When we arrived in Riga it turned out that the festival locations where wide spread over the city. Bad luck, especially for the documentation team, because we would have to carry around the whole equipment. When Jule told me she organised a production vehicle, two questions came in mind. Since when do we have a budget for that? And why do we need at least half an hour introduction to be able to drive that car?
The owner picked me up on Friday morning and brought me to his place.
In another car…
In a small backyard near the old town of Riga I finally met her for the first time and it was love at first sight. She was green with some chrome applications. The paint was just done completely new a few weeks ago. She still was not complete. Radio was missing, there where some things with the motor that had to be fixed, I don‘t remember. But for me she looked perfect. Such beauty.

Somehow like a very Russian interpretation of a cadillac, smaller though, and no finns at the back. A huge slim steering wheel, with always enough room to the left and the right to prevent you from too fast turns…unbelievably comfortable seats and a pleasent vibration when she was waiting at a traffic light, ready to go. Like a massage. Maybe she likes me too…
The introduction did not take that long. There where only two or three points that should be remembered. To get her started it was necessary to push the gas down completely, turn the key, sometimes wait for 30 sec. or a little longer until the VW Beetle like sound appeard. Then just drive. „Oh, and the windshield whipers don‘t work…“  he said when I was about to leave. But the weekend was about to be sunny, so whatever…
I took her for a little ride around town back to where the ship was. If you would ride in a car like this in Germany everybody on the streets would turn around… not in Riga. Here you need at least a new BMW or better a Porsche Cayenne. I started to be a little disappointed.  Nobody cared about my new love until I got back to the Lovis where suddenly a strange glimmer appeard in the eyes of (mostly the male) crewmembers.
„I want a ride!!“ was probably one of the most heard sentences this morning. I maybe would have to share her… and I did. But a lady of such generosity and experience did not mind at all to be taken out by more than one young sailor. So I sure was not the only one who fell in love that Friday morning.
Jan took her out on Friday afternoon because I had to work. Though he did not talk much about it I could see in his eyes, he felt the same way about her. When he came back that day first plans where made how to transport her with the Lovis, maybe as an replacement for the Dingi that had been stolen in Kaliningrad. That night Nils also fell for her charme and beauty.
On Saturday Jan, Jule, Arisa and me took her to a nice evening at the beach… (actually for an interview, she was still the „production vehicle“).
When we where about to finish the interview the sky turned grey….
Remember what I said about the windshield whipers. They don‘ work!! But luckily the Surfer Guy we did the interview with had given us a „Free Tibet“ Flag. So we drove 200 meters, Jan whiped the windshield with the (may the Dalai Lama forgive us, we had no chance…) Free Tibet Flag. We made it on to a parking space of a supermarket and had a small dinner. It was getting late and the Festival in Riga had already started. No chance to make it the last 50 kilometers on the highway to Riga. So we made a very hard decision. We abandoned her…. But a guard on a nearby Gas station promised to take good care of her through the night. Can you at least lock the car? was his only question… Next morning Jan and me took the bus to get her back. We were sitting in the bus, our noses pressed against the windows when we drove the last turns to the gasstation the poor girl had to spend a lonely night. And there she was. Not one little scratch. We smiled and took her home. That night I had to return the keys to the owner (or former owner?) Two times I sneaked back the key with the excuse of having left something in the car. But he found me all the time…. So with a pain in my chest I returned the keys, sneaked out to the parking lots. I took a last glance at her, whispered a „good bye I‘ll miss you“,  went back to the party and drownd my sorrows in Rum and Coke