Travel Report Baltics 2023
Participating Members: Moritz Laenge, Jonathan Kalmbach, Julius Wachter, Milan Binder
Countries: Germany, Chech Republik, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland
Duration: 14 days
Equipment: Sleeping bag, airmatress, tents
Start: 11 september 2023 End: 24 september 2023
Tripgoal: Make it to Tallin with a junk car
Biggest issue: Fixing car and praying it will last for a few more days
number of oatmeal breakfasts: 9
Author: Milan Binder
One of the funniest trips back in 2023 Back in 2023,
I bought a car for just €250 during the summer. It broke down after only 50km on our way back from the seller’s, which was just the beginning of our adventure. After some DIY fixes and a new battery, we were eager to start our journey from the Black Forest in Germany all the way to Tallinn in Estonia. Before we left, we decorated our VW Lupo with stickers and flags, making it look a bit more cheerful for the road.
Squeezing four guys into a VW Lupo was a tight fit, and sure enough, about a hundred kilometers in, the car just stopped running. A great start to a long journey, right? But after waiting a bit, it started up again. We figured out that whenever we were stuck in stop-and-go traffic, the engine overheated and eventually just quit on us.
We even got stopped by the police at one point and almost weren’t allowed to continue. Luckily, we managed to make it to the Czech Republic on the first day. We camped out there, then headed to Wrocław the next day. That’s where Moritz got food poisoning, so we ended up staying there for a good night. After that, it was off to Warsaw for two days, which was an impressive city with lots of cool spots to explore. Next, we aimed to leave Poland and camped in a national park near the Suwałki Gap, right between Kaliningrad and Belarus.
By the next day, we made it to Vilnius, which was the most beautiful city on our trip by far. Throughout the journey, we were always a bit nervous the car would finally give out and we’d have to scrap it and continue by bus. But, we got lucky. From Vilnius, we headed to Klaipeda and spent the night on the beach, then went through Latvia, stopping in Riga and Pärnu, before we finally got to Tallinn.