I took my first-ever overnight cruise, going from Sweden to Finland. My cabin ended up unused as the night proved too eventful to sleep.
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Ten story house on water
I began by touring the surprisingly large cruiser, with ten decks of cabins, storages, bars, cafes, game rooms, viewing areas and nightly entertainment. On the bottom were the cheapest sleeping halls, right where I was placed. After snapping a quick photo I was reluctant to stay there – so close to waterline (or perhaps even under?), we’d be the first to go in case of the inevitable iceberg. Yeeeaaaa, pass.
So I ventured up, skipping storage and car parking towards the public decks. The cafeteria taking up half of the 6th floor was not yet open, but the store proved surprisingly well stocked for a boat, particularly in the alcoholic department. Right above were two cozy bars serving drafts and overpriced wines, as well as a bigger venue with a central stage that would feature tonight’s band. The third restaurant on the other end was too fancy and pricey to consider.
The 8th deck housed a two-story club and an outside area slowly growing cold and windy. The last decks were pretty tiny, with conference and banquet halls locked down and reserved for bigger events. Yet, I would return here amidst my drunken stupor, but more on that later.
By the time I finished the tour and snapped photos like a good little over excited tourist, it was time to feed my now severely nutritionally deprived body after the day’s ten miles of Stockholm!
Boat meal and ABBA
I anxiously loaded my plate at the pick-your-meal and pay-by-the-weight cafeteria, arriving at a reasonable 7 euro platter of colorful samples. Obligatory Swedish meatballs, fish over rice, oddball curry chicken and some salad with too much dressing. I still had a whole bunch of veggies and cream cheese on me to add in. Saving money, and all that.
I sat for a bit near the bars on the floor above, nurturing coffee and responding to work mails before the music lured me out of my productive trance. The night was yet too young and the couples too old, so I went upstairs to the club that was too empty. Chatting with Heli the bartender, I learned the crew alternates between a week on a the cruise and a week off, all paid nonetheless. Sounded like a pretty good deal. But our dialogue was interrupted by an interesting fellow ordering two shots of Jäger…
Polish politics and regrets
The glass shattered under Krystian’s animated gestures, drawing out his inner patriot. Learning I was a fellow Polak, he invited me to his table, admitting ordering two drinks only as not to appear alone. But now, the second shot having an owner, he no longer needed to lie. If only it wasn’t scattered on the floor in hundreds glowing pieces, that is.
We connected quickly about the unstable political situation of our homecountry, recalling the numerous crazy things the new government is pulling.We complained of the brilliant youth pursuing higher wages abroad while abandoning their homecountries and families, ignoring that we were both prime examples of that. Krystian hated hypocrisy and really appreciated me for my honest “truthfulness to myself,” undoubtedly attributed more to his deep intoxication than any of my innate qualities. But I did spend half an hour consoling his growing mid-life crisis and ensuring that no, he did not waste his life away.
Life lessons that would certainly be swept away by the morning hangover.
Making the world a better place
Warmed by the drinks, I politely excused myself and went into the wet deck outside, realizing you could not see anything through the suffocating fog. Climbing the slippery steps I re-entered by the banquet hall to find three odd fellows sitting on the ground with drinks in hand. At 1am in the morning, what is a man to do but join?
Cruise Tip: Do not bother getting a sleeping cabin; contemplating life with fellow passengers over wine and ABBA is just too interesting.
The old Swed and young Finn painted the differences of their mother tongues. I nodded to the fact the former was surprisingly similar to English in structure and grammar, and sipped my store-bought wine over the thirty types of conjugations found in Finnish. The following topics of quarter life crisis were quite appropriate for the time and intoxication of the night, but it was not until the topic of change that the third hippie finally revved up with excitement.
“We need to stop treating food as commodity, a product on a market. It is a life sustaining force that comes from the environment we live it. It cannot be objectified.”
The crux of Ben’s philosophy was the mistake of discussion, so typical of us academic educated types. Instead of doing, we like to publish verbose scholarly papers, attend conferences, and argue about the solutions. But we simply need to act in good faith, without worry about the ifs or hows, and the message will spread with the help of modern globalizing #technology.
Doubtful of his simplicity in fixing world’s food waste and shortage, I asked for the proof of his “don’t think, just do it” approach – an unnecessary need that was his whole point. The hashtag revolution did organically contribute to the growth of the Arab spring without fifty papers justifying it a prior, after all. I admit Ben challenged my “academic” paradigms and brought up interesting alternatives possible only in today’s rapidly connecting world.
Life lessons that would certainly be swept away by the morning hangover.
When the end meets new beginning
The fellow travelers used my restroom break as a good point to call it a night, now quickly approaching 5am. Reluctant to sleep eight stories down (in case of those inevitable icebergs) and merely two hours from meeting my destination, I dozed slightly on the familiar couch in front of the bar.
The morning crowds leisurely gathered after the nightly slumber. I noticed the Asian passengers, perhaps Chinese from the sound of it, were the earliest rises. I sat by the window with my milky tea and watched as we calmly reached the shore. The tranquil moments were interrupted by loudspeakers blaring for us to disembark immediately.
The night cruise was now over, and I officially set my foot in Finland.