June,2015
Association’s fun trip to Latvia
On the first days of June, the Mercedes-Benz O303 turned towards south taking along the members of the association interested in the daily lives of our neighbours and who did not have any duties at the moment.
The road took from Tallinn via Tartu and Valga to Valmiera. At the brewery of the historic Valmiermuiza estate the visitors had a chance to learn about beer brewing basics, taste unfiltered beers and traditional Latvian cuisine. The bus drivers seemed to enjoy the local goods.
From Valmiera the road continued across the once Estonian territories to the Cesis castle and from there to Sigulda. The road also passed by the More battleground which is a highly important landmark for Latvians. People who work with heavy machinery every day really enjoyed the historic battle machines, the courageous ones checked the T-34 to make sure all the tank personnel was out of the tank.
After arriving to Sigulda the local shop was immediately emptied from Valmiermuiza products – the first event of the day had left its mark. Due to the nice weather people also enjoyed a lot of saldejums (ice cream in Latvian).
{At the Krimulda estate located on the other bank of the river Gauja, we were offered a lavish dinner and ascetic accommodation. This estate also has an impressive history – from the beginning of the last century until today it has housed a rehabilitation centre. But fortunately the bus drivers had been working on their mental health during the second half of the day so they did not need any additional healing except for a meal and a good night’s sleep.
The health of the travelling party had not deteriorated over night so after breakfast the head doctor of the rehabilitation centre allowed us to be on our way. We headed towards Lithuanian border because the advertised Riga Motor museum was under construction and currently the new building was not yet open but the temporary exhibition hall was already closed due to moving the exhibits. Our only chance to visit the museum was to go to the Bauska branch. Some of us felt a bit upset by nearing the Lithuanian border because that meant that we were very far from home.
Fortunately, the exhibits at the motor museum immediately improved the mood. Every man had his own memories of the technology from fifty years ago, they reminisced their childhood and youth. Some of us asked the museum workers for permission to peek under the hood of the most favourite exhibits to make the memories come alive even more.
We lunched at the symbolic Latvian bistro Lido on the banks of the river Daugava. If usually the bus drivers can dine here for free, then this time in the travelling party consisting only of bus drivers everyone had to pay for their meals.
On the way back many had their minds on work because some of us had to be back behind the wheel the next day. Through Valga and Tartu the bus made it safely back to the park at Betooni Street. Fun, educational and eventful weekend among colleagues had ended.
Till next time!
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