scottishpinz
Adventurer
Just completed a 1700 mile, three week round trip to Latvia. What was really a family visit for my girlfriend to see her mum was also a great overland (and water) trip for our camper. The journey started in Scotland and then south to Newcastle on England to catch a ferry to the continent. The next day we arrived in Amsterdam, it was mild at around +5C and clear for the drive through Germany to Kiel where we caught another ferry to Lithuania. The van was great, eating up the motorway miles at around 75 mph and 36 mpg (Imperial) 6.5l per 100km. Incidentally for anyone interested in the VW T5 build it is here http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/149304-VW-T5-4Motion-Expedition-Vehicle
Arriving in Klaipeda, Lithuania, the sea had ice on it and it was a cold -8C By the time we had disembarked it was dark and rush hour so we parked up and cooked an evening meal, setting off later in the evening to put in some miles towards Latvia. The temperature dropped to -12C but the road was quiet and I was glad for the xenon headlamps. That night we slept in the van. It was -10C but we left the Webasto parking heater on and had a comfortable night.
When we arrived in Latvia it started to snow. Over the next couple of weeks we unloaded our cargo, for we had brought a whole kitchen flat-packed in the van, including three lengths of worktop and a sink. So yes we had packed everything including the kitchen sink! A few runs to the nearby DIY store saw the van swallow 6 sheets of hardboard and a 3m wide roll of vinyl for the floor.
On one particularly bright and cold day we took a break from kitchen installation and went for a drive around the forest roads. The snow plough had passed through many of the roads but the surface was compact snow on top of gravel. I was really pleased with the performance of the BF Goodrich KO2 AT tyres.
The return journey was the same in reverse and again Germany was much warmer than Latvia or Lithuania. In Lithuania we were pulled over by the Police. Apparently because we were in a van (category N1 goods vehicle in Europe) we should have bought a Vignette. After a lot of pleading we were let off the 90 Euro fine and escorted to the next petrol station to purchase the Vignette for 6 Euro! We endured some really heavy rain and misty conditions before reaching Amsterdam again. On the return leg the van computer had our average at 40 mpg / 5.9l per 100 km but I will check this from fuel receipts.
It was maybe not the most exciting of trips but setting off for Easter Europe in January always has the unknown of weather as it can be anything from wet with the associated mud on gravel roads to deep snow. As it was the weather wasn't too harsh and we didn't need the snow shovel. We did use over 5l of screen wash and the van is filthy dirty from the winter roads.
Arriving in Klaipeda, Lithuania, the sea had ice on it and it was a cold -8C By the time we had disembarked it was dark and rush hour so we parked up and cooked an evening meal, setting off later in the evening to put in some miles towards Latvia. The temperature dropped to -12C but the road was quiet and I was glad for the xenon headlamps. That night we slept in the van. It was -10C but we left the Webasto parking heater on and had a comfortable night.
When we arrived in Latvia it started to snow. Over the next couple of weeks we unloaded our cargo, for we had brought a whole kitchen flat-packed in the van, including three lengths of worktop and a sink. So yes we had packed everything including the kitchen sink! A few runs to the nearby DIY store saw the van swallow 6 sheets of hardboard and a 3m wide roll of vinyl for the floor.
On one particularly bright and cold day we took a break from kitchen installation and went for a drive around the forest roads. The snow plough had passed through many of the roads but the surface was compact snow on top of gravel. I was really pleased with the performance of the BF Goodrich KO2 AT tyres.
The return journey was the same in reverse and again Germany was much warmer than Latvia or Lithuania. In Lithuania we were pulled over by the Police. Apparently because we were in a van (category N1 goods vehicle in Europe) we should have bought a Vignette. After a lot of pleading we were let off the 90 Euro fine and escorted to the next petrol station to purchase the Vignette for 6 Euro! We endured some really heavy rain and misty conditions before reaching Amsterdam again. On the return leg the van computer had our average at 40 mpg / 5.9l per 100 km but I will check this from fuel receipts.
It was maybe not the most exciting of trips but setting off for Easter Europe in January always has the unknown of weather as it can be anything from wet with the associated mud on gravel roads to deep snow. As it was the weather wasn't too harsh and we didn't need the snow shovel. We did use over 5l of screen wash and the van is filthy dirty from the winter roads.
