Eurovision inspired me to visit Moldova: Here's what I learned

Photo supplied by Margaret Waldersee

By new Aussievision contributor Margaret Waldersee

Many fans dream of attending Eurovision itself, but Eurovision can inspire travel in another way too.

The slippery slope Eurovision fandom takes all of us Eurofans by surprise. One year, you have the contest playing casually in the background on a Sunday evening, the next, you’re setting alarms for 5am, and before you know it, you’re following national finals and pre-party schedules.

The dream of attending Eurovision can seem unattainable for an Aussie fan. The cost of getting there alone, the time you’d have to take off work, and the entire process of getting tickets can all feel overwhelming from our side of the globe.

But Eurovision can also spark a fascination with the countries behind the songs.

For me, that country was Moldova.

Photo supplied by Margaret Waldersee

Moldova: The Eurovision country that hooked me

We all have a Eurovision entry that hooked us in.

For me, it was Zdob și Zdub's 2011 entry, So Lucky!

As an Australian teenager, seeing those goofy Moldovan guys in their big pointy hats accompanied on stage by a fairy on a unicycle busting out that unreasonably catchy trumpet breakdown forever altered something inside of me.

The fascinating part was that this wasn't a one-off weird moment for Moldova.

I quickly realised this was their Eurovision persona.

That same unapologetic, unhinged energy has shown up in their entries year after year, and it became a huge part of what eventually had me obsessively tuning in every year, if for no other reason than to see what exactly they were going to do next.

In 2025, I decided I needed to go there to understand how the poorest and one of the least visited countries in Europe was able to deliver such unadulterated joy at Eurovision year after year.

I wanted to see for myself where that energy came from.

Getting there is easier than you think

Getting to Moldova can seem intimidating, but as with any trip, a little research goes a very long way.

Eurovision was what brought me there, so of course I decided to arrive on the "Friendship", the train linking Bucharest and Chișinău that featured in Zdob și Zdub's 2022 Eurovision entry, Trenulețul.

The journey costs anywhere from AUD$30 to AUD$80, with tickets easily purchased from Bucharest's central train station.

Travelling on the Eurovision train means spending about 16 hours on one of the last running Soviet-era sleeper trains. The cabins are decked out with old brown leather beds and gaudy gold curtains, while the bar cart feels like you've stepped into someone's gran's living room.

When you reach the Moldovan border, the train stops for several hours while the wheels are manually changed. Moldova still runs on the old Soviet broad-gauge rail network, which uses a different track size to much of Europe.

Watching the entire train lifted so the wheels can be replaced is a sight to behold.

Understanding Moldova through Eurovision

The border crossing feels symbolic because when you arrive in Chișinău, reminders of Moldova's Soviet past are everywhere.

You see it in the architecture, the monuments, the languages spoken and even the food.

At the same time, what stood out most to me was an overwhelming sense of pride in being part of Europe and a quiet but intentional distance from Russia.

There is a stunning mosaic in central Chișinău commemorating the 2024 Paris Olympics, not because Moldova achieved anything particularly noteworthy there, but simply because they were there.

To me, that's also a good summation of Moldova's Eurovision story.

When you visit the country, you quickly realise how important it is for its people to be recognised as part of a wider, peaceful community.

Events like Eurovision help achieve that.

Simply being part of it and having the opportunity to show the world who they are is enough.

Seeing Moldova in person gave me a far greater appreciation of why the contest matters there.

Photo supplied by Margaret Waldersee

The chaos of Selecția Națională

No trip to Moldova as a Eurovision fan would be complete without diving into its national selection.

Selecția Națională is a favourite among Eurovision fans and is rarely short on drama.

Moldova's selection process has attracted criticism for years, with the quality of some line-ups regularly questioned.

That debate reached a peak in 2025 when Moldova ultimately withdrew from Eurovision altogether due to the entries they received.

Yet what makes the Moldovan selection so fascinating is how often Eurovision success emerges from seemingly unlikely beginnings.

Over the past decade, Moldova has qualified for the Eurovision Grand Final at roughly the same rate as Australia.

When you look at some of the performances in their national final, that statistic becomes even more impressive.

The selection is also filled with recurring characters that have become Eurovision folklore.

Among them is 83-year-old Tudor Bumbac, whose annual appearances have earned him something of a cult following among Eurovision fans.

The sheer lore surrounding Moldova's national final is brilliantly unusual and utterly intoxicating.

The best part? Tickets can cost as little as €8.

A different way to experience Eurovision

Seeing your favourite Eurovision country in person may seem far-fetched, but it is often much more attainable than many Australian fans realise.

National final tickets are generally far easier to obtain than Eurovision tickets themselves.

Some selections take months to sell out, if they sell out at all.

If your Eurovision country is Finland, Albania, France, Moldova or somewhere else entirely, visiting can give you a completely different understanding of what you see on television each year.

Seeing Moldova in person and meeting its people gave me a new level of appreciation for what the country brings to Eurovision.

This is an adventure that may seem crazy, but if we can learn anything from our brothers over in Moldova, it is that sometimes, embracing a bit of crazy can be a very good idea.

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