Chisinau run

After memorable day trips to Transdniester (Wednesday) and Gagauzia (Thursday) I had a bit of time for a run in the Moldovan capital this morning. I had already managed an unusual jog yesterday on my return from Gagauzia, running from the distant South Bus station in the furthest suburbs of Chisinau to my city centre hotel 6km away, stopping only for beer, sarmale and ciorba! As with many post-Soviet cities, Chisinau is not ideally suited to running with its potholes, crumbling pavements and big kerbstones. But, having said that, there's plenty of green space in the city and it is certainly easier than I found running in Tbilisi, Bishkek, Yerevan and the like. This morning I ran from my hotel at the eastern end of Pushkin Street up towards the parliament in perfect crisp, clear and sunny conditions. I made my way to the obvious large urban lake of Parcul Valea Morilor and did a lap of this with several other runners. I made my way back via a tortuous return through the city centre.