The Baltic Run minimal assistance rally headed into the deep cold on Days 6 & 7!
The Baltic Run Day 6
Day 6 of our adventure began in Liepaja, the city in Latvia famous for its wing, with (predictably) a strong wind and some snow blizzard. Regardless of weather conditions, however, teams left the hotel early. The exhaust pipe of the vehicle driven by team Hakuna Matatu had to be repaired, so the lead organizer Attila decided to give them his car and take care of theirs. This meant the organizers had to stay until early afternoon in Liepaja to wait for the repairmen to fix the car.
An innovative use of Chewing Gun
We then headed to our next stop – the small town of Sigulda. Some went via the lovely Rundale Palace Gardens, pictured above. On the way to Sigulda the Danish team ,Wildsome Volvo, called to report there was a wire melt in their car and all their front lights were gone in the middle of a highway. So they stopped, and fixed that problem in an extremely creative way – with chewing gum! It was snowing most of the time to Sigulda, and by the time we got there we found the rest of the Baltic Run participants comfortably sitting in a small restaurant near the hotel. We had a few drinks together and on the way back to the hotel, snow started falling. So we sat together with some of the participants in a lobby on the third floor enjoying the snow through the big windows there.
Baltic Run Day 7
We left the hotel early to visit (and try out!) a bobsled track near Sigulda. We then left for the Soviet nuclear bunker where we had a guided tour and literally time-traveled to Soviet times. Just before reaching the guest house in Aluksne where we had to spend the night, we saw team Barfeeli who told us that they had a technical problem. They said they were losing power, so lead organizer Attila’s vehicle again served as an emergency vehicle. We took the three members of the team in our car, and went to a restaurant to have dinner with the others, because we decided that the problem coudl not be fixed on an empty stomach. After having some local dishes, we all went back to the house – and team Barfeeli’s car. Fortunately, their problem was quickly solved – it turned out they had just run low on fuel.
Out of the Sauna into the Snow!
The guest house was booked for us only, we had a huge living room and we set up nice table with food and drinks. Some people went to the sauna to warm up after a really cold day; they ran out in the snow straight from the sauna at midnight we all went out because we had previously bought fireworks on the occasion of Dirk’s birthday; we enjoyed the fireworks, then went back to continue the party!
Keen to participate in the Baltic Run minimal assistance rally? 2600km, four countries, nine days! Also: a lot of snow, saunas, and vodka! From Krakow in Poland to Tallinn in Estonia, via Lithuania and Latvia, you’ll see nuclear bunkers, historic towns, and a some stunning winter scenery.