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Old 11-25-2008, 02:51 AM
BlueGerbil BlueGerbil is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Germany
Posts: 89
November 20-22, 2008: Yekaterinburg - Tyumen

Two cities ? two successful days

Shortly after our overnight arrival in Yekaterinburg, the first light snow fall started: The next morning when we looked out of the windows, a thin snow layer covered our vehicles. Unfortunately the temperature was not low enough to save the tender skin of snow. Bummer! Within few minutes, Yekaterinburg was covered with a thick brown layer of mud instead. Shortly after that - the few kilometers from the hotel to the Technical University were far enough ? F1 and F2 were covered with a thick film of mud. The vehicles looked like they had just returned from their toughest off-road experience.

In Yekaterinburg, the consulate general and the Technical University invited us to present the project. The president of the university welcomed us personally and informed us about the university and its 43,000 students. Next to students and press representatives, numerous TV teams with cameras were attending the presentation which was prepared by the consulate in an excellent way. The success of this presentation was noticeable: We have been the attraction of the 8pm newscast on the second Russian channel. Besides images of the Jeeps and trailers, they showed interviews of Matthias and Evgeny as well. Now we are well-known In Russia.

We covered the 350 kilometers from Yekaterinburg to Tyumen in a relaxing day trip. At the city border we were directly escorted to the biggest Chrysler center in Eurasia. Due to the fact that our vehicles have already been too high for the garage entrance in Yekaterinburg, we should now check our vehicles here in Yekaterinburg. Within seconds everybody?s nerves were frayed. Matthias has not even had time to greet the attending Chrysler representatives. Then a security guard in uniform came running by and heatedly told us to take our trailers and leave. Meanwhile our Russian drivers were already talking to the mechanics and they started working. Evgeny performed a maneuver that made the trailers lurching and towed the Jeep ? with a journalist sitting on the engine bonnet ? into the workshop. At the same time two Chrysler colleagues began to clean our totally dirty vehicles and we had to unload our luggage for the night. It got hectic and Matthias got loud.

To arrive at this garage showed us once more what it means to be on an expedition: Even though everything is planned and prepared in detail we all have to expect unforeseeable situations that call for ultimate concentration and cooperation. It is more than possible that in situations like that the stress and hectic discharge themselves in loudness. But no storm without the subsequent quietness: The meeting at the Chrysler center with the local press representatives took place in a special friendly atmosphere. The journalists were really interested and the three representatives of automobile magazines, who are attending the expedition at the moment, integrated themselves very well. For the first time Matthias was not the only one who explained the story of the expedition. The three attending Russian press representatives were dynamically supporting him with translations and representation of the expedition.

We left Tyumen early Sunday morning. Our way lead us 650 kilometres towards east ? thereby the sun was shining towards Omsk and lead us the way to the next milestone. We gladly followed this bright light.



















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