This year's Baltic Run winners answer our questions. The Baltic Run is over for another year, so we took the chance to interview this year's champions: Team Oachkatzl. They excelled at the various challenges set throughout the Baltic Run, and for their victory were presented with a remote-controlled car. We caught up with Christina and Christian a few days after the rally. Hello! How are you? Christina: Christian and I arrived safely in our snow-covered home in Austria and now I want to thank you again for those unforgettable, adventurous days we spent with you on the Baltic Run. It was GREAT ! Why did you decide to do the Rally? Christina: We are still in contact with participants of previous rallies, and we knew that Annie and Simon, as well as Dirk, wanted to participate, so we thought signing up for the "Baltic Run" would be a nice occasion to meet them again. Christian: And we visited the Baltics including Kaliningrad in the summer 2015 and we wondered what it might look like in winter and it definitely was worth a second visit! Were the Baltics what you expected? Christina: We knew the beautiful Baltic States already from a holiday in May and June, so we were afraid of the dark, long winter-nights and thought we would miss the blooming meadows and the sun. Instead we were surprised how wonderful it was in winter: we enjoyed the Christmas decoration in the lovely towns, the snow-covered backroads and all the interesting sights we got to visit. What was your craziest experience? Christina: The stay in the Hotel "Fontaine Royal" in Liepaja [where the owner was a very eccentric, but generous, host]. Christian: We even spend Saturday night 3 more hours in the Fontaine-Lobby waiting for our ferry. Regrettably, Louis didn't show up. Kaspar was disappointed and
This year’s Baltic Run winners answer our questions. The Baltic Run is over for another year, so we took the chance to interview this year’s champions: Team Oachkatzl. They excelled at the various challenges set throughout the Baltic Run, and for their victory were presented with a remote-controlled car. We caught up with Christina and Christian a few days after
The latest Baltic Run is over, so it's time to look back at the highlights! After a terrific 9 days, travelling over 2600km all the way from Krakow to Tallinn, the latest Baltic Run is over for another year. The teams -- "Wildsome Volvo", "Hakuna Matatu", "Barfeeli", "Deepzone", "21", and "The Road Blockers" -- came from all over the world to enjoy the winter wonderland of the Baltics. And they weren't disappointed: here's what we learned on the latest Baltic Run! There was a lot of snow... The minimal assistance rally started off without snow, but that soon changed. Within a few days the coldest winter in years had arrived in Eastern Europe, which meant plenty chances to test the participant's winter driving skills! Sure, it meant taking the driving slow, but who wants to speed past the stunning scenery? And plenty ice... While it was a hazard on the roads, participants got to see beautiful frozen lakes, if (like pictured above) they were brave enough to face to cold! When even water bottles are freezing, you know it's cold. But the Danish team didn't feel the cold! Unbelievably, even while spending most of the week in temperatures below -10°C, some hardy Baltic Run participants (pictured above) claimed to not even need a jumper! However, trying to escape the cold has its dangers... when another team, "Barfeeli", attempted to warm up by visiting a spa in Lithuania, they couldn't understand why the lady at the reception, who spoke no English, seemed so surprised to see tourists. They soon understood: on arrival they encountered a thermal bath absolutely packed with naked Lithuanians. Was arriving in the spa town of Druskininkai on "naked Friday", celebrated monthly, was lucky or unfortunate? It's up to you! Breakdowns are Unavoidable The latest
The latest Baltic Run is over, so it’s time to look back at the highlights! After a terrific 9 days, travelling over 2600km all the way from Krakow to Tallinn, the latest Baltic Run is over for another year. The teams — “Wildsome Volvo”, “Hakuna Matatu”, “Barfeeli”, “Deepzone”, “21”, and “The Road Blockers” — came
With the winter holidays over, there was not much to do besides sit in front of the television feeling like you’re about to burst from all the food, getting ready to see in the New Year with the new resolutions to lead a healthier life. However, for this very reason, we decided it’s the perfect time for an adventure. For those looking for warmer climes, we offered the Rickshaw Challenge Classic Run, but for those looking to keep in with the seasonal winter theme, we launched a brand new rally up in the Baltic States. Five teams and nine participants from four countries took part in the inaugural event that kicked off from Krakow, Poland on December 29, 2014, which finished up in Tallinn, Estonia on January 6, 2015 after a snow-clad adventure spanning 2600km across Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Stops on the way included a number of Soviet relics, such as Karosta jail and a secret nuclear bunker in Latvia, a visit to a nuclear silo and a night in Hitler’s Eastern Front Military headquarters “Wolf’s Lair” in Poland. But perhaps one of the main highlights of the event was spending New Year with the locals in the Lithuanian spa town of Druskininkai. It was a historic moment for the Baltic country, since they switched from using the Lithuanian Litas to the Euro. Druskininkai was also the perfect place to recover, since it’s famous for its spas. The huge aquapark and indoor ski centre certainly wowed the participants on the Baltic Run! There was a lot of celebration on this icy, minimal assistance rally. Dirk from team One Life Live It celebrated his birthday in a sauna in a remote country house in Latvia. This was somewhere in between the time when the teams spent a lot of time
With the winter holidays over, there was not much to do besides sit in front of the television feeling like you’re about to burst from all the food, getting ready to see in the New Year with the new resolutions to lead a healthier life. However, for this very reason, we decided it’s the perfect time
