To Russia via Latvia

We were driving our motorhome Vanni, on a 6-month road trip around north-eastern Europe. Having just driven through some beautiful places in Lithuania on roads that were manageable, we drove over the border into southern Latvia and crikey, the roads were absolutely dreadful.

The dreadful bumpy patched road into Latvia

There were pot-holes on pot-holes, and patches on patches, and it was just SO awful! We feared for the shock-absorbers on our poor Vanni as we bounced along, and our crockery and saucepans were rattling very loudly in Vanni’s kitchen. 

In the afternoon, we reached Daugavpils (population 88,000), the second largest city in Latvia after the capital, Riga. Daugavpils dates back to the 5th century and used to be on a trade route that provided links between Russia and Greece. 

 Ss Boris and Gleb Orthodox Cathedral, Daugavpils, Latvia

Once part of the Russian Empire, over 50% of its population now, is Russian. This is reflected in the soviet style housing, and many Russian churches that we saw. One church that caught our eye was the huge Ss Boris and Gleb Orthodox Cathedral which we learned is the biggest Orthodox church in Latvia.

We drove around Daugavpils, finding it a bit sad, tired, and dirty with architecture that showed some interesting red brick buildings, and some of art deco style, alongside the austere soviet style.

Road to Rēzekne, Latvia

Our next stop was Rēzekne. On the way, we passed many horses and carts, people walking to and from the fields with a pitchfork over their shoulder, and women in black loaded up with vegetables.

Rēzekne dates back to 1275 and now has a population of around 36,000. It was built across seven hills, just west of the Latvia/Russia border where we were headed. But with road closures into the city centre, we were directed to a shocking detour road to get there. 

Castle ruins, Rēzekne, Latvia

We finally arrived in Rēzekne township to find it nicely laid out and clean, with lovely gardens. We liked the 13th century Rēzekne Castle ruins, the many Catholic and Orthodox churches, and the interesting town hall. 

Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a camping ground in Rēzekne, so drove on. Soon after, taking a detour off the main road, we arrived in the small village of Ludza. In reaching Ludza, we realised that we had just driven right across the bottom of Latvia as we were now only 30 km from the border with Russia.

Our camping place beside the lake in Ludza, Latvia

Ludza is surrounded by two lakes and we stopped by one of them to free-camp for the night. Along the lakeside, we saw several people fishing, a family having a picnic, and locals walking by. Everyone waved and greeted us.

One chappie was very excited by our New Zealand signs and flag, and found it amazing that we were from so far away. In his very limited English, he made us feel welcome. We had a lovely peaceful night and slept very well. 

Trucks lined up along the route to the Latvia-Russia border post  

Early the next morning, we drove to the Latvia-Russia border called Terahova, aiming for Moscow. On the way to the border, we went through the tiny border town of Zilupe and nearby, we saw hundreds of trucks lined up along the road. It wasn’t until we got closer to the border that we realised they were waiting to cross into Russia. 

They looked like they had been there all night, and there were lots of truckies sitting along the roadside having their breakfast. Boy, they really would have quite a wait, as the queue was several kilometres long. We just zoomed up on the outside of them to get to the border post.

Approaching the Latvia-Russia border post-Moscow 609 km

At the border, we drove through Latvian passport control with no problems, and then on to Russian control. Our Russian visas were all in order; then they checked Vanni. All her registration numbers etc were ok so we filled out all the customs declaration forms and progressed on through. Then suddenly......DISASTER! 

The head Russian passport/customs official rushed in front of Vanni, waving his arms around. He yelled loudly at us in Russian as though yelling would help us to understand what he was saying. It didn’t, but it certainly gave us a fright! We thought that he was fishing for a bribe that would let us through.

Border checkpoint Terahova, Latvia

But then he found some truckies who spoke English. They explained that the papers we had for Vanni were not enough, and we needed a specially stamped and signed form before we could enter.

We were told to turn around. But we were worried that if they sent us back to Latvia, our single-entry Russian visa may not allow us to return. However, he indicated that we would still be able to use the same visa if we returned to that border control with the correct Vanni papers. Three hours later, surprising the Latvian border officials who asked us many questions, we were back in Latvia.

Sleeping off the exhaustion of the Russian border post

Feeling entirely shattered, we decided our best bet would be to head to Rīga, the capital of Latvia, because being a major centre, it would most likely be the best place to get Vanni's papers sent to us from the Czech Republic where Vanni was registered.

Adding to our drama, Vanni’s fridge is faulty again and won’t run properly on power. We are using it on gas instead and our gas is running out. We are eating as much as possible from the fridge to minimise the load.

Rural scenery near Rēzekne, Latvia

So off we went after all that trauma, to drive the 320 kms right across Latvia. While we passed through some lovely rural scenery, the roads were terrible for much of the route. Unfortunately, we missed a turn-off somewhere and spent quite a bit of time bumping over 35 km of rough unsealed road, before we managed to get back on the right road to reach Rīga.

Eventually, we made it to Rīga, and drove around admiring the place until we found the camping ground that we were looking for. 

Leigh in front of the suspension bridge into Riga, Latvia 

The camp was beautifully located close to Rīga’s amazing suspension bridge and the city centre. We discovered three couples there from Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands, who we had first met in Poland and Lithuania. It was nice to see them again, and to off-load about our border drama.

Meantime, we'll wait in Rīga to wait for Vanni’s correct papers to be delivered from the Czech Republic, then we'll have another go at the Russian border. Watch this space!

This blog describes part of our 6-month motorhome trip around northern and eastern Europe, which began in Prague.