March 2025. Bender. Transnistria/Moldova.
Well, that’s an open goal of a blog title, isn’t it ?
Actually, only a local pint in the breakaway territory of Transinistria, as I resist those bottles of vodka in the Sheriff supermarket which I subsequently calculated to cost sixteen (16) pence.
We’d crossed the border in Bender,
a city of 100,000 and rather fluid composition.
Our guide was already dealing with requests to amend our itinerary from the Kazakhstan contingent, and would have let me pop in a Bender boozer, but sadly the only bar in town is Night Club Ekvator, whose last review is illuminating;
Instead, we headed for the cinema,
about to show the new Snow White to Bender’s toddlers, I reckon.
I think (think) those bottles of Kozel cost 23p, and I was tempted to ask for a local beer in my best Russian but Mrs RM told me off for keeping us from important statues.
I don’t think the statues were all that.
But the elegant town square was fascinating. Initially totally deserted on Saturday lunchtime, before a veritable horde of local teens walked past, smoothies in hand, presumably on their way to Night Club Ekvator at 1pm.
And then to the obligatory tank, under the Transnistrian flag.
There’s a lot of flag waving in Transnistria.
retiredmartin 