#balticrallye

[s4rallye-blog]

Good to be back.

Here we are. Finally. What a trip. We still can not believe that we’ve made it.

We are at the foot of Tropical Island. It’s a huge hall where once airships should be have been built and where now people escape from the grey summer. Tropical Island would probably be more successful if more people drove thousands of kilometers for it like we did.

Maybe we'll go right in. For relaxation. The only thing we want to do is sleep. And sleep. And sleep.

But first we want to say thank you.

Many, many thanks to the

great people who have helped us during the trip,

the great teams that we have come to know,

our sponsors,

the organizers,

and last no least of course our support from home.

More when we are awake again.

[s4rallye-blog]

Ferry-Tale

Ahoi. We‘ve made it through Finland on our own four wheels. And you now what: It‘s much more fun spending time in the car than under it. From Helsinki to Tallinn we took the ferry, the M/S Superstar. After checking that Schettino wasn‘t our captain, we enjoyed being carried by a vehicle that‘s not a wrecker.

In Tallinn we caught up with the main pack. Had a beer or two and some nice chats about technical problems. Seems like everyone turned into an expert on this topic in the last week.

After a short nap, we‘re back on the road. Driving, driving, driving. It‘s only 1500 Kilometers left to the finish line in Berlin. And if we spend enough time in the car, we‘ll make it in time. See you there.

[s4rallye-blog]

In response...

... to the extensive monitoring programs of the U.S. and UK, the Finnish authorities decided to encrypt its road signs.

[s4rallye-blog]

Guess who's back!

There's life in the old dog yet. We and our ŠKODA are back on track. YEAH! 

48 hours full of anxiety, hope and despair, but also an incredible amount of encouragement and support lies behind us. Outstanding experiences that are enough for several rallies and rallye blogs. The lovely people of the Finnish village Sodankylä charged their karmic account for years. We're still touched by this. Thank you!

When we‘ve stranded here our ŠKODA was de facto dead: broken drive shaft. Little hope for parts. But fate smiled on us: it sent three manic mechanics and a car – a forgotten, rusted ŠKODA. You can see all four on the pictures. This quartet has saved us. Three tireless surgeons and a now drive-shaft-less orange organ donor. Thus, our ŠKODA got implanted a new drive shaft.

In the meanwhile we were offered help from countless people, here in Finnland and Europe. A special thanks to Frank Heinze of Skopart.de for his technical know-how and advice or the amazing Thomas Küster for sending a complete drive train from Sweden.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Our goal for today: At least 1000km to catch up with the rest of the rallye.

[s4rallye-blog]

Finland the beautiful

We're still waiting for replacement parts. Time for some sightseeing! We've heard rumors that the ghost of Erich Honecker keeps haunting this place. What do you think?

[s4rallye-blog]

North Cape of Hope

On top of the world, down in the dumps.  Our day actually began with the preliminary highlight of the rallye. The legendary North Cape - the northernmost outpost of civilization. According to Wikipedia, the neighbouring island of Knivskjellodden is a little more northern. But we didn’t care nor do the hundreds of thousands of tourists who get to the North Cape every year. A photo with the globe is mandatory! Look how the ŠKODA and the globe blend in well. 

It could possible be one of the last happy moments. 60 km south of the North Cape, our reliable ŠKODA suddenly stalled. The first diagnosis: broken drive shaft - in the middle of the finnish nowhere. A disaster. The end? We don’t give up - yet. We'll keep you posted.

[s4rallye-blog]

One night in Norway

"Hei!“ from the Lofoten, a Norwegian archipelago far, far north on the Atlantic coast. The higher the latitude, the better the parties. Hundreds of kilometers above the polar circle, we have spent a crazy night with elves, trolls and wild rallye people. A party somewhere between the Burning Man Festival and a Hells Angels wedding. The mad rallye family knows how to party. Smuggling alcohol through almost entire Scandinavia paid off very well. 

Now we are where we belong. Back on the road. The ŠKODA - up and running. Half time is in sight. North Cape, here we come!

[s4rallye-blog]

Smells like Surströrming

Todays task was to travel 200 kilometers with Surströrming on board. What's that? It's a fish. And it's in a can for a good reason. Open it and you'll smell why. Dare.

People actually eat Surströrming. In Sweden it's served with Aquavit, beer or milk. Well, we like Aquavit but we'll never ever open a can of that fish again. No dare.