Originally Posted by
JapesUK
Same, Coach 8
Same coach, too. Which reminds me, are you taking the 11:35 or 12:55 ATR to HEL? Chances are we might meet on board of that too.
Originally Posted by
FireFlySky
We’re also on the 13:01 Eurostar (me and
Parkview094 ) -see you then! I’m very excited about the Baltic Brutal, having followed my friend’s Lupine Racing escapades in previous years 😁
I'll need to stock up on the cookies....
Originally Posted by
TheFlyingDoctor
I am hoping they offer checkpoints compatible with a Scandinavian routing, similar to the Italian-trains-and-ferry / eastern European buses flavours that were possible on the Albanian connection. A mandatory stop in Germany, then an optional one in Stockholm, could do it. I like the idea of sailing Stockholm to Tallinn, and I really like the idea of chaining several ferries to take in the Aland Islands and Finland too.
A pure rail itinerary across mainland Europe has some risks: although you can do Warsaw - Vilnius - Riga - Tallinn by train, each of those has only a single daily departure. And the Riga-Tallinn one leaves 17 minutes after the service from Riga arrives! These last two are so cheap, even in first class, that they're not worth committing a rail pass day to.
Scandinavia would not be
too bad and would explain why a detour to Vilnius would make sense as a bonus (unless the planners just looked at the road map, seeing the logical route north goes via Kaunas), but it's the former Eastern Europe that's known as the bastion of brutalism... I still hope for that.
My understanding is that the trains are specifically timed to connect to each other and may wait for connections in case of a delay... bigger problem is that even then the train is scheduled to arrive in Tallinn
after the cutoff, unless you want to arrive a day early.
I will most likely go for the bus and have also bought the 5 day rail pass with that in mind. Just not sure if I will try and push for Vilnius-Tallinn direct, at the cost of very early morning departure and a looong ride, or I will work in an overnight in Riga, despite being there a couple of times already, and break the trip in half.
Considering that I want to pay the market hall a visit, and might like to try to visit that restaurant Japes was very complimentary about, I will probably spend the night.
Originally Posted by
TheFlyingDoctor
No lounge for me, I let my AmEx platinum lapse in the pandemic and never bothered to renew it (as Hilton still renew my status every year anyway). But the pre-race get-together allowed for plenty of socialising last time!
I'll wave to you from up there.