Roads, What Roads?

There are just two things I really do not like about Moldova.  The roads are one of them. They would more be likened to "potholes with intermittent patches of road".  I have seen cow paths in my home state of Kentucky that were more solidly paved than most of the rural roads in Moldova. Come to think of it, that paving material is a really good description for what they must use to fill a few of the more serious potholes in the Spring, because it does not last much beyond a good rain.


I drive an old clunker here in Moldova because I cannot bring myself to put a new vehicle through the torture of the "streets" in Chisinau.  


That being said, I know of few places where you will see more high end vehicles, Mercedes, BMW's, Lexus, and even some Rolls Royce and Bentley.  That is one of the interesting things about Eastern Europe.  Americans have always heard about the "Great American Love Affair with the Automobile", fiddlesticks!  The Eastern European men and especially the Russians make Americans look like pikers when it comes to their car.  You almost have to see it to believe it, their automobile is like a baby, always spotless as possible and regular visits to legions of local car washes.  


Driving that car is another matter entirely.  The rule of driving here is that the most expensive car has the right of way, at least that is the way they seem to see it.  The other interesting thing is that when you see a wreck, it is usually two high end vehicles who apparently lost a game of "my car is more expensive than yours" chicken.  Some of the antics you will see on Moldovan roads are just hilarious and many could get you shot if you attempted them in Texas or a couple of other states in the U.S.  It is standard to see a new Mercedes get in the left lane and run to the front of 30 or 40 cars at a stoplight and wedge themselves in front of the first car.