Friday Funny

Promises made, promises delivered. Not.

 

Trip Report: Visiting Transnistria, The Country That Doesn't Exist

The Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991 and many of the Soviet socialist countries that made up the Soviet Union declared their independence from Russia. One of those was Moldova which today remains an independent country. However, a far eastern slice of Moldova, an area with many ethnic Russians, was fearful that Moldova was going to try to merge into Romania and they declared their own independence from Moldova. A brief war was fought in 1992 and a ceasefire was declared after a few months of fighting. That eastern slice, known as Transnistria, remains a separate country today almost 35 years later.

They call themselves a separate country except that no other country in the world has recognized them as a country. The world still considers Transnistria to be a part of Moldova. During our visit earlier this month to Chișinău, the capital of Moldova, we took a day trip over to to Tiraspol, the capital of Transnistria. We had our passports checked at the Transnistria border. (Moldova does not check passports on the return because as far as they're concerned, there is no Transnistrian country so why bother.)

 

Welcome to Transnistria, a "country" where the old Soviet Union is revered.

Lots of statues of Lenin abound along with Soviet style architecture.

The red & green flag of Transnistria contains a Soviet hammer & sickle in its upper corner. It stands here beside the Russian flag. (The other flags belong to the cities of Transnistria.)

They have their own currency called the Transnistria Ruble. It's not good anywhere except Transnistria. Western credit cards can't be used because the country is unrecognized anywhere else and they are only tied to the Russian banking system which itself is under sanctions. So to buy anything, you must exchange your Dollars, Euros or Moldovan Leu to Transnistria Rubles. Please note that they themselves call their country Pridnestrovie in the Cyrillic alphabet.

We purchased this Transnistria coin set of plastic coins as a souvenir. They have metal coins now so the plastic coins seem only to be for tourists.

There are up to 1,500 Russian soldiers stationed in Transnistria but with Moldova on one side and a closed border with Ukraine on the other side, they are kind of stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Transnistrians are free to visit Moldova since there are no passport checks and Moldova considers them Moldovans. They can't travel further without a Moldovan passport since their own passport is worthless. For now, things are status quo. Moldova has applied for EU membership and is on track. A merger into Romania is also possible which brings not only EU membership but also membership into NATO. A fascinating little part of the world not many know about. Everyone we met was friendly and we're so glad we got to visit.

This Weekend In Techno Town

July ends, August begins:

THU   30JUL     TACO KAT     DJ Cristhian Balcazar (EC/USA) 

FRI     31JUL     ALFIE'S HIFI     DJ Sean Samaroo (USA)

FRI     31JUL     GOOD TIMES     Abyss: DJ Lavidicus (USA)

FRI     31JUL     BROKEN STRINGS   DJ ZZ (USA)

SAT    01AUG    HOUSE OF MOUSE AFTERPARTY   DJ Elliot (USA)

SAT    01AUG    BARBARELLA     DJ Rob Bates (USA) 

SAT    01AUG    PALM TREE CLUB     DJ Chino (USA) 

SAT    01AUG    CITYWALK STAGE   EDM Night: DJ Josh Lawrence (USA)

SAT    01AUG    MORSE CODE     DJ Scot Marc (USA) 

SAT    01AUG    IRON COW     DJ Nina S (USA) & DJ Mr. Nukem (UAE)

SAT    01AUG    ALFIE'S HIFI     DJ Austen Van Der Bleek (USA) 

FRIDAY - SUNDAY:

Season 5 Music Festival    Hotel Venezia   Venice, FL 

 

DS Update: No Food Trucks

The original name for this plot of land in Disney Springs West Side was Food Truck Park but before it opened it was renamed Exhibition Park. We have seen up to 4 food trucks parked out here but most-recently, just one. But now there are none.

We think the food truck craze is over.

 

PI Update: Waterview Stage Construction Update

We previously reported on construction at the Waterview Stage on Pleasure Island where construction walls surround the venue. They are constructing a roof to cover event attendees at events and construction has now progressed enough that one can now see some of the work appearing above the walls. Kind of reminds us of similar construction at Elixir Bar in downtown Orlando. A roof of this magnitude must be able to withstand hurricane winds. This outdoor music stage is located where Rock'n'Roll Beach Club once stood.

 

Club Reports: Barbarella, Discoteria @ Iron Cow

It was a bit like a night at 8TRAX last night as DJ BOHAV (USA) played 70's Disco and Nu-Disco for "Discoteria". He's a resident DJ at retro club Good Night John Boy over in St. Petersburg. Saturday night pics are on sister website Orlando Entertainment News HERE.

 

Club Reports: Mulligans, Luke Combs’ Category 10, Iron Cow

The Breaks crowd was out at Mulligans in Longwood last night and sister website Orlando Entertainment News was there! You can find all the pictures HERE.

 

Friday Funny

 

PI Update: Six Ravens Is NOT Open Yet

Unless they opened yesterday afternoon or this morning, Six Ravens is NOT open yet. We thought we had read somewhere that they had opened for business earlier this week but when we went by yesterday morning, all an employee outside would tell us is "Soon". Six Ravens is located in the spot along Hill Street where World of Shaving once operated. It is related to Gideon's Bakehouse further down the street.

 

This Weekend In Techno Town

Summertime Slowness continues:

THU   23JUL     ALFIE'S HIFI     DJ Frankmatik (USA) 

FRI     24JUL     CELINE     DJ duo Coco & Breezy (USA)

FRI     24JUL     IRON COW     DJ Chad Andrew (USA)

FRI     24JUL     TACO KAT     DJ Durosai (USA) 

SAT    25JUL     VANGUARD     DJ Apes on Acid (USA)

SAT    25JUL     PALM TREE CLUB     DJ Dedro (USA)

SAT    25JUL     IRON COW     Discoteria: DJ Mighty Shari (USA)

SAT    25JUL     ALFIE'S HIFI     DJ Brian Burnside (USA) 

 

 

PI Update: Club Views

Well we all know Pleasure Island clubs BET Soundstage, Rock'n'roll Beach Club, Motion and Comedy Warehouse were razed. But the others were not and you can still see them and remember them if you know where to look. Coming across the No. 2 Bridge to Pleasure Island, we will never forget Mannequins now hosting an Asian-themed restaurant. Long live Mannequins!

Along Hill Street, the Adventurers Club now is host to a restaurant & bar, sometimes with nightly entertainment. Long live Adventurers Club!

And from the bottom of Hill Street one can still see part of 8TRAX, now mostly the kitchen of that Asian-themed restaurant. Long live 8TRAX!

 

PI Update: Mannequins Gets A New Tree

When Morimoto Asia opened in the early days of Disney Springs, that planter in front of the restaurant contained smaller oak trees. From the outset the trees blocked the view of the Morimoto sign to passersby and over the years the sign view became more-and-more blocked as the trees grew.

That has now changed. The two trees closest to the springs were removed and replaced with a sabal palm tree which is far-easier to maintain and no longer blocks the sign. Long live Mannequins!

 

EDC-Orlando Single Day Tickets

The DJ lineup for the 2026 edition of Electric Daisy Carnival - Orlando was previously released but now the day-by-day lineups are out and single day tickets are on-sale. The 3-day event takes place at Tinker Field outside Camping World Stadium on November 6/7/8 and you can get more details and advance tickets HERE.

 

CW Update: CityWalk Music Series

The CityWalk Summer Music Series has been in progress for several weeks but we wanted to call you attention to Saturday, August 1st when they will be having an EDM Night ft. DJ Josh Lawrence (USA). The event takes place at 8PM, 9PM and 10PM at the CityWalk Waterfront Stage.

DS Update: No Price Change At Aerophile

We noticed that there has been no recent price change at the Aerophile-operated balloon ride in Disney Springs West Side. The attraction originally opened under the name Characters In Flight. Still $29.99 per adult. 

 

DS Update: Level99 Is Open

The interactive game facility Level99 did open for business a couple weeks ago and SPI was there to check it out.

There was a pretty big crowd standing around for the opening although it wasn't clear to us how many would actually be going inside to pay and play.

 

Level99 is in the building that previously housed the short-lived and ill-advised NBA Experience attraction. That replaced DisneyQuest. It remains to be seen how many Disney guests want to play games against other Disney guests, particularly when those guests are strangers. 

This Weekend In Techno Town

Greetings from Europe. Here is who I will be missing this coming weekend:

FRI     17JUL     CELINE     DJ Mary Droppinz (USA)

FRI     17JUL     PALM TREE CLUB     DJ Mike Nervous (USA)

FRI     17JUL     SWIRLERY     DJ Arcade Apocalypse (USA)

FRI     17JUL     ALFIE'S HIFI     DJ U Dig (USA)

SAT    18JUL     IRON COW     DJ Deekline (GB)

SAT    18JUL     ELIXIR BAR     DJ Simon Doty (CDN)

SAT    18JUL     ALFIE'S HIFI     DJ Justin Davis (USA)

SUN   19JUL     ALFIE'S HIFI     DJ Brian Burnside (USA)

DS Update: Garbage In, Garbage Out

Former garbage can from the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

New garbage can from the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

Only the Save Pleasure Island Blog delivers news like this!

Club Reports: Amadeus Club, Panorama Bar (Amadeus Amara), Art Show (Belgrade, Serbia)

 

There was actually a 70's/80's club night on our river cruise and we've posted the photos. In addition, while we were wandering around Belgrade, Serbia last night, we found House music from DJ Una Nikolic (SRB) within the fortress complex. Photos HERE.

Friday Funny