The trip to Ventspils went more or less as we planned, with cheap beers, delays and miserable performance from SK Brann. But just so must be healthy for old, grumpy bastards like us. We get in spite of all more to be pissed and grumpy about. And though it didn’t happen much that is worth to write home about, we still give publicity to this travel log from the trip.
Day one – Monday the 4th of August 2008
This time there were six of us, three experienced and three inexperienced. Well, the thing is that all six have earlier on followed Brann at many trips, both domestic and abroad, but three of us were rookies travelling with OGB Travel.
The trip to Riga went easy. Okay, the truth is that the flight was half an hour delayed from Bergen, but if we enjoyed our beer in Bergen or in Riga, that didn’t really matter. Except of the price then!
When we came to Riga Airport we jumped into two taxis and after about 10 minutes we arrived our divine hotel; Hanza Hotel. Must say that sounded really good for us old bastards from block Z at the Hansa Stand. Our plan for the evening was to relax at the hotel, but the hotel bar were closed when we came, so then we just had to go down town. But remember, we didn’t really want to. We were forced to do it.
The staff told us that at hotel Latvia there was a bar at the 26th floor, so therefore we took a taxi straight to hotel Latvia. Up there you could see the whole of Riga and the surrounding areas, from all the sides. It was just pity that it was dark when we came, but we decided there and then that we just had to go back another time when it was day light.
Day two – Tuesday the 5th of August 2008
We had an agreement 12 o’clock with a guy. He should drive pick us up outside our hotel, drive us to Ventspils, wait for us there and drive us back again to Riga after the game. And for those who wonder how we got a private chauffeur in Riga, here is the explanation. Espen Øst got a former colleague who is married to a woman from Latvia who got a brother that could drive us. Just as easy as that.
When the driver came, he had with him a bird and since the car only had seven seats, she had to sit on a stool. In our defence, she was just supposed to be with us a short distance and after half an hour, we drove away from the main road and into a small village. The bird went off and the rest of us got the chance to visit the cash point and to buy some refreshments.
When we were finish purchasing refreshments and with the cash withdrawal, we drove further on towards Ventspils and after about one and a half hour we arrived the Latvian oil town. And without any big problems we found Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadions quite easy. The biggest problem was that the driver didn’t understand one single word in English (well, not Norwegian either), but using pointing-, nodding- and screaming technique, we found a place to park close to the stadium. When we came outside the stadium, Frode was kidnapped by some of the Bergen journalists, which by the way informed us about a Tex-Mex restaurant where we could get something to eat.
Strilen and Kjellmo came first forth (maybe that got something to do about they taking a taxi, while the rest had to walk?), so therefore it was reasonable enough that they had to guide the others to the eating place (Frode as well, we didn’t forget him). To save you for all the details; we came, we ate, we drank, we laughed etc. And we went back to the ground.
We had been assigned quite a large area at the only stand in the ground, furthest away from the singing supporters of FK Ventspils. The ground was small and it had running track, but we are telling you the truth when we say that we have been worse places (that only involve football grounds). As earlier told, we had been assigned a relatively big part of the stand, so there was no crush among the 22 Brann fans that was there.
Then it was the game it self. And if there weren’t any thing that happened on the trip that was worth writing home about, then definitively the game was not worth writing home about. And if it should be some way to describe the match, it must be using the words miserable, bad, catastrophic, boring and dreadful and what worse is. But Brann went on to the next round, and as the idiots we are, we just had to run down to the fence and pay tribute to the same miserable, bad, catastrophic, boring and dreadful (and what worse is) players to reach, with a cry of distress, the next round of Champions League.
The drive back went also ok. And when we came back to Hanza Hotel in Riga about 10-ish in the night, some of us were sensible and went to bed, while some of us were not that sensible and went down town instead.
Day three – Wednesday 6th of August 2008
This was the day we were pretend to be tourists. And when we managed to get out of the bed about 1pm, five of us took the trip to the old town. Frode on the other hand, had been awake for hours and found oneself in one or another shop, some on or another place, where he could buy some or another thing. The others found a nice eating place where we could get us a good and cheap dinner. The place was just on a corner inside the old town, and if it hadn’t been for all the traffic that was allowed being there, this would be a really nice, good experience. Though, we got a bit of action and fun when a turn-out police car scorched past us, just where it was a kind of a speed hump. The car lifted from the ground, landed slantways forward, surrounded with sparks. Not a big thing, but at the same time, it don’t have to happen much to pleasure us over 40 (or the one at 23).
We could now tell you about how we diverted into two groups for a while. That some of us first went to a pub, while the others went around watching shops. That three of us found a place named Mad House where they had cheap drinks or that the two others came into Mad House when it had turned into Happy Hours. But we don’t tell you all that, and jump over all that. And starts up again from where we have a board meeting for OGB Travel.
Report board meeting OGB Travel - 6th of August 2008
Location: Mad House, Riga
Presence: Strilen, Kjellmo, Tennis, Espen Øst og Lillegutt
Not presence: Frode, 612crew, Postmesteren, Ebbe, Solberg’en, Smiley, Andikken, Scunny
Case 1: Confirmation/changing/assignment titles.
- Confirmation of titles
The board recommends the following titles to become maintained:
Strilen: Travel Chief Executive Officer, Chief
Kjellmo: Travel Chief Executive Officer, Chief
Tennis: Tennis: Purchasing Manager, Chief
612crew: Felt Z – Ambassador, Department head of division
Postmesteren: Purser Manager Chief Assistant, Assistant
Ebbe: Assistant Train Chief, Assistant
Solberg’en: SCR (Snow Clearing Responsible) Assistant Manager, Assistant
Smiley: Advisory Legal Adviser, Consultant
Andikken: Tax Allowance Director, Trainee
Scunny: GOT (Get Off Train) Manager & Metrology Expert, Assistant
- New assignment of titles
The board recommends the following new titles:
Espen Øst: Self-appointed Latvia-expert & BBB/PB (Beer Bringer Boss/Pee Break) Officer, Non-salaried Employee
Frode: Degraded Travel Responsible & Descending DJ, Assistant Trainee
Lillegutt: Stand by Chief for GGG Travel Junior Department, Recruit
- The board also recommend that we still focus on that Postmesteren only got a temporary new title, cf. last board meeting.
Decision: All titles unanimously approved.
Case 2: Shall the board (and especially Strilen, Kjellmo and Tennis) be open for bribery?
- The board recommends that not only are they open for bribery, but they also expect it.
Decision: Unanimously approved.
Case 3: The right of veto removes and replaces with an ”Eg-beliter-meg-ikkje”-right. (This is a old, traditional Bergen expression means something like ”I-don’t-accept-it”).
- At a short, tiny board meeting at the train between Rennes and Paris in November, where only Kjellmo, Strilen and Ebbe were presence, it was decided that the right of veto for Strilen, Kjellmo and Tennis should be removed and replaced with an ”Eg-beliter-meg-ikkje”-right. Now the board wants to get it confirmed from all the three involved.
- The board recommends that Kjellmo’s, Strilen’s and Tennis’ right of veto removes and replaced with an ”Eg-beliter-meg-ikkje”-right.
Decision: Unanimously approved.
Case 4: OGB Travel logo (should rather be GGG Travel logo)
- Strilen have worked out two logos, one with white letters and one with red letters.
- The board recommends that the two logos become approved as GGG Travel’s official logos.
- Tennis tries to be cantankerous about what he mean is a shortage of a G, but the attempt were quickly turned down by Kjellmo, using his ”Eg-beliter-meg-ikkje”-right.
Decision: Unanimously approved.
Case 5: Is it time for doing something seriously?
- The board recommends that we stop doing this nonsense and that we do something more seriously instead, for instance order us a beer or a cognac. And of course, the one that have to do that, is our newly appointed ” Self-appointed Latvia-expert & BBB/PB (Beer Bringer Boss/Pee Break) Officer”.
Decision: Unanimously approved.
End of report
After the board meeting Espen Øst had to buy a round for us all. Again, now we could keep on going telling you that we relocated to Latvia Hotel and the bar at 26th floor. And that after some hours some of us went further on, while some of us ended the day at Hanza Hotel. But then this story will become very dull, so we end the story for this day here.
Day four – Thursday 7th of August 2008
The return back home turned up to be a bit more difficult than the trip to Riga. Our plan was to fly from Riga to Copenhagen and further on to Bergen from there just 40 minutes later. But after waiting for a while at the airport in Riga, we understood that there would be trouble making it. First the aircraft was delayed to Riga. Then they used very long time to prepare the aircraft for the flight to Copenhagen. And when we at last left Riga, about 40 minutes delayed, even we understood that our plan went to hell. And we were right.
That is, we landed in Copenhagen at the same time that our flight to Bergen should leave. It didn’t have any consequences for Tennis and Espen Øst, because they were going to stay in Copenhagen for a few days anyway. But for three of us (plus BA-blogger (BA = Bergen newspaper) and Nixon (from the supporter clubs message board)), it became some problems. Lillegutt, by the way, had a flight later. Luckily for us, we all used SAS/Air Baltic for the entire trip, so with that they were responsible to get us on a later flight. And the truth is, so they did. Quickly and efficient, for all of us involved. We got a plane two hours later, so we came back home early evening.
PS! You can see picture from the trip by clicking here.
