe’ with. This rather joyful quadruple spent the next 4 days and nights staring at endless trees interspersed with grape therapy* in the evenings.
*Grape Therapy – drinking copious amounts of cheap Russian wine and setting the world to rights into the wee small hours of the morning.
4 days passed surprisingly quickly on the train, any stops were an hour or less, giving us time to rush off the train, stretch our legs and replenish our clandestine wine supply. Or shower if that kind of thing bothers you ….
I had read about the fierce Provodnitsas (train attendants) who kept their assigned carriages running smoothly. They absolutely rule their train roost and you are left in no doubt who’s in charge. They take enormous pride in ensuring that everything is spotless and running smoothly. They kept the hot water urns topped up so a bowl of instant mash to soak up the wine and vodka was on tap any hour of day or night.
A visit to the onboard dining car broke up our days. Plain pasta with butter for breakfast and beers and vodka for lunch. The dining car waiter didn’t allow nursing drinks when the table could be occupied by heavier drinkers so after a while we were shooed away to make space for some more lucrative customers.
Day 9-11. Lake Baikal
Our jumping off point was Irkusk where we boarded a bus and headed straight for the shores of Lake Baikal – the deepest freshwater lake in the world.
That afternoon we arrived at the Ger camp with traditional nomadic tribes-people being our hosts for the night. I don’t think I’ll forget the experience of sitting in a cosy Ger tent, drinking fermented horses milk (local traditional alcoholic drink).
The next day, our limited time in lake Baikal meant no down time. We squeezed in a visit to the local museum followed by a quick lunch at the local food market to sample some delicious smoked fish (omul and oil fish) fresh from the lake.
I had planned a swim in the lake but as it was still frozen, I decided against showing off my Scottish anti-freeze blood and blue-white legs and opted instead for a hydrofoil across the lake to where the Baikal to Amur railway snakes past the shore. To be clear, this train only runs in summer – I’m not advocating taking pictures on random train tracks!
Back on dry land, we headed off up a VERY steep hill in VERY bright sunshine to find a VERY big sundial and snap some dramatic pictures across the lake.
Final order of business for the day was to experience a Russian Banya. Similar to a Sauna but waaay more sweaty. Stacey volunteered to be beaten with hot birch twigs by our convivial host, Aleksandr, while we looked on in sweaty interest. (Sounds rather kinky but I assure you it really wasn’t!!)
Day 12-16. Trans Mongolian railway and Mongolia
It was yet another very early start to board our next train at Irkusk which was to take us across the border from Russia to Mongolia and onto the capital city of Mongolia Ulaanbaatar.
The border crossing was uneventful and involved us lounging in our bunks until some friendly Mongolians in uniform smiling and glancing at our passports and asking us to open our bags which they glanced at, nodded and moved on.
The landscape began to change from permafrost to endless yellow dust, our short stops off the train became warm dusty and the people we passed by looked less Russian and more Mongolian. This is one of the reasons I enjoy travelling overland -seeing how different groups of people have traded, fought and settled together over the centuries.
I found the Mongolian train the least comfortable. For some reason the pillow was stuffed with what felt like dry pasta and sand (?!) and I don’t think I slept a wink on this uncomfortable night. But it wasn’t all bad, the instant mashed potato was going down a treat!
Eventually the cold grey of dawn signaled we were arriving in to the Mongolian capital – Ulaanbaatar, Now I have to confess my first impressions of the city weren’t great. It was snowing! The station was dirty from all the coal powered trains and our drive through the outskirts showed off ex-soviet, run down buildings and lots and lots of traffic.
However by the time we had breakfast the snow had disappeared and the sun was out in a crystal clear blue sky. Spirits lifting and full of breakfast (chicken nugget anyone?) and we were off to explore.
The city centre has been modernised and shiny tower blocks have gone up everywhere. We headed through the Ger suburbs and up to the Gandantegchinlen Monastery in the hope of catching a glimpse of the monks doing their morning chanting and lessons. The bright colours, warm smiles and waft of incense and the lulling chanting of the monks make for such an enriching feeling and I couldn’t stop smiling as we went from building to building, twirling the prayer wheels as I went.
Bloody Hell, this is turning in to a really long blog post! Other highlights of Ulaanbaatar I ticked off included:
a visit to the dinosaur museum to see T-Rex’s cousin (T-Baatar)
A quick pit stop at the State Shopping Centre (I broke YET ANOTHER pair of sunglasses!)
Some shots of the random Beatles monument – just because
A free coffee and some impulsive purchase of Mongolian cashmere in The Wool Shop
Oh and the adrenaline thrill of risking life and limb every time I crossed the road – the traffic in the city is REALLY bad!
An absolutely gi-normous helping of local dinner – dumplings, meats, vegetables served on a charger (serves one to two apparently but would have fed a football team!)
Climbing up to the Zaisan Monument – a crumbling relic celebrating Soviet life (with dramatic views across the city and beyond)
Nearly breaking my ankle on a dodgy pavement!
The next day we headed out in to the desert in search of the massive statue of Genghis Khan. This behemoth statue has the accolade of being the largest equestrian statue in the world (!) and oh my goodness it’s big!
Next we were off deeper in to rural Mongolia to stay with a Ger family. On arrival, we were shown our comfy beds and after a hearty dinner of meat soup washed down with airag (fermented horse milk) I fell soundly asleep.
Ulaanbaatar to Beijing
The final 30 hour train journey would take us to Beijing. All the exciting blogs I’d read about sitting on the train whilst they changed the carriages on to different wheels are now out of date. Instead, we were offloaded with all our luggage to an airport style border crossing and had to hang around inside the train station for 5 hours whilst they changed the wheels in an area off limits to the prying eyes of the passengers.
Beijing provided quite the juxtaposition from the quiet life of the Gers in the Gobi desert. Skyscrapers, bright lights and noise abound.
Another early start delivered us to The Great Wall of China as the sun rose and, just for a moment or two I had The Wall all to myself.
…Unfortunately I acquired a rather unpleasant souvenir from the Great Wall from a Subway sandwich – horrendous food poisoning.
This started to rear its head as I was ambling around the Summer Palace and continued its unwelcome, frequent and explosive appearances for the next 3 days.
As the adventure came to an end and I headed home, I was terrified that the Chinese border sanitary controllers would catch my furnace-temperature, uncontrollable shakes and clammy sweats and ban me from travel.
Of course this had to be the time that my return home became 30 hours in transit. Touching down at Moscow Domodedovo airport, we were greeted at the transfer area by a wall of Russian staff shouting flight numbers telling us to wait as flights delayed, problem with aircraft. Minutes before our touchdown, a plane had overshot the runway burst into flames Completely the opposite of the days of calm spent aboard the trains in my comfy bunk. And when I eventually arrived back in Scotland, my car had decided to reward me with a flat tyre.
Inspired? Read on for my tips on Trans Mongolian Adventuring…
Top of my packing list was a hot water bottle but the trains were furnace-temperature so next time I’d pack a fan and flipflops. Oh and a toilet roll!
Packing enough Siberian-suitable clothing into my small backpack and keeping it to 10kg was a challenge – my instant mashed potato weighed half a kilo alone!
Restaurant cars vary in price! So you don’t necessarily have to take a huge tin of mashed potato or a giant wad of cash. My first train – the Russian train to Vladivostok had a very very reasonably priced restaurant carriage serving everything from small snacks and salads to full-size meals and soups.
Be inventive with your picnic! If you read a lot of tans-Siberian rail blogs, people will tell you that you that instant noodles are your only culinary friend…this doesn’t have to be the case! There are plenty of opportunities to stock up along the way and you can bring fruit, instant mash, instant rice, cup soup, tea, coffee, biscuits, nuts, salami, cheese and cake will all survive in your cabin. If you’re feeling particularly like it you could take tinned meat/fish (be minful of the smell!) bread and crackers. Oh, and copious amounts of cheap Russian red wine is a great alternative to vodka.
Digital Detox – In 2019, there was no WiFi on the trains and I didn’t bother with local sim cards so it was a delightful two whole weeks of minimal contact to the outside world and digital detox – just chatting, playing cards, drinking awful Russian wine and watching the world go by.
There is no common space so choose your travel companions wisely! The attendant of the restaurant car will not tolerate you sitting in there nursing a drink for too long so either be prepared to drink a lot (!) or spend most of your time standing in a corridor or sitting in your cabin.
Personally I preferred the privacy that the top bunk affords. People who stick their heads in the door could only see my toes most of the time allowing me to sleep, read, write or crochet. Personal space is at a premium on these trains!
Toilets on board the trains vary from train to train, some are still long drop and some are modern vacuum toilets but they are all very clean.
There are no showers on board so I’d recommend a flannel and a small bowl that you can fill with hot water to have a ‘pits n bits’ wash.
Even in remote areas of Siberia and small stops along the trans Siberian railway and Lake Baikal pretty much everywhere accepted Visa and Mastercard cards even for small transactions of under £1* .The train restaurant car does have a card machine but it doesn’t always work until you come into station so bring some cash if you want to use the restaurant car. *This may be different with current geopolitics and sanctions…
(politics aside please!) Russian people can come across as pretty formal but that doesn’t mean their hearts are any less warm and friendly. Our train attendant came across as initially stern however she was an absolute angel and the first night I was struggling to get the tap to work in the toilet she came and showed me with a slight roll of her eyes and smile and nod.
In Ulaanbaatar, watch out for the crazy drivers and make sure you climb up to the Zaisan Monument to get a great view of the city.
The Great wall of China – go at sunrise because the wall gets busy extremely quickly. Oh and another thing…. do NOT eat at Subway at the Great Wall as I’m pretty sure this was where I picked up my food poisoning!
Don’t forget your sun cream! just because you’re heading to Siberia doesn’t mean you won’t get sunburnt – I applied factor 50 every day and still came back with a lot more freckles.
Be prepared for a lot of sleep deprivation. The trains can be too hot, noisy or you can end up with a pillow that feels like it’s stuffed with dried pasta, sand or rocks! The way our itinerary ran involved early starts nearly every day. I survived on around 3 to 4 hours of sleep per night.
Plan carefully or get someone to do it for you! Don’t let logistics put you off having an adventure – we travelled with G Adventures on their Trans Mongolian Express trip and it was the perfect mix of guided/self-guided for us.
Starting in Stirling, a car-free long weekend in the west of Scotland that includes the only commercial flight in the world that lands on a beach, a ferry ride to Oban, the seafood capital of Scotland and a wee train home.
Day 1 – Stirling to Barra
🚌 6.57am Megabus service M8 Stirling to Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station – arrives approx 7.45am (approx £7pp advance booking essential)
Megabus – Stirling to Glasgow
🚌 8am Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station – service 500 to Glasgow airport usually leaves from stance 46, takes around 20 mins. £11pp – booking not usually required but option to pre-book.
✈️ 10.15 Loganair flight LM451 to Barra (check the timetable as flights are dependent on tides! )
The plane is a wee tiny twin otter propeller plane, there are no cabin crew and standing up is impossible. The pilot did the safety demonstration whilst stooped over at the front of the plane and then hopped into the front seat to start the engines. I loved the whole experience – landing on the beach and tumbling out on to the white sand.
Prices start from £90 for a basic ‘Fly’ fare one way which includes 15kg hold luggage and 6kg hand luggage plus a personal item. We paid £175pp and booked around a month before.
On arrival at Barra airport, the wee local minibus waits outside the terminal. We paid £2.20 pp for single tickets to Castlebay note – this bus is cash only. Journey took around 20 mins.
A great wee hotel, really good service and very friendly helpful staff. We arrived early and enjoyed a few beers in the beer garden overlooking the bay until our room was ready. Because we booked this relatively last minute we could only get one night as the hotel was otherwise fully booked. We paid £170 for a double room – room 4 which had a seaview, comfy bed and was quiet.
There are only 3 restaurants in Castlebay so make sure you book dinner in advance. Thankfully the helpful guy at Craigard Hotel managed to squeeze us in for dinner despite the restaurant being fully booked.
The public bar is a great spot in the evening for live folk music and chatting to the friendly locals.
Day 2 Barra to Oban
🚢 6.55am Cal-Mac ferry Castlebay to Oban arrives 11.40am.
We were asvised to check the ferry times because of breakdowns and tides and, according to the manager at the Craigard, they sometimes change at the last minute, marooning people on Barra for an extra day. There is only one sailing per day to Oban. The ferry is a 5 min walk downhill from the Craigard hotel. Foot passenger tickets were £19.05pp.
Although we sadly missed breakfast in the hotel, the legendary Cal-Mac all day breakfast made up for it.
Keep your eyes peeled on the boat and you might just spot some sealife… on our crossing we saw a dorsal fin which may have been a dolphin, shark or porpoise….??
Another reason to carry cash – on our crossing, Starlink had an outage meaning the card payment machines were off line and the restaurant was cash-only.
We spent 2 nights in Oban, great for seafood, water sports and boat trips and a good live music scene at the weekends.
The dogstoneDunollie lighthouse McCaig’s tower
Oh and if seafood isn’t your thing, Taste of China is a great wee restaurant, the waitress was a good laugh, we had a scrummy peking duck, lemon chicken and bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. They do dine-in until 10pm.
P.s. no hotel recommendation here as the hotel we stayed in in Oban left a LOT to be desired unless brick hard beds, foost and peeling wallpaper is your thing!
Day 4 Oban – Glasgow – Stirling
🚂 12.11 Scotrail service to Glasgow. I cannot stress this enough – pre-book your tickets online and make sure you book a seat reservation! Thank god we did – we showed up at Oban train station about 30 mins before the train was due to depart and there was a huge queue of people standing in the pishing rain waiting to be let on to the platform. We did the very British thing of joining a queue with no idea what it was for but it turned out that seat reservation passengers could board straight away.
The train was a tiny 2 carriages rammed with lots of people standing until the train arrived in Glasgow Queen Street station at 15.26. Oh and pack snacks and drinks because this train has no on board catering.
Standing room only
🚂 The final leg was an easy hop catching the 15.45 train back to Stirling arriving in at 16.26.
Whilst there are direct flights from London to Chisinau, as I’m based in Scotland, we decided on a less direct route, flying Edinburgh to Bucharest. There was time for a visit to the Libearty bear sanctuary followed by a day wallowing in the Therme Spa before hopping aboard the overnight “Friendship Train” from Bucharest to Chisnau.
Bucharest Gara du Nord train station was distinctly unfriendly. I rarely feel unsafe when travelling but this was the pits. We loitered at the “bar” to kill time before boarding – a few dirty tables in the corner of the station with a beer. Hawking their wares first came prostitutes, then thieves trying to sell perfume, then drug dealers.
Politely declining all of the above, it was good to get onboard the train. We’d shelled out a few extra euros for a 2 berth cabin rather than risk 2 strangers joining our evening slumber. On the outward journey this did feel like an upgrade – opening windows and enough room to swing a proverbial cat.
The Good
The sockets worked to charge our phones.
The outward journey bunks were clean and pretty comfy and the window ensured a steady supply of cool night air.
At the Romanian/Moldovan border, the train gets jacked up and they replace all the wheels. The Moldovan railway is soviet gauge, a relic of the very intentional barrier between the USSR and Europe back in the day.
Although it took forever and was noisy and bumpy at 3am, I love these experiences for what they are, part of history and a wee antidote to global homogenisation. It did take bloody forever though! Between passport, customs and engineers it was certainly one of the longer border crossings I’ve been through!
The Bad
The toilets on the train flush straight onto the track below which meant our cool night air was sometimes ponging of shite when someone used the toilet. (They lock them when changing the wheels so time any “physiological” trips accordingly!)
No dining car! 😦
I’d read about the limited choice of food and drink on board, but on both legs of the journey (we travelled in May 2025) there was no dining car attached, no wee onboard shop, no hot water urn to make supernoodles, zilch, nada.
Dinner on the outward journey was cold chicken nuggets washed down with a couple of ciders and some jelly sweeties.
Our return cabin was definitely a downgrade. The window was sealed shut and the temperature on board was ten million degrees. And still no dining car! On the plus side we’d stocked up on copious amounts of cheapo white wine and enormous plastic bottles of beer.
The Ugly
Bed bugs!!!
Returning to the cabin after being chased around the toilet by an orange spider (eek!), I was less than chuffed to see a flat burgundy bug crawling over my recently vacated sheets. Bed bugs were confirmed a few hours later with my body covered in red lumps.
A taste of Moldova
Arriving in to Chisnau after 14 hour train, what better way to distract from bed bug bites than a trip to Cricova Wine Cellars?
Cricova has over 70 miles of underground tunnels with over 1 million bottles of wine maturing underground – basically an underground city of wine that has the look and feel of a James Bond villan’s lair. Moldova is the 6th largest wine producer in Europe, much of it state owned.
We hopped on a golf buggy and whizzed through the underground streets stopping at various winey locations along the way
Me channeling my inner Diogenes of Sinope
Legend has it even Yuri Gagarin got so cozy here he got lost in the tunnels and spent a rather fuzzy overnight here, leaving a note (see pic below) thanking the staff for their hospitality!
Day Two: Old Orhei
On day two, we swapped wine for scenery and headed to Orheiul Vechi open air museum village and monastery. High on a hill was a lonely goatherd…well almost. Carved into limestone cliffs above the Răut River, there’s a 13th century Cave Monastery complete with a grumpy hermit monk who looks and smells like he’d been there since the caves were carved. In fairness to him, must be a bit gutting to choose a life of solitude which is shared with camera-waving tourists. Rumour has it that he was a soviet soldier in his previous life.
Day Three: Chișinău
Back in Chișinău, Moldova’s capital, we tagged along on a walking tour of the city.
Chișinău isn’t intrinsically beautiful but there’s something about it – tree-lined boulevards, brutalist architecture little churches and lots of green space. Also lots of traffic jams!
Chișinău’sCentral Market—aka the old “New Bazaar.” Rebounding from total wartime destruction in 1941, a gentrified tourist trap it is not.
Today, it’s a kaleidoscope of stalls brimming with fresh produce, cheeses, handmade baskets, fur căciuli hats sweets, and anything you need or don’t really. I could have easily spent a whole day having a dauner* around here, people watching and grazing on local cheeses and pastries. I was particularly fond of the wee old ladies selling a few herbs or a couple of packs of tights out of buckets on the pavement.
Chișinău State Circus was just a short hop away, a relic of Soviet architectural ambition. Built in 1981, it claimed the title of the USSR’s grandest circus—boasting a 1,900-seat arena and retractable dome roof. Today, the building remains as beautiful brutalist urban decay.
The circus
Sticking with architecture, some other structures I liked were the post office building, the parliament and presidential palace. The hardware outside the military museum was worthy of a photo stop too.
I only got a plăcintă-sized taste of Moldova before it was time to head on to Transnistria and then all too soon the bed-buggy ride back to Bucharest on the friendship train.
Moldova may not be on everyone’s radar, but maybe that’s the point? It’s unspoiled, uncomplicated, and inexpensive.
*Scots language: To stroll, to saunter, to walk aimlessly, idly, or uncertainly, to wander
Oooh! Red zone travel! daring-do! Forgein Office headache! What would we find when we snuck off into “Transnistria” aka Pridnestrovie?
FCDO map – yep the red bit is “Transnistria” or Pridnestrovie
A clarification – Transnistria – that’s what background reading called this region. Our local guide explained that the citizens call their country Pridnestrovie or PMR (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic).
it’s actually illegal to call the area Transnistria and you can be fined!
Crossing the border
Since the gas crisis earlier in 2025, passports are no longer stamped at the border between PMR and Moldova. Instead, it’s like any other land border crossing – without fanfare, our minibus was stopped at a gantry with booths, we were ushered off the bus into a kiosk with a wee window, handed over our passports and were given a receipt which was our don’t lose it visa. That was it. pretty unremarkable apart from the Russian peacekeeper troops lurking in the background.
Our first stop was the town of Bender where we were the only visitors to the old fortress. Pretty much an unremarkable 4 walls with a big empty car park and a few deserted fairground rides.
Walls of Bender Fortress Traffic control hut on a roundabout in Bender
It really struck me how spotless this part of the world is, no litter, streets swept clean and municipal areas well kept and well used. Litter bins were everywhere.
Next was a wander in the Dneister riverside park where we met friendly families out enjoying the sunshine and thanking us for coming to visit and learn about their home.
Our local guide Andrej at the holocaust memorial, BenderSoviet era monument and the new wedding pagoda in the park, Bendery.Across from the park – the registry office – if anyone can remind me of what it says above the door, please comment below!Soviet Era mosaic showing importance of cable manufacturing in Bender
Then it was a quick nosey inside the House of Local Culture. This felt like a big community centre, faded posters advertising kids judo, choirs and craft clubs were stuck to the hall walls.
A giant soviet mural and a giant hammer and sickle poster adorned the walls of the main hall. Through two locked doors, Andrej our guide pointed out the room where weeklypeacekeeping meetings between Pridnestrovie, Moldova and Russia have taken place since the 1992 ceasefire between Moldova and Pridnestrovie to, as he put it, “avoid squabbles”.
Without vanishing down too much of a geopolitical rabbit hole (i think it’s important context)..
The PMR benefits from the Moldova/EU free trade agreement, with steel, textiles and wine exports heading off to Moldova (about 50%), the EU (over 30%) and about 10% to Russia.
Conversely, the PMR looks to Russia for around 70% of imports, with only 14% from the EU and just 7% from Moldova.
The people who call the PMR home are not a homogeneous group. Because the country is not recognised by the UN, Pridnestrovian citizens tend to have two or more citizenships including Moldovan, Russian, Romanian, or Ukrainian.
Memorial to victims of 1992 conflict, BenderLocal trolleybus, Bender PMR
Currency
Sadly despite what you might have read online, the plastic coins are no longer in use here. Credit cards could work but only if you happen to have a Russian one.
At the time of writing £1 was approx 24 PMR roubles. And more importantly 26 roubles buys a glass of very nice local wine!
Monument celebrating the local currency – the PMR rouble1 rouble
Tiraspol – capital city
Whilst the first thing we saw was a giant granite Lenin monument outside the government offices, the rest of the city felt pretty similar to other Eastern European cities. Yes, communist past was evident with soviet-era blocks of flats and monuments, but also a Korean beauty shop, plenty of hipster coffee shops and the odd Tesla driving by.
Oh and “Sheriff” branded supermarkets, petrol stations and the infamous FC Sheriff Tiraspol stadium (who once beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the Champions League)
Sheriff Tiraspol stadium
From what I’ve read, the Sheriff company grips the economy with monopolies and the relationship between sheriff bigwigs and the government is pretty damn shady.
Memorial square Red granite Lenin outside the government buildings Yuri Gagarin muralThe who’s who of important officialsLenin everywhereConcert hall, Tiraspol Concert hall again
Victory day “parade”
We woke to loud music echoing across the park and crowds of umbrellas meandering around in the rain.
We asked what time the parade started. Andrej, slightly baffled, said he wasn’t sure why we kept talking about parades. This was a day for the people to commemorate VE day and honour their WW2 dead.
No tanks, missiles or particular fanfare. Just thousands of families braving the rain to lay flowers at the war memorials.
It felt like the whole city had turned out to pay their respects laying flowers.This gentleman’s hat was definitely the most impressiveSome of the VE day flowers and soldiersThe young soldiers stood absolutely rigid and probably frozen in the rain
We were free to wander around without guides just cautioned not to take pictures of the “secret” police.
How to spot the secret police
Just look for the men that looks like he’s auditioning to be a football casual with puffer jackets ear pieces and putting a lot of effort into looking surly. The most inconspicuous one looked about 17 and sported a bumfluff moustache. He very gently and quietly accosted us at a coffee stand in the park, asking us where we were from. I assumed he was a curious teenager and launched into an effervescent ramble about Scotland, Glasgow (you know Rangers and Celtic football?) its cold and wet just like here today haha. He looked a mix of baffled and trying-hard-surly and and very gently “demanded” to see our papers. A quick look at our don’t lose it visas and he nodded and sloped off.
The day ended with music and very loud fireworks.
Special mention to the “Bros”
To the collaborative warm and friendly tour leader of redactedname tour group who bumped into us in our hotel lobby, called our tour “for pussies” and bragged that they had seen way more than we had (not true) and why weren’t we out getting blind drunk in the casinos? Fanny. We found out the next day that one of his group had been hospitalised and four unable to function from their memorable night in Tiraspol casinos *slow clap for machismo bros tour*
Out of town
Heading out of the city into the surrounding area, we crossed the Dniester river on the chain link “ferry” – a rusty steel platform hauled from bank to bank by a pair of grinning leathery old drunks.
The “ferry”This guy again! Outside a village town hallVillage town hall – there was a school dance show on in the main hallKitskany memorial – very atmospheric and eerily quietLooking east to Ukraine from Kitskany memorial
Final thoughts
What was it about this wee place that had felt weirdly familiar to me?
Scotland and Pridnestrovie – not immediately obvious …
…but scratch a bit deeper and you’ll find:
Both geographically small and on the arse ends of Europe.
Scotland tried to leave the UK in 2014. Transnistria declared independence in the ’90s and never looked back (despite the lack of international recognition).
Both with a fierce sense of identity, cuture and tradition.
Both historically faced invaders from all sides.
Both with their own government and currency*
Both with citizens who vote differently, talk differently, and think about the future differently to their geographical neighbours.
And finally, both interesting wee places that are worth a visit!
* although the currency is GBP, Scotland has it’s own designs on bank notes
(Thanks to Tom who nagged me to get this post finished!)
I stumbled across a recent article in The I. Describing the archipelago as “otherworldly European islands”I couldn’t help chuckling about an unorthodox trip there with a dear friend in February 2020 just before the covid pandemic.
I originally wrote this mid-way through a budget stay in the Azores nursing a an Azorean gin hangover.
Volcanoes, Goats and Fondue
I kept seeing adverts for luxury Azorean trips but was unconvinced that the hefty price tag was necessary for such a beautiful place.
So just for fun, we decided to see if we could visit “on the cheap”
Ryanair flights from London Stansted to Ponta Delagada on the main island of Sao Miguel for just £30? We were sold!
Armed with just our wee ryanair-approved hand luggage off we went with Storm Ciara (remember that?!) biting at our plane as it headed down the Atlantic. To be honest we were lucky we made it out of Stansted as Moira abandoned her luggage in the pub and went off for a wander! Luckily the barman decided that she didn’t look like a bomb smuggler.
To scrimp to the extreme, we didn’t bother booking seats together resulting in me sitting at the back of the plane convinced we were going to plunge into the Atlantic as we flew through Storm Ciara. (I was a nervous flyer then, not any more – I’ll write about that another time). Being tossed around at the back of the plane without a drink to calm my nerves because I’d stupidly volunteered to drive on arrival meanwhile Moira had lucked out with her over wing seat.
It really was a horrible flight, apparently my face was the colour of simmered gruel by the time we disembarked and I gave Moira a good telling off whilst waiting at the car hore desk. “I mean how COULD you? Pressing the call bell for more wine while the stewards were trying to revive the corpse in the aisle?!!” Moira assured me that it wasn’t her wee blonde head and perfectly manicured finger that had been agitating for more wine during the flight, rather it was the Danish girl infront of her.
We collectes the hire car. We’d picked the “economy ” option which turned out to be a pint-sized Volkswagen Up!. As my air-terror subsided I realised I hadn’t bothered to pack my glasses so couldn’t really see to drive on the wrong side of the road in the dark trying to find an Airbnb that wasn’t on Google maps. After driving over a kerb (i didn’t see it in the gloom)….first stop was a mercado to buy vino and ditch the car for the night.
Now the issue with being impulsive and grabbing cheap flights and doing destination research afterwards has its pluses and minuses. On the one hand, visiting the Azores off-season means no marauding hordes of cruise ship passengers. On the other hand, it turns out off season also means no island hopping flights and ferries, thus our trip was confined to the island of Sao Miguel. It is a beautiful island with rugged coasts, volcanoes and lush greenery with a LOT of rain and mist in February.
The first two nights we booked a small flat in the main town of Ponta Delgada owned by a local family. Budget travel always throws up some surprises! It was great to discover our apartment had not one but two en-suites – luxury! On the downside our hospitable host directed us to park the Up! in a pile of old smelly fish boxes rather than the pristine car park next door. It wasn’t until daylight that we realised why – the empty car park next door belonged to the local prison!
Day 2 Rocha de Relva hiking trail:
The Azores are famed for amazing hiking and walking but I confess our sum total of hiking during our Azorean holiday was a 15 minute march down the Rocha de Relva hiking trail in search of our Cheese Fondue experience at Lapsa Garden.
We set off down the very steep cliff path, in search of cheese and wine, convinced there was no way there could be anything but seabirds and maybe a wild goat or two as we tiptoed down the cliff….and then…
We found it! Lapsa Garden…Monsuier Moustache the resident catBeautiful bread with delicious home made pestoOur wine
Clung to the side of a cliff with decking, uninterrupted views of the sea and sky was Lapsa Garden and our beautiful hosts, Asnate & Tiago were waiting to stuff us full of local Azorean cheese fondue accompanied by very nice wine and their home-made bread, chutney and pesto. This was truly one of the most beautiful locations I’ve visited and I would love to go back to spend time unplugged.
Without doubt, the fondue was the best I’d tasted, bubbling, tangy and salty with fresh herby hints. We ended up sunburnt and absolutely pissed and insisted that, seeing as we’d drank far more than our fair share of Asnate and Tiago’s personal wine cellar that we took them out partying in Ponta Delgada that evening. I have a vague memory of plying our new friends with Scotch whisky and a lot of discussion about politics. Fun!
Day 3– Ponta Delgada: We were both suffering from our partying til the wee small hours. I woke up feeling like death. Moira had got up and gone for a walk and came back to drag me out my bed to go and do some very weird window shopping and fuel me with some extremely good pizza.
To my delight, I discovered that a childhood favourite of mine Um-Bongo tropical fruit juice* was on sale in the local store and I now swear by this if A- you have a really bad wine hangover and B- if you are drinking champagne, a dash of Um-Bongo really elevates it to a far superior flavour profile!
Day 4 – Fournas– it was time to say goodbye to the main town and head inland to the hot springs and volcanoes of Fournas. We made a brief stop to visit the pineapple farm, (free) and headed for the hills.
Now Google maps proved to be extremely UNHELPFUL by recommending a “shortcut” through some sort of sheep grazing path between two farms, nearly wedging the Up! between two walls!! If we’d bothered to look at the map properly, we’d have realised that by far the most efficient way to Fournas was via the motorway. I suppose you could say it was the scenic route… but driving up the steep side of a volcano in an automatic Voltswagen Up! which felt more like a Down! as it fought against gravity was a bit squeaky bum time! When we reached the top, the breathtaking views were of thick fog!
But in fairness, the scenic route did deliver the Cha Porto Formaso – tea plantation. Thanks to its unique climate, the Azores is know as the tea capital of Europe apparently? I confess we only stopped in for a picturesque pee stop but the lady at the desk was most insistent that we should tour the tea factory, watch the tea video and sample their tea.
As we headed further inland from the coast, dark oppressive clouds loomed over the volcanic centre of the island giving an ominous feeling of heading to Mordor. And to cap it off, I felt like I had a cold coming on, streaming nose and sneezing.
Our next accommodation was described as a “cottage garden” I suppose yes it was, they just failed to mention it was in a yard with a guard mastiff called Benjamin. The young woman told us it had been her grandmother’s cottage and we were her first official paying guests. She was so welcoming and I fell in love with the kitschy mismatched little house.
Our kitsch cottage in Fournas
Fournas was very quiet being off season, many of the restaurants were closed but we managed to find a wee place serving wine and pizza with a resident cat to keep us company. On our way home we stumbled across this bizarre upside down house (Casa Invertida), apparently someone decided to have a bit of fun with a mundane telephone exchange.
The upside down house, Fournas
The next morning we headed to the municipal hot springs –Poça da Dona Beija with the hope of the thermal baths killing off my cold. Entry costs just €6 – another Azorean bargain!! However, it turns out I wasn’t coming down with a cold, rather I am ALLERGIC to sulphur hot springs! The sulphur farting out of the earth made my face swell and my eyes stream, by the time I came out the pools I could barely breathe and sneezing profusely. So much for the healing powers of the natural thermal baths…
Day 5: Without a doubt my favourite day, – Breakfast With Goats. We visited Ricardo’s goat farm where we met, milked and cuddled the goats and then stuffed ourselves with an Azorean traditional breakfast including some delicious goats cheese, local breads, local fruit and local chocolate milkshake.
Day 6 – Nordest and (no) whale watching
If you make it this far north in Sao Miguel, do make sure to check out the local museum which looks like the contents of some long-dead Azorean’s shed. We were warmly welcomed, possibly because we were the first visitors in days.
The weather hadn’t been the best throughout our trip, we’d booked a whale watching trip for our final day but the company cancelled citing bad weather and storms. The picture below shows our misty walk to Nordeste lighthouse, I remain unconvinced that the whale watching company’s reasoning “It’s too wet to go out on a boat” really washed. In any case, we spent our final day looking out over the ocean eating tinned sardines and drinking Vinho Verde.
All too soon our mini break was over, as we toasted our successful (and very cheap) adventures in Sao Miguel .
Fina thoughts? Going REALLY off season is the most budget friendly way to visit the Azores, especially if you want to miss the cruise ship crowds, but we also missed the opportunity to island hop and missed the majority of the warm sunshine.
(*This was originally published in 2016, updated for 2024)
For years I used to look wistfully at the Caledonian Sleeper – a long shiny dinosaur on platform 11 in Glasgow Central. Being a romantic at heart I was full of fantasies about Strangers on a Train, Murders on Far Eastern Expresses and Amorous Greetings from Russia. Eventually I persuaded my long-suffering mum to go on an exciting adventure to London on the Sleeper train. And, whilst I was disappointed not to bump in to a tall dark handsome stranger, I did decide that it was a most pleasing way to make the trip to the Big Smoke.
Several years later, I’ve now got a big grown up job which requires trips to ‘the London Office’. I’m NOT a morning person – the red-eye to London dashes any romantic fantasies about jetting off to the City. These days the BA Cityflyer is more “primark” than “premium”.
“The Caledonian Sleeper” is in fact different trains starting at Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness. I believe they merge at Crewe when things go bump in the night, don’t panic, it’s just the highland and lowland sleepers clunking together. The first time you experience this it can be quite disconcerting, especially if you’re like me and pick the top bunk (I’m convinced the top bunk is a cat’s whisker wider than the bottom bunk and the top mattress endures less bottoms/suitcases so tends to be slightly more plump).
In theory, living in Stirling, I can catch the “highland” sleeper as it heads down from Inverness, calling at Stirling at midnight, allowing me to shower at home and head straight to my on-board-bed. Useful!
Victim of its own success?
Less useful for me – the Caledonian Sleeper is much discussed on Scotland travel forums and is now more often than not sold out weeks in advance these days – less handy for last minute business trips.
Cost of the Caledonian Sleeper 2024
I laughed when I looked back and wrote in 2016 that you could sometimes pick up a 1st class single for around £120. (Back then a 1st class gave you your own room so no sharing with snorey strangers, a nice breakfast delivered to your room and access to 1st class lounges in the station including access to a shower, and free food, drinks, newspapers, charging points for your phones.
I didn’t intend for this post to go in this direction but it got me thinking…Today a one way ticket in the basic “standard” room costs around £240 (no ensuite…although it does include a sink which I suspect many people take a sneaky pee in during their evening). Is the sleeper more “planet saver” than “pound saver”??
Well there you have it. Yes it may be cheaper to fly even once onward travel is accounted for but for me, I still feel drawn to the romance of a night train as new sleeper train services spring up across Europe.
Are you swayed to slumber on the sleeper?
As with anything cash buys comfort £425 one way for the double bed en-suite – around double the cost of a night in a 3 star London hotel room!
Bathrooms – the “public” toilets on the train aren’t as bad as you might think if you are traveling sans-en-suite.
Flip flops/sliders are handy for the romantic middle of the night toilet trips.
Earplugs and or noise cancelling headphones are a must – I never travel without them – to dull the hum of the engines and minimise thumps and bangs of 4am train alterations because even the posher rooms don’t block out the rail noises.
The “air con” is patchy – I’ve been allocated some rooms like an oven and some like a fridge – layers are your friend. If you get cold you can always nab the spare duvet from the other bunk.
Travel with snacks! I’ve heard stories of catering not being available from time to time!
The costs I’ve quoted are per room not per person so a travel buddy that doesn’t fart or snore and will split the cost makes it way more economical!
Don’t forget to A. open your blinds at Peterborough and pull silly faces at the grim-faced commuters on the platform from your bed and B. don’t forget to close the blinds when changing!
The Exploring Cat. Weird museums, unfrequented, underwhelming places, the road less travelled. 