Before I start with my first impressions of Moldova here are some passing observations on the Western area of Romania which I drove through driving from Constanta on the Black Sea coast up to Oancea on the Moldovan Border.
A vast part of west Romania has no mountains, like those I had become accustomed too, but is a plain. Much of the drive was spent gazing across landscape at the same level as myself, but unusually I could see all the way to the horizon. At times the view was blocked by the wheat and maize growing right up to the roadside, but at other times the full landscape was visible and you could even identify the meandering rivers by the corridors of reeds.
During the morning (it was Sunday) many villagers were returning home from the church morning service. There were occasional individuals, but more often couples strolling and chatting. Most notable were the many pairs of female friends together, clearly...
