Meet My Friends, Laurentia
In this episode you can meet one of my travel buddies
Welcome to Meet My Friends, a series of interviews with people I met during my trips, special people who became my friends. I enjoy meeting new people while travelling, which is why I often volunteer during my trips. I think it is important to meet local people to know more about the culture of the place you visit, and sometimes you meet people with fascinating stories. In these interviews, I want you to know a bit about my friends and their countries, their stories and why they are special to me.
This interview is not with a person I met while travelling but with one of my close friends. I met Laurentia in Budapest. We hiked together several times and ran a half marathon together. She was my travel buddy in Morocco ( you can read about it here, here, and here) and Georgia (read about it here and here). A few years ago, I visited her in Amsterdam for my birthday.
Please meet my friend Laurentia, I hope you enjoy this interview.
Please introduce yourself, where you are from, where you are right now, what you do, and how your typical day is.
Hi, I’m Laurentia! I’m originally from Moldova but have lived abroad for the past 10 years. Right now I live in the Netherlands and I work at IKEA in the analytics department. Mmm, it’s hard to describe a typical day as my days can be quite diverse. One day I might work from the office and in the evening go for an improv class or I could work from home and then meet a friend for dinner, or go to dinner with strangers :D (there is this app called Timeleft which can be quite fun to try). Still, I have some routines that I always try to stick to, like going for a run, meditating every day or catching up with friends and family.
What does travelling mean to you?
Exploration, new experiences, new connections, learning. I LOVE it and I try to do it as often as I can.
What is your favourite destination? Why?
Uh, that’s a hard one. However, if I were forced to choose a spot, that would be the Ko Surin Nuea island in Thailand. I was there 10 years ago, on my first backpacking trip in Asia, and I’ve spent 5 days on the uninhabited part of the island, camping. It was beautiful and I felt very close to nature as never before. It was also there that I first tried snorkelling and saw the beauty of the underwater world. If you have the chance – go there!
Can you tell us about your country, Moldova? What are the main places to visit or things to do?
I’m really bad at advertising my own country :D but will try my best! Moldova is a small country in the east of Europe neighbouring Romania and Ukraine. We’ve been labelled the ‘poorest country in Europe’ and ‘the worst country in Europe’, but it’s actually not that bad :D Moldova is not a touristy destination, so if you’re out for some authentic local experiences, that is the place to go! We also produce a lot of wine and have many local wineries around the country. These days you can explore the country’s wine-making industry by following one of the official wine routes. We also have the longest underground cellar in the world (250km) in Milestii Mici. I’ve heard you can just explore with your own car if you like. Moldova is also an agricultural country so life in the countryside can be quite a unique experience for people visiting. These days you can stay in B&Bs and pay to have a countryside adventure. This website tries to summarize it all. Of course, Moldova is best known for its separatist region, Transnistria, which feels like a step back into the Soviet era.
We travelled several times together, so, apart from me, who is your dream travel buddy?
Tough one :D I would say my high-school friend Violeta. It was with her that I started travelling overseas, backpacking-style and we’ve made a lot of great memories and have been on many (crazy) adventures.
One or two dishes from Moldova, that you can't miss when travelling there, and your favourite dish from a place you travelled to.
One is ‘răcitură’, basically rooster broth which has been boiled for so long that it jellifies when kept in the fridge. Sounds funny but tastes great! I also like the ‘zeamă’ – our traditional soup which you shouldn’t miss if you visit Moldova!
A favourite dish from a place I travelled would be the ramen soup in Japan. Food in Japan in general is amazing!
You live in Amsterdam now, what is your favourite place in the city? Maybe one that is not overcrowded by tourism.
I love nature, so my favourite place in the city is actually a big park. It’s called Amsterdamse Bos (Forest of Amsterdam) and it definitely feels like one. They have a super nice goat farm where you can go and have ice cream and pet goats and feed them milk, as well as a small lake where you can go kayaking in summer. I love it there!
If someone knows about Moldavia they probably know it because of Transnistria, have you been there? What do you think about it?
Yes, I have. I also have relatives who live there. I think it’s an interesting place with a sad history. Not sure if it’s appropriate to say this but it feels like our version of North Korea. It’s definitely a place worth visiting and an experience in itself. For most people, it should be safe.
We have been hiking several times together, do you have a favourite hike or a favourite place where you hiked?
Yes, my favourite was hiking Triglav in Slovenia. It was a three-day- hike from hut to hut which ended on top of the highest mountain in Slovenia. It was beautiful and it remained my favourite since it was the first multiple-day hike I did.
Your next trip is already paid for, where would you go?
Italy :D I will go on a road trip with my parents this April. They have never visited Italy, so it’s a first for them. I’m very excited because my dad is a historian so I can’t wait for him to see Rome and Pompeii!
If you could be a character in a movie what would you be?
Maybe the female version of Indiana Jones :D I like a mix of adventure and history :D
Thank you to Laurentia for participating in Meet My Friends. If you enjoyed it, please consider subscribing, updating to a paid subscription, or buying me a coffee. Also, you can share it with people you think might like this content.
