4. Stage Departure, Way, Hazards

Well, how do I start?

Gudd, so today with pancakes made by Mamuschka with homemade jam and a nice egg with ham and cheese and coffee for breakfast. Then off, saddled up the mare and headed towards the Moldovan border, easier said than done, at the first station (actually the main crossing) I passed without realizing it, no signs, didn't notice anything. Same problem at the second possible station when I crossed a huge river (Dnestr) and saw Kiev on the road sign, I had the strange feeling that I had gotten completely lost, I quickly looked at the map and yes, I should turn back. Then I drove to the next possible border station. No sign, no indication, friendly passersby helped here 'Moldova tuda👉?' There, tuda👈! Ah, okay. I'll take the dirt road. Now the fuel was running out and no gas station, no border. Oh well, keep going and just when you think it's not possible, there's a gas station somewhere! Fill up, poachalsta (here you get a full tank) . Then continue across the field and behold, a border station without a crowd. Drove right up to it, knew how it was now. But no, it didn't go any faster, this time my passport was apparently so interesting that the inspection process took a whopping 45 minutes, 30 minutes with the Ukrainians and 15 with the Moldovans.

Then I could continue, they didn't want to sell me a vignette, but the motorbike was okay.👍🏻

First sign Chisinau, turn right, mh. The road got worse and worse, no traffic? Am I still on the right track? Passerby, Chisinau? Höä? Ah, Kissiniov, tuda. Guddie, turn back again. Then found the M5 road sign, Chisinau, and off we went, literally. While in Ukraine you could at least see the potholes, here there were cracks, drops, depressions, etc. that you mostly noticed too late, and that at speeds of up to 120 km/h. It was insane how much pounding the suspension, the Guzzi, and I had to endure today, some of them were so heavy that I thought something would fly apart or we would fly off the track. But the landscape was beautiful.

I boldly claim that with my other bike I would have flown mercilessly off the road at one or the other place, thanks to Luigi and his suspension builders. I REALLY MEAN THAT TODAY!

And the M5 road certainly doesn't stand for Motorway 5, but for the 5 characteristics of the road or its users: masochism, martyrdom, torture, material-consuming, and murderous.

Now it's only a stone's throw away from the destination Transnistria, 30 km, and I'm considering not driving a little further through Transnistria to Odessa. 🏖️ Let's see, first 2 days in the Soviet Union at the Chisinau Hotel, the first house in town, but before 1990.

Now it's starting to rain here, luckily I don't have to drive anymore.

Actually, I could also take the rest of my vacation and keep going, Lake Baikal? 🤔 China🤔 let's see, dear colleagues... 😉