Europe's Soviet BUNKER!! Will Latvia Keep This Place Open?

After riding those dirt roads for about 6-7km we have arrived at the bunker and just in the nick of time I think our tour starts in about 2 or 3 minutes. So we're checked in now, we've got our tickets so we'll be leaving for the bunker tour soon which is going to be good. I've parked Shadow right outside the door which is quite convenient and they've taken our gear and put it behind the counter. I think Emma's just grabbing one last coffee before we go in and I think it's going to be a good tour. Success? Coffee, protein bar, soviet bunker, living the best life. First sight we've just seen is just behind me, what could be mistaken for 2 nuclear missile launch spots is not, they're just helicopter landing spots but the idea was that the helicopters could land here and the entrance to the bunker they could go straight in here. So there's 3 entrances to this bunker, this one, one on the other side of the building that's buried in the forest and then one that we're going to enter now which is inside this building. Well he said the bunker was only used once in 1984 just for an exercise where they brought 300 people were brought here with helicopters and quickly put into the bunkers for an exercise and the workers for this bunker would all live on the outside which these buildings are today. So I think we're about to go inside the main bunker. We're entering from the main entrance which was just past the reception, straight away you can smell the damp down here. As well as he said that there are signs that say like do not enter you might be electrocuted but he doesn't know if the translation means like don't enter you'll get punished or it's actually that maybe there was wires or something that you could get electrocuted down here. He also said that the government of Latvia didn't want to put any money into maintaining this place so what we're going to see today is about as original as you can get, nothing's really been changed because they didn't want to put any money into it so it's going to be good. Just by the main entrance is where you'd have to give your name and your password to gain entrance to the bunker and there it is, it's still there and here we go. So we are nine metres underground and the walls are three metres thick and this whole area here is 2,000 square metres and the three guys that were the top officials had these quarters and the rest of the 300 people would live in those rooms. We're just going to go further into the bunker, don't get lost Em. I know, it's creepy down here, the floor is strange as well. It's like a little bit of a communication room. So this is the room where one of the three high commission guys would have been with their family. Do you want to need a whole new set of tyres for our 1250GS adventure? Yeah, it's pretty flat, yeah, we went to Norway. OK, should be here in a couple of days, thanks very much, you can send them down to the bunker. So this was one of the private rooms from the top three people and he said he had the photo of the person that was funding everything because there was only three of them and their families that were going to live in this bunker and then the rest of the people were just like their employees to keep the bunker running so they had to keep asking for more and more money because they wanted it to be lavishly furnished. This whole bunker was basically just made for these three people and it's really cool that the original phones and the desk, everything's still here. And it's even cooler that everything is now back in fashion. It is, isn't it? So in this room is where the officials would sleep, so eight people would sleep in this room and work so they had to push the desks up against the wall to form a bed. The three people that were running this place didn't care at all about the officials so this is where they slept and worked, a 24-hour shift so eight in, eight out. They did even put bunk beds in so they had to sleep on the floor. A bit selfish, wasn't it? In this room there was a direct line to the Kremlin from this phone, right here. Is it still connected? No, it's gone quiet. Apparently there was still personnel here up in 1998, did it say? Yeah, they brought people in to try and see what they could do with the place because everyone was confused about what to do with it and they were surprised to find that the technology here was still working. Yeah, in fact the phones just in this next room could make free international calls and it's still active today and you can actually make calls on it. And we're heading deeper into the bunker now. Just behind me is the door from the helicopter landing pad and this is where the VIPs would come to eat and everything in here is original. There's the instructions there, how to put on the gas mask. Just leaving this room now, but what a special place, it's preserved perfectly. A snapshot of time. This one was the war room with all of the maps of the locations of the reservoirs, dams, bunkers and all of the tactical plans. So this was not a nuclear bunker but a communications bunker and this is where all the communications and plans would take place. And it is completely original in here. Nothing has changed. All of the maps, all of the plans, everything is exactly how it was. It is as original as it gets. Interesting, what he was saying was they think, well it's a theory, that this bunker was positioned because the only way into Moscow was from Riga so they might actually, the Russians might attack Riga to block the entrance of their enemies. But otherwise this bunker location didn't make sense at all. Not sure what this room was for but I think it's an entertainment and recreation room because we've got an old radio there. We've got some old Soviet records here. Like Bob Dylan equivalent. It looks like, doesn't it? Got the hammer and sickle on the wall. Yeah, some original flags. And then it looks like these were all the gas masks that they kept just in case. First aid kit instruction there. A television actually, look at that. And in the corner here is the record player. A few more records. Okay, this one might be my favourite room. Look at these old cassettes. I actually think we had, is it? Oh no, it must be the similar design. There's a Teenage Mutant Hero turtle stick on that one as well. Have you seen all of the badges as well? Oh yeah. And the old record players over here. A friend of ours would absolutely love these record players. Oh, there was. They're all in mint condition. I guess they never got used. No, they just had them down here. They've even got an old roller set and some other hair products in here. They said you were prepped to live in here for three months. Yeah. Oh, they've got patches. Don't think you'll be able to get those patches in there. But look at the hair rollers. They're exactly the same now. You could literally buy those off Amazon. I could, haven't I? Oh, I've got a globe and an atlas. What's through this room? I wish this was the medical room. Like the doctor. Yeah, I guess so. They've got a scales. And yeah, fitness books. How to stretch and stuff. How to keep fit when they were down here. You could do a few laps of the bunk, couldn't you? To keep fit. Some little magic mixes there. Oh, look at this, Sean. This is the medical kits that they had down here. Who wouldn't have wanted to get sick? I know. And there on the wall, how to do a splint. Bunker mishaps. It is so interesting how nothing has really changed in here. No, it's just like doors shut and left. It's not many places left that you can explore like this. They were saying it's not so sure if this place will stay open forever. I think they're not really sure what to do with it. For the moment, you can visit it. I think the last 20 years you could have visited it. Yeah, it opened in 2003. But I don't know if you should be able to or shouldn't be able to or how I feel about it. He used a good expression. It's like a hot potato. No one really knows what to do with it. Should we go and explore another room? Yeah, I think so. Currently in the library and there's a collection of magazines here. This is a fashion world. What were the Soviet fashions like? Capes, checks, pinafore, we like it. Denim, double denim, that's in there. What else have we got? Oh, beautiful. They're amazing, some of them. Oh, we had like a hippie vibe going on. I can get down with that. Look at the structure and the details. Wow. These are stunning. Men's fashion, Sean, could you see yourself? What's he got in his hand? I don't know. Absolutely beautiful and incredible to be able to see these magazines. I always feel like some of these people, their look, their faces, you kind of recognise them almost. These traditional pin curl hairstyles from this era. What else have we got? Comic books. Not so glamorous, but this was the toilet room. Apparently this was for 300 people. It smells like it was for 300 people. It still looks like it's working. I'm good, thank you. I'll pass. There's another entrance, more of a secret entrance which leads to the forest and there's a decontamination zone where people would shower in the event of a nuclear attack. Here's the instructions as to what you should wear after you've showered yourself. I think we're just going to check out the shower room here, is that right? Yeah, that's it. It's just through these doors. The doors were curved obviously if there was a nuclear disaster and then through here is the shower room. And there's the original white powder which apparently could get rid of any nuclear organisms that were on you. That is original apparently. You have a good scrub in here and then you would dress before you were let out again. And this is the little secret tunnel which leads out to the forest so people could enter here without being seen because the main entrance is quite obvious. This place is immense. Where did our tour group go? We are currently in the engine room of the bunker where all the electricity was generated. And the two engines behind us there are taken straight from a T-54 Russian tank. And one of them still works. And this one here apparently is fully working and they have spare parts for them as well. And it is still powering the bunker like the light switches and everything right now which is crazy. And this over here was the little window that the engineers would look out and that was their phone and that was the intercom system. It has definitely dropped in temperature down here. We are getting quite low. It has gone quite cold. That way. This room that we are in now was used to transcript conversations that we were listening into and accumulate all of the information of what was happening around here. And it is quite interesting the tour guide likened it to a social media of the day where to listen to people's secrets and to see what they were doing and they would come down here and print everything off with all this computer equipment that is still here today. It was really expensive though wasn't it to pay for spies and all this technology. More phones as well. It is kind of creepy in here. Like you think about what they must have heard. And the recorder. Can I flip a switch? Is that a good switch action? It is. Oh listen to that. Oh that is a creepy sound. Radio Luxembourg. Even the doors have like the classic little creak on them. This one is I think one of my favourite rooms. It was the Department of Agriculture shown on the map there which showed all of the communities of Latvia and all the way it was divided through the farmland. They also made this as luxury as possible with the wood panelling, the tables and I think they were saying they were trying to save artefacts from the Soviet Union which they brought here but you think this one was taken from a school or a library. Next room we have is the communication room. It is an interesting fact that one of these lights would light up to signify that one regional district was under attack and if the light came on they would have to verify this information. And they had direct lines here with all of the media, television stations and newspapers which they could contact them straight away to try and verify if the little light was right. And apparently it still works. Some very neat handwriting there. Some of them have been doing their lines. I find it dead interesting what their cupboards were like. They've got dovetails on those drawers. We have. No expense for it. What's in the red one? I feel like red must have been... Oh wow. Some newspaper clippings. Maybe someone in our comments can translate some of this. More communication equipment here from the Second World War time I think. And he was saying that the wooden cabinet there is like the grandfather of the fax machine. They're fantastic aren't they? All mechanical. I think they were more interested in other people's lives back then than we are today with all this communication equipment. I think it was just a bit more difficult back then. Here's the more updated version of the equipment that they use for communication. I guess this is like a switchboard here as well. Look at this guy. He's still got his original clothing on. His buttons. And his belt. Hello. Ah okay. Yeah I'm not going to make it. Sorry. Traffic's terrible in Berlin. I think this one is the last room of this tour. It's another communication room and communication was really important as there would be no purpose of this bunker if they couldn't communicate with the outside world and the other governments. So here was all radio transmissions and telephone lines and apparently all of this equipment is fully functional and working today as this place is completely frozen in time. Well has that been the highlight of your trip? That was everything and more I could have hoped it to be. It was awesome. It was a lot bigger than I expected. It was. There were 2,000 square metres and big enough for 300 people. It would have been still tight for 300 people but still. And everything just like preserved. It was almost like a museum from the 60s, well from the 70s wasn't it was built in the 70s. Or it was like a museum that you could just go in and press things and nobody really cared. Yeah exactly. Really interesting tour, lots of information. I would highly recommend that to any tour in Latvia. Right and we're heading further south now I think aren't we Em? Yes we're south east, west, south west we're heading now. I'd just like to bring one last point up Em, you brought us in a very gravelly muddy road for about 8km and it appears there was a tarmac route to get here. Which might have even been quicker when we were really running late. Never mind it was lots of fun. But you still love me right? Yeah. On the route to Riga there are a few stops we want to make along the way and we're just stopping at a rock formation. This was a very easy one wasn't it? We didn't have to detour at all for this. Oh it's a cavey rock formation. So that's man made. Oh is it like a mill? Are you crossing over this? Well I think so yeah, we might as well get as close as we can. You're linging a bit too long on that wooden bridge for my liking Sean. That's cool. I've got some markings on the wall. Is it for fishing? Like the fish come through and they catch them? I've no idea. No there's no information anywhere. And on to the next destination there are some steps and a viewpoint if you're interested in them and a nice abandoned building next to it. Well the sun has come out for us now, it's a lovely day. How deep is that? I swear you're just seeking out puddles at this point. Looks like there's some more caves over there. Maybe this is where people used to live in the caves? Possibly. There's so much to see here in Latvia. There is, there's a lot more than I thought there was. We're just arriving in the town of Sig Ullada. So if you turn right now and then turn left I'm thinking we're going to get close to the castle. From Google Maps it says that the road is closed today. Is this left Em? No. This left. This one right here? Yeah. I'll go down that. There seems to be a lot of events on at the moment. This one's called the 9th Castle Bar so that's a good sign. It is. Everyone seems to be coming out. It's a cycling event and it looks like it's finished because he had a medal on. It says on Google Maps that the road opens at 5 o'clock and it's 3 o'clock now. Okay, this looks like it's closed from here on. Right. Yeah. This is as close as we can get. What about this side road? There is a cafe down here if you wanted to What, down here on the right? It was just there on that corner apparently. These events, they're great but they make havoc in these cities. Shall I ask this guy how we get to the castle? Right, I'll ask him. I don't think so. See if he knows. Hello. Is it possible today for a castle? No chance? Okay, thank you. Alright, you want to answer that? That's our answer. The castle is closed today so no access. Okay then. So we are just entering Riga, the capital of Latvia. We're going straight to a restaurant because we don't have a hotel booked for tonight. So we're going to find a little restaurant, book a hotel and then we'll be ready to explore the city. What an amazing entrance to a city. Some really grand buildings here. That one's 1900. The facades look really good. This right. In 300 metres it's a slight left. It says slight left. I don't know what that means but it says slight left. I guess it's this. And your map is it? I guess it must be this way. We're a kilometre away. Keep going straight. Straight on this road. The restaurant is just near the middle part of it. So you've got 1.6 kilometres. We've made it to Riga and we went straight to the restaurant that Em found and I'm very grateful of that because it looks absolutely fantastic. It's actually my first meal of the day and I might have gone a little bit overboard on the ordering but we won't judge me. So here we've got the all-day breakfast which is potatoes with sausage, mushrooms, avocado. Sean has the tofu stir-fry and I have the burrito and we have cups of tea. It's just stopped raining when we arrived in Riga we had a big downpour so it's just stopped raining so when we leave hopefully we'll be able to just ride to the hotel and get ready to explore tomorrow. Yep, that's right. So join the next episode as we do a tour of Riga.