Bendery
Bendery (Russian: Бендеры; Moldovan: Bender or Tighina) is a city in the unrecognized republic of Transnistria, on the west or right bank of the Dniestr River.
Get in
Frequent buses and marshrutkas stop here en route from Chisinau, Causeni and Tiraspol. Trolley bus 19 from Tiraspol costs RUB1.6, tickets are sold by the conductor. Trains run from Bender 2 station to Chisinau, Odessa and even Moscow.
Get around
You can explore the city easily on foot.
See
The town is pleasant to walk through. You'll notice a fortified Russian checkpoint on the bridge leading across the Dniestr, these are the local peacekeeping forces. Nearby is a monument to "independence" conflict. The bus terminal is a nice example of Soviet bus terminal design.
- 🌍 Bendery Fortress. A nice old fortification overlooking the river, which unfortunately is still used by the army and can not be visited.
In the nearby village of Varnita there is a monument in memory of the skirmishes (famous in Swedish history as kalabaliken) during which Charles XII, king of Sweden, was taken prisoner by Turkish forces (1713), after having been in the city as a refugee following the battle of Poltava.
Do
- The main train station is worth seeing. It has some interesting architecture and the tracks can be explored, although the station is so quiet as to seem abandoned.
- To the left of the station (looking towards the front of it) is an old Soviet train which is purportedly houses a free museum (although this museum seems to be closed).
Buy
Eat
There's a nice Uzbek restaurant nearby the bus terminal. The owner also speaks some English. If you are looking for a western style food place then you can visit Andy's Pizza which is in the middle of Bendery one block away from Supermarket Sheriff.
Drink
The local wine represents good value. The quality is higher than the price suggests, it's well worth trying.