An incredible hot summer was coming to an end and it was time for a long weekend expedition to Kurland. It had been a couple of months since last trip so I was feeling the butterflies in my stomach when I got up at 0500 to get the first flight out of Nordland. I was really tired and fell asleep a few times on the two flights it took to get to Riga.
After a refreshing shower and a much needed dinner I met up with Andris and Victoria for a chat and a coffee. Later me and Andris went to a friend to have a look at his collection. We was supposed to be back in the city two hours later but time flies when you put three history geeks together with a collection. We got back to Old Riga with just enough time for a handfull of beers and a snack.
Next morning I took a taxi to the airport where I met with Sofia at a coffee place. I ordered a `medium`coffee and came back to the table with a litre deep soupdish of a coffee cup. A very clever descision to make half hour before a long drive in a stuffed car. Suddenly I heard some swearing next to me and I see Talis grab my bag and heads towards the exit. Out on the parking lot the other diggers hang around the car , dressed in camo , ready to dig. We was now waiting for Matt and Ken to arrive from the UK. Matt had been ill at the spring expedition and with him came another guy who also hadn`t been digging for a while. Ken was one of the participants on the very first international Legenda expedition in 2000 and the following years. A little bit delayed they arrived with big grins happy to be back on Latvian soil , or asphalt. We climbed in the car and sped out of the parking lot heading to the forest and Radi Guesthouse.
After a refreshing shower and a much needed dinner I met up with Andris and Victoria for a chat and a coffee. Later me and Andris went to a friend to have a look at his collection. We was supposed to be back in the city two hours later but time flies when you put three history geeks together with a collection. We got back to Old Riga with just enough time for a handfull of beers and a snack.
Next morning I took a taxi to the airport where I met with Sofia at a coffee place. I ordered a `medium`coffee and came back to the table with a litre deep soupdish of a coffee cup. A very clever descision to make half hour before a long drive in a stuffed car. Suddenly I heard some swearing next to me and I see Talis grab my bag and heads towards the exit. Out on the parking lot the other diggers hang around the car , dressed in camo , ready to dig. We was now waiting for Matt and Ken to arrive from the UK. Matt had been ill at the spring expedition and with him came another guy who also hadn`t been digging for a while. Ken was one of the participants on the very first international Legenda expedition in 2000 and the following years. A little bit delayed they arrived with big grins happy to be back on Latvian soil , or asphalt. We climbed in the car and sped out of the parking lot heading to the forest and Radi Guesthouse.
At Radi we hurried to our rooms to change into digging clothes and very soon rushed off again towards the forest. It was so good feeling the fresh Kurland forest air again through the cigarette coughs as we tumbled off into the pine forest , looking a bit stiff as penguins with our backpacks and metaldetectors. This was obviously a frontline as there was signals all over. Craters and trenches ran overgrown through the forest floor and here and there we could see pieces of rust. Between two bunkers we dug around someone found a moss grown piece of a skull just laying on the surface.
Before we was leaving back to Radi , Talis came out of the forest with a big bucket of mushroom he had found , so we knew there would be mushroom soup for dinner one of the days.
Back at the guesthouse we had a great dinner and several of the other diggers started to show up.
Before we was leaving back to Radi , Talis came out of the forest with a big bucket of mushroom he had found , so we knew there would be mushroom soup for dinner one of the days.
Back at the guesthouse we had a great dinner and several of the other diggers started to show up.
Tired but fresh digger faces turned up one after another around breakfast time. Coffee was drunk and facebooks checked before Talis`screaming drove us as a pack of dozed sheeps to the cars. Today we dug a couple of different frontline areas. The first spot was a pine forest and by the dirt road there was signs to warn people about unexploded ordnance littering the forest. And as soon as we stepped of the road we found mines. We found a bunker where alot of S-mines was strewn around. Here I dug a good signal and just 30-40 cm deep S-mine after S-mine was pulled out. Tellermines and different caliber shells was also dug up around the bunker.
After a few hours we broke up and drove to another forest. This was a different kind of forest. Bushes and sapplings stood thick as a wall in places. It was very difficult to move around and use the metaldetectors. Some very good finds had been done here earlier so we kept checking as good as possible. The craters and bunkers soon became the preferred spots to dig as people got tired of falling and getting stuck all the time. A Mg34 barrel , some radio parts and part of a Katushya rocket was some of the finds we did before it was decided to change location.
Now we drove to a pine forest again. These are much better than bush thickets I think. One of the diggers had been searching a waterfilled bunker and now with the manpower we could try empty it. With several buckets we started scooping the water out. It was very tiring but when there is lots of diggers working the job gets done. With the amount of work I guess we all had hoped for some awesome finds , but except 20-30 rounds for Mosin-Nagant , a part of a IL-2 rocket system and a mess kit there was nothing down there. The forest around the bunker was full of stuff though. A very complete trench system gave the forest an eerie vibe and was strewn with odd bits and rust.
Happy and tired we went home to Kristina for dinner and a relaxing evening with a few beers and good chats.
After a few hours we broke up and drove to another forest. This was a different kind of forest. Bushes and sapplings stood thick as a wall in places. It was very difficult to move around and use the metaldetectors. Some very good finds had been done here earlier so we kept checking as good as possible. The craters and bunkers soon became the preferred spots to dig as people got tired of falling and getting stuck all the time. A Mg34 barrel , some radio parts and part of a Katushya rocket was some of the finds we did before it was decided to change location.
Now we drove to a pine forest again. These are much better than bush thickets I think. One of the diggers had been searching a waterfilled bunker and now with the manpower we could try empty it. With several buckets we started scooping the water out. It was very tiring but when there is lots of diggers working the job gets done. With the amount of work I guess we all had hoped for some awesome finds , but except 20-30 rounds for Mosin-Nagant , a part of a IL-2 rocket system and a mess kit there was nothing down there. The forest around the bunker was full of stuff though. A very complete trench system gave the forest an eerie vibe and was strewn with odd bits and rust.
Happy and tired we went home to Kristina for dinner and a relaxing evening with a few beers and good chats.
Saturday morning we was supposed to leave earlier than the other days. Duksi had forgot to mention this for Kristina , who was in charge of breakfast and more importantly the coffee , and was a bit surprised when she found a pack of diggers circling the empty coffee pot earlier than normal. As she is very professional we got our breakfast in time and could go into the forest where a JCB was awaiting us. Today the group had grown again and we were plenty of diggers. We had a potential large job ahead. At this spot Legenda had been exhuming Red Army soldiers since last summer , and there was still unchecked areas. In archives it was stated that this massgrave had been exhumed some time after the war , even listing some names of soldiers having been removed. With a medal Legenda found on one of the bodies they saw him listed as already exhumed , so the ones that exhumed here after the war did a bad job.
Our JCB driver opened up the soil very carefully layer by layer. Just under the surface was several gravemarkers made of stone having crosses carved on them. At a certain depth we could see the soil change color and we stopped the machine and went in with shovels and bayonets as digging tools. In the first section opened the guys soon found bones. When I climbed down Kalnins showed me a handfull of the clay. At first I didn`t understand but then I saw it , the lump was full of hair. Really sombering.
Several sections was opened by the JCB and everybody was working , trying to find every piece of bone from the soldiers. The soldiers Legenda had exhumed here since last summer had been filtered together and many of them badly damaged. We saw the same thing now. Broken skeletons in a jumble mixed in the clay. It was a difficult work. After several hours and many opened pits there seemed to be empty. The JCB opened up several trenches to double check that we didn`t miss another soldier filled ditch. When we had filled back the holes and ditches and cleaned up our mess we filled the cars. We had exhumed around 20 Red Army soldiers , which made the total around 150. Only a handfull of them could be identified through their medals. All of them will have their final resting place and ceremony at a official War Grave site.
Our JCB driver opened up the soil very carefully layer by layer. Just under the surface was several gravemarkers made of stone having crosses carved on them. At a certain depth we could see the soil change color and we stopped the machine and went in with shovels and bayonets as digging tools. In the first section opened the guys soon found bones. When I climbed down Kalnins showed me a handfull of the clay. At first I didn`t understand but then I saw it , the lump was full of hair. Really sombering.
Several sections was opened by the JCB and everybody was working , trying to find every piece of bone from the soldiers. The soldiers Legenda had exhumed here since last summer had been filtered together and many of them badly damaged. We saw the same thing now. Broken skeletons in a jumble mixed in the clay. It was a difficult work. After several hours and many opened pits there seemed to be empty. The JCB opened up several trenches to double check that we didn`t miss another soldier filled ditch. When we had filled back the holes and ditches and cleaned up our mess we filled the cars. We had exhumed around 20 Red Army soldiers , which made the total around 150. Only a handfull of them could be identified through their medals. All of them will have their final resting place and ceremony at a official War Grave site.
The day was still young so we drove towards the frontline where these guys probably fought. The place we was supposed to search was not available as the landowner told us some hunters was in there. We chose another part of the frontline and started opening up a bunker. Now I strayed off to the edge of the forest to search in some trenches and dug outs. I had some good signals and kept moving around the trenchline for an hour. Then I crossed the road to a place between two farm ruins. Here had been a few dug outs for german mobile artillery. We had found pieces of a blown up tracked vehicle here in June. Now I dug a signal under a tree root behind the dug out. The heavy Fiskars shovel had no problems hacking through the root freeing the object. I had thought it to be just a shrapnel or metal plate , but it was the antenna part for a vehicle blown up in the battle. A nice little item I ll have fun cleaning up come long dark evenings.
In the bunker the other guys had found some nice things. A Latvian Rifleman Battalion badge , some bottles , ammo , German condoms and some other discarded personal effects.
The day had come to dinnertime and we was all quite tired and hungry as we went back into the cars. A stop at Mego to buy some drinks and snacks for the evening and we was soon sat by the table hungry as only diggers can be.
The evening developed from calm discussions and card play till a full blown party as Matt had brought a portable speaker and started his career as DJ Legenda. People were dancing , singing and laughing until the last ones crashed around 02 in the night. A really fantastic evening.
Sunday was the time for `goodbyes` and `see you next times`and we drove to Riga quite early. There we had a good time together and the evening was ended at Ala Folkbar.
Monday morning I thought I had all the time in the world to get to my plane. Little did I know that there would be traffic chaos beyond belief and a full packed Riga airport. It was just by minutes I got through check-in and customs before departure and it was strange to be at home some hours later.
I hope to be back in Kurland again soon:)
In the bunker the other guys had found some nice things. A Latvian Rifleman Battalion badge , some bottles , ammo , German condoms and some other discarded personal effects.
The day had come to dinnertime and we was all quite tired and hungry as we went back into the cars. A stop at Mego to buy some drinks and snacks for the evening and we was soon sat by the table hungry as only diggers can be.
The evening developed from calm discussions and card play till a full blown party as Matt had brought a portable speaker and started his career as DJ Legenda. People were dancing , singing and laughing until the last ones crashed around 02 in the night. A really fantastic evening.
Sunday was the time for `goodbyes` and `see you next times`and we drove to Riga quite early. There we had a good time together and the evening was ended at Ala Folkbar.
Monday morning I thought I had all the time in the world to get to my plane. Little did I know that there would be traffic chaos beyond belief and a full packed Riga airport. It was just by minutes I got through check-in and customs before departure and it was strange to be at home some hours later.
I hope to be back in Kurland again soon:)
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