By: Chris en Debbie James
These were interesting times. After the collapse of rest the Eastern European Communist Bloc in the 1980s, the USSR was moving towards becoming a social democracy under the presidency of Mikhail Gorbachev and restrictions on travel into the country were easing.
We had been on several short “Raids” organised to follow 2cv World Meetings in Portugal and France. These were very much in the spirit of earlier trips organised by Citroen, such as Raid Paris Persepolis in 1971 which had brought like minded 2cv driving adventurers together. We had also driven with friends around Czechoslovakia and to a meeting in Istanbul so we knew we enjoyed exploring the former Eastern Bloc and meeting and socialising with other International enthusiasts.
Consequently, when a German 2cv driver with contacts in the travel industry proposed a longer Raid through the USSR we immediately put our names forward. We were lucky enough to be selected for the final group of about 25 cars.
Our preparation was really quite straightforward as he plotted the route, arranged appropriate stops, booked campsites and ferries where necessary, and liaised with the Russian travel agency Intourist for approval of the USSR section. All this was costed and paid for before we left, all we needed was money for fuel, food and other spending.All we needed to do was to apply for a Polish visa and make sure the Mehari was in good order!
All this preparation and the trip itself was done before email, mobile phones, Google Maps, digital cameras, GPS etc! Just how did we manage that?!
The Raid route started in Berlin and passed through Germany, Poland, the USSR, Finland, Sweden and Denmark before ending at Hamburg. The total Raid distance was 4310 km. However, we would be covering about 5200 km including the drive from and back to our home in Coventry.
Here are details of the route complete with stop overs and daily distances to be driven.
This was the route to be taken inside the USSR:
Our story begins on 11.07.1990 when we left home. There were three British cars signed up for the Raid. Two of us travelled together from the Midlands and met up with the other at a roadside cafe somewhere in Essex. It was a relatively short drive to the overnight ferry from Harwich to Hamburg. (Such a shame that this route no longer operates.)
We looked at “real” maps (remember them?!) to agree our route to Berlin.
The next day it looked like we were at least going to make the starting point without any problems!
Most other participants had already arrived at the campsite in the Potsdam district of Berlin which marked the start point of the Raid. Our three UK cars joined around 20 other assorted A Series from Germany, Norway, Austria, Switzerland and Bahrain, with drivers or passengers from these countries plus the Netherlands, America and Ireland. A truly International group!
The campsite was located just to the west of the Berlin Wall which had fallen only about 9 months previously and was still very much in evidence. It had been breached, and we could access wide “no man’s land” together with watch towers and other fortifications, which was a poignant reminder of the not so distant past.
Most of the wall was still intact at this location and we couldn’t resist adding to the existing graffiti and leaving our mark to commemorate the start of the Raid.
Spot the Mehari!
….. and here is our happy group of International Citroen drivers.
The first group photo of the three participating Meharis together on the famous Unter den Linden – the British cars and the well known Bahrain registered globe trotting 4×4 camper (Irish and Dutch crew!)
The Raid began on 14.07.1990. We needed to cover about 800 km to the Russian border including an overnight stop in Poznan and a day exploring Warsaw.
18.07.1990. Almost at the border but still a long drive to Moscow:
We arrived at the Polish/Russian border thinking there might be a bit of a delay at the crossing. What we weren’t expecting was a queue stretching far away into the distance. Ominously, it didn’t seem to be going anywhere!. Eventually. there was some sign of movement, but only a few cars at a time with long periods at a standstill in between.
The weather was cold and wet and we started to ache sitting in the front of the Mehari so we built a little “mobile home” in between the two British cars. It was all held together with elastic straps so we could move everything on the rare occasion the queue progressed. Camping chairs, a cooker so we could make coffee and chat to our friends almost made things tolerable!
19.07.1990. FOURTEEN hours later we finally crossed the border into Bellarus and the USSR! Apparently there was always a long wait but a car had fallen into a customs inspection pit hadn’t helped matters as it had to be cleared!
After inspection there were several other formalities to be completed. Among other things we had to collect our Russian visas and be issued with this delightful handwritten insurance certificate.
We also needed to buy petrol vouchers as this was the only way to pay for fuel. They were only available in units of 10 litres which could have been a bit of a problem for a Mehari with its 25 litre tank. Filling stations were generally over 100km apart and sometimes sold only 73 octane petrol. At least two 5 litre spare fuel cans were therefore a must to make sure we had supplies of the right grade and to store any of the 10 litres which would not fit in our tank.
Our first fuel stop did indeed show that Russian petrol pumps may not be up to usual Western standard!
We had our first overnight stop in Minsk on 19.07.1990. It was surprising how light the traffic was even in a relatively large city.
Next day we headed to Smolensk. The distance to Moscow was quickly being reduced.
The main transit route was rough and mainly single carriageway apart from stretches of widened sections which were designed to act as aircraft landing strips if required. For some reason, rather than a safety barrier in the middle of the road there was a constant trail of loose gravel (to wake people up if they dozed and wandered over the line?!).
We thought there wasn’t much of a chance of our windscreen surviving (and were carrying an emergency roll up plastic screen) – but it did! Others weren’t so lucky!
On 21.07.1990 we arrived at our hotel in Moscow. Or we didn’t! We were supposed to be staying inside the hotel but Intourist had made an error in their booking dates. There was no room to relax in a proper bed for a few days and we ended up camping in the hotel grounds.
We had time for the usual sightseeing in Moscow and were also amused by the following. We’d been warned that there was a shortage of windscreen wiper blades in Moscow and there was a tendency for them to “disappear.” These were a popular accessory allowing the blades to be securely stored inside the car while avoiding damage to the windscreen if it started to rain!
It wasn’t easy to get photos of the Raid cars in recognisable Russian settings but this was one we were all determined to try and take! This was the closest you were meant to be able to drive to St Basil’s Cathedral …..
….. but we couldn’t have driven all that way without trying to get a definitive photo, so we grouped together and went for it! …..
.. and got those pics!
We’d heard that we could expect queues for a lot of things in Moscow but this one went on …..
and on …..
and on …..and eventually ended at the first McDonalds in Russia! There are times it’s good to be vegetarian! For those that just couldn’t resist there were plenty of local children who waited in line all day and offered the chance of a shorter wait for a premium price!
We set off for Leningrad (its name would not be changed to the current St Petersburg until the following year) on 25.07.1990 with stops at. Kalinin and Novgorod.
A Raid group of German Acadianes on the way. It was always good to meet up with other members of our group on the road. The road quality and scenery remains much the same as the previous journey.
The mix up on accommodation dates in Moscow had a knock on effect and led to us staying on some fairly basic campsites not intended for foreign tourists.
Road conditions continued to be poor and this time pot holes took their toll on a fair few wheels. (We had been advised to take more than one spare!).
Ouch!
Government regulations on driving through Russia meant that we were supposed to remain on a designated Transit route where our position would be checked every hour as we passed roadside check points. (If we didn’t show up within a set time they would come looking for us!) However, the system did seem a bit haphazard and we did wander off route a couple of times to meet the locals and sample some real country Russian life.
It was too late when I realised that the large “mud patch” I’d been playing in with the Mehari was actually a pool of very smelly pig slurry!
We arrived in a wet and grey Leningrad on 27.07.1990. A three day stay again gave plenty of time for sightseeing.
The drive from Leningrad to the Finnish border at Vyborg was less than 150km and we crossed back to the West on 31.07.1990. This was quick and easy but somewhat amusing that the Russian guards removed all evidence from our passports that we’d been travelling in the USSR even though the only way we could have been given our entry stamp into Finland was if we had!
The following four days were spent driving through the forests and past the lakes of Finland, stopping at Helsinki then across by ferry from Turku to Stockholm in Sweden. Here we were hosted by the Stockholm 2cv Club and had a few more days for sightseeing (and shopping!)
Then more trees and dirt roads on the drive down through Sweden. Still plenty of opportunities to take wrong turnings and get lost in the forests!
Much more map reading and discussion was often necessary!
Here we encountered our first and only little “issue” with the Mehari on the Raid! A lot of “brown bits” flew up over the bonnet and I thought I may have hit a chicken or other small animal. After the engine started smelling rather hot, I thought I’d better stop to check things out. Instead of a mangled animal I found that the plastic part of the cooling fan had broken away and propelled itself through the grille. I had no spare, so ……
…… our friends had the perfect opportunity to try out a rigid tow bar they had been carrying unused for the trip so far.
Another group of Raiders soon caught up with us. Luckily another good friend was (sensibly!) carrying a spare fan which she kindly let us “borrow” There were plenty of people on hand to help the repair job and we were soon on our way again.
All fixed, we headed for the ferry to Denmark at Helsingborg. )It would be another 10 years before the bridge from Malmo to Copenhagen was opened!)
07.08.1990: Relaxing with souvenir at our last three day stop in Copenhagen, hosted by the Danish Citroen Club with lots more sightseeing.
The Raid officially ended on 10.08.1990 at a lake side camp ground near Hamburg where we bid a fond farewell to all of our travelling companions. One final job was removing the battery from our Mehari and fitting it to the Acadiane of the friend who had lent us a fan. We hadn’t been able to source a new fan and her battery was beginning to fail. We thought we’d rather drive home with an occasional push start if needed than no cooling!
It was a strange feeling being last to leave, but our ferry back to England did not depart until the evening.
A last goodbye to Hamburg on the ferry home.
The journey back home was almost without problem. On the M25 near London our windscreen was shattered by a stone thrown up when a car cut us up. It was then we discovered that the emergency windscreen we had carried for the whole trip was utterly useless! The lack of curvature on a Mehari screen meant it simply blew inwards!
Nevertheless, we arrived home, wind blasted and cold but happy, with so many memories and new friends made on our journey.