BootsnAll Travel Network



7/8

In the morning, I take a walk back into the city to go to the Vasa museum, stopping for fish and chips along the way. It contains a gigantic ship from the fifteenth century, which sunk on its maiden voyage but was found again in the harbor in the 1950s and was pulled out of the water, remarkably intact. Quite an impressive exhibit. When I come out, it has clouded over, so I walk briskly back to the hostel to get my bag and head to the metro to catch the ferry to Helsinki. The ferry is a cruise ship, fully equipped with pools and shops and saunas and bars and restaurants, a gargantuan affair, there is even a casino down at one end. My cabin mates on the boat are three Swiss kids, again eighteen and nineteen, from Basel. After the boat gets going I get up and wander around, drink some beers, go up to the top deck and watch the seagulls weave their beautiful patterns in the air. I grab some food at one of the cafes, go back to the room and lay down. The Swiss kids have gone up to the top deck to drink a big bottle of vodka. Later on, one of them comes back in, goes to the toilet and pukes, then collapses on the bed. In another half an hour, the next guy comes in. He fumbles and staggers for a moment, then I hear him throw up all over the room, as he is unable to open the bathroom door. He collapses on the bed face first. In the dark, I hear him now throwing up on his pillow. The stench overwhelms me, I have to get out of there. So I gather my stuff and head down to the security guard on the lower level at five in the morning to ask if there are any other beds available. He sends me down to the bottom of the hull to a spare bed down there. The room is hot but at least I can lay down.



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