Wow, this was amazing! I am back from the Sea Battle, a party cruise between Tallinn and Stockholm. And as I said, it was amazing! So much fun, so many people, so much alcohol!
We started off on Sunday afternoon, when we left Helsinki with a ferry, since we had to catch the Baltic Queen in Tallinn. Already on the first boat, the Super Star, we met a lot of students from all over Finland. Together we were plundering the Tax Free shop for cheap alcohol and were starting to play drinking games.
Since the rules were not clear and the trip just took two hours we didn't get far with the game. We were changing the boat in Tallinn and were obtaining our cabins.
I was supposed to stay with three French guys in a cabin, but then I was asked to change the cabin. Since one French guy had some kind of childish argument with a girl he wasn't so happy about staying in the same cabin with her and asked me to change. So instead of three French guys I had three French girls as cabin mates... not too bad, if you ask me ;-)
The afternoon and early evening went on with drinking games and cabin parties. Then we went to the all-you-can-eat-and-drink buffet, which was included in the ticket price. It was a lot of fun and a lot of good food was served.
And since the alcoholic beverages were also included we went on drinking, of course! And well, this is basically the last thing I remember. I don't really know what happened next, but it doesn’t matter, I think. I was told that I, that we all together had a lot of fun!!!
The next thing I remember, however, is that I was waking up in my bed, with no sense of time, whatsoever, and with all my clothes and even my shoes on. Since, I didn't know what time it was (my cell phone died the night before, since the battery was empty) and didn't wanted to wake up my cabin mates, I left the cabin and was wandering around the ship. I at some point found a clock, but it took me like three attempts to read it. Anyways, I went to the reception of the boat to charge my phone. I left my phone there and went to the Cafeteria to get some coffee and food.
Then we arrived in Stockholm and since I didn't know anything about the plan of the others, so, if they wanted to go to Stockholm or if they wanted to stay aboard, and especially, because I met our nice tutors in the corridor, I decided to go with them. We all three were so hungover, that we looked for a restaurant right away. We were so hungry, that we didn't realize that it was just 11 o'clock in the morning. Anyways, we found a nice place with a nice terrace. It was so lovely, that we were sitting there for nearly two hours, eating our salad and pizza and just enjoying the good weather.
Then the one tutor, J. wanted to go shopping, but S., the other tutor, and I decided to stay outside. I called M., one Italian guy, I was hanging out with to meet him. He was around with J., an Austrian girl and I., a Hungarian girl, so we went to meet up.
We were walking around the city, having fun, feeding birds and just doing stupid hangover stuff until we went back to the boat.
When we came back we all went to get some hours of sleep, since the program was anyways about to start rather late. So I went to bed for like three hours, had a shower and was then ready to party. It was my aim to not pass out (yes, I didn’t go to sleep, I passed out!) before 1 a.m. like I did the night before. I didn’t wanted to pass out at all, I wanted to remember the evening, so I started slowly with the drinking and refused all invitations (and they were numerous) to join drinking games, since this was the main problem the night before.
We went from SpeedDating
to
Folke Westside and later to
Highride, the two Bands that were playing on the Sea Battle and then to the clubs.
In the beginning of the evening the security had to close Ibiza, one of the clubs because it was too full. So we went back to the Starlight Palace, which was bigger and therefore not so crowded.
The night went on, we were dancing and having fun and suddenly we realized that it got light already.
So we went downstairs to get our jackets to see the sunrise from the deck. We went up onto the Helipad and onto the bridge of the boat (actually a restricted area,
but who cares, we were "intoxicated" anyways).
We took some pictures, but went in quickly, since it was so windy and chilly. The club closed at around 8 o’clock in the morning and we decided not to go to sleep for the last two hours on the boat. So we wandered around and got some food.
When we were arriving in Tallinn I went immediately to sleep on one of the benches in the Terminal. I nearly slept three hours straight, just interrupted by people asking me if they could leave their luggage with me or telling me where they were going. Actually I don’t know why they did that, since I was anyways not observing the suitcases and couldn’t tell anybody, where to look for the people, they were searching for.
Anyways, after the boarding I found a nice place to sleep aboard. It was in the front of the ship under a skewed Window, where the sun was shining on. Since I was freezing it was the perfect place to sleep, nice and warm. The area was crowded and one of the passengers was playing some “evergreens” on the guitar and singing to it. Perfect setting to relax.
After a while I got up, searched for the others and went with J., I. and M. to the Tax Free Shop to get something to drink and to buy chocolate. When we arrived in Helsinki I was almost fresh again and was happy to hear that we had a private taxi back to Kannelmäki. A., one guy from.. uh, I actually don’t know where he is from.. anyways.. he came with the car to the Terminal and offered to bring us home.
It was really nice of him, since walking after these three days would have been hell.
I really have to say, I had an awesome time on the boats and in Stockholm. I met so many new and fun people. I really enjoyed it. Thanks to all you people, who were there! Thanks for all the funny and crazy stuff we did!
~M~
We just went there to meet some people and watch the games, but not participate. In the end all the students said an oath, where they basically said, that they will wear their Halare with pride and will honor it appropriately.
I think they are ok for the first time. The problem really is, that you have to have the right distance and height for these pictures. I was trying pictures, which were taken from airplanes in like some few hundred meters, but it didn't really work. Other pictures from rooftops were too close to the ground. It's complicated!
Dream destination number one, located in the middle of the Indian Ocean. This paradise on earth is one of the most threatened countries on earth due to the climate change. Lately the government of the Maldives was holding a meeting underwater to draw attention to the threat global warming causes to the lowest-lying nation on earth. During this meeting they signed a document calling on all countries to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. Even tho the Maldives is really expensive to go, since just Luxury Resorts are using the Islands, it is one of the few places where time runs out.
The island, 35km off the coast of Tanzania, is the chill-out Mecca of Africa. With just few luxury hotels and no mass tourism, the locals still concentrate on original sources of income like fishing and spice farming. Small beach resorts are targeting backpackers, who want to relax in untouched nature. But tourism is growing, new hotels spring up and more and more Westerners come to this island with its white beaches. So go there soon, before mass tourism hits in and destroys this unique culture.
Bhutan is one of the least developed countries in South Asia and is therefore a perfect travel destination. This country is striving for Gross National Happiness, which means the perfect balance between materialism and spirituality. With its unique and, due to the isolation until the 1960s, largely intact culture it is the last country to experience a Himalayan culture. However it is hard to get there. The government still restricts tourism and in 2008 just 29.000 foreign people where allowed to enter Bhutan, which is about the size of Switzerland. Even tho this country has no real tourism it is far away from budget traveling, since every day costs around $200 of tourist taxes. Anyways, save some money, go there, it will be worth to experience.
West Papua is the last stand of the original human kind. The tribes of the jungles are living like thousands of years ago and are far away from civilization. The number of tribes and also the variety of spoken languages are immense. However to keep these unique cultures alive tourism is heavily restricted and travelers need permits of the government for trips to the heartland. This mainly has safety purposes, since the tribes still carry out bloody battles in the jungle. These people are the missing link to the past of mankind. So be sure about your motives when going there, remember your responsibility when traveling.
The roof of the world is by now a real tourist destination. Still Tibet is a hardcore travel destination, since distances are huge and traveling is difficult. Occupied by the Chinese in 1950, Lhasa, the capital of Tibet is now a normal Chinese City. However from there you can follow the friendship highway towards Nepal. This road over the Tibetan Plateau impresses with unforgettable views of the snow-capped Himalayas and vast grasslands and meadows, and other unforgettable sights. When going along the Friendship Highway you will pass the Everest Base Camp from where you might climb the highest point of the earth. However, one of six mountaineers never comes back from this attempt.
The last country of real socialism in the middle of the Caribbean has a unique microclimate, which allows growing the best tobacco and sugarcane in the world. This made Cuba famous for Rum and Cigars. However, the 1200km long island offers more than this. It has a rich culture, whose most important descendant is the Son, the traditional Cuban music, a marriage of African Rhythms and a Spanish guitar. You have to go quickly to Cuba, Fidel Castro is no longer ruling the country and soon multinational corporations might take over Cuba and bring capitalism to this island, where solidarity is not only a word in the dictionary.
This pretty unknown country in the Mediterranean is the Hidden Pearl of the Balkans. Thrown back in development by the numerous wars in the 1990’s it is now slowly accelerating to rebuilt itself to a tourism country, like the neighboring country Croatia already managed to do. Montenegro is rather sparsely populated and offers a large variety in nature. With its five national parks Montenegro is the perfect destination to relax and enjoy the seclusion of the vast pine tree and sclerophyll forest. However, Montenegro has one of the three fastest growing tourism industries and soon it will become the main economic motor. So go there quickly, before you have to wait in line for tourist attractions like the old town of Sveti Stefan.
This Polynesian Island, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and represents the southeastern point of the Polynesian Triangle. Most of the rather small island is protected by the Rapa Nui National Park. The island is basically isolated by the Pacific Ocean, the next inhabited island is over 2000km away. The island got famous for the Moai, the famous stone sculptures, formed by the early Rapanui nation.
The Big Apple is the biggest city of the United States. It is a melting pot of cultures, due to its history and is often seen as a nation itself. You could spend weeks or even months in this world capital of cultural activities with its numerous museums, galleries and theaters. Further you can relax in the Central Park or learn about the history of the US and the suffering of the numerous immigrants coming to New York in the late 19th and early 20th century. The city that never sleeps offers architectural sites as well as sport events and concerts. New York is magical and a place like no other in the world.
The seventh continent is not really a place to travel. However to me the vast emptiness of the ice desert is somehow appealing. It is the last discovered continent and due to its hostile environment and lack of resources it is largely neglected. However the number of tourists is rising steadily and is predicted to be over 80.000 tourists per year in 2010. Climate change and global warming have a tremendous effect onto the ice masses and lately huge icebergs were breaking off the ice shelf.
Since the rules were not clear and the trip just took two hours we didn't get far with the game. We were changing the boat in Tallinn and were obtaining our cabins.
And since the alcoholic beverages were also included we went on drinking, of course! And well, this is basically the last thing I remember. I don't really know what happened next, but it doesn’t matter, I think. I was told that I, that we all together had a lot of fun!!!
Then the one tutor, J. wanted to go shopping, but S., the other tutor, and I decided to stay outside. I called M., one Italian guy, I was hanging out with to meet him. He was around with J., an Austrian girl and I., a Hungarian girl, so we went to meet up. 
We were walking around the city, having fun, feeding birds and just doing stupid hangover stuff until we went back to the boat.
We went from SpeedDating
to Folke Westside and later to Highride, the two Bands that were playing on the Sea Battle and then to the clubs. 
In the beginning of the evening the security had to close Ibiza, one of the clubs because it was too full. So we went back to the Starlight Palace, which was bigger and therefore not so crowded.
So we went downstairs to get our jackets to see the sunrise from the deck. We went up onto the Helipad and onto the bridge of the boat (actually a restricted area, 
but who cares, we were "intoxicated" anyways). 
We took some pictures, but went in quickly, since it was so windy and chilly. The club closed at around 8 o’clock in the morning and we decided not to go to sleep for the last two hours on the boat. So we wandered around and got some food.
Anyways, after the boarding I found a nice place to sleep aboard. It was in the front of the ship under a skewed Window, where the sun was shining on. Since I was freezing it was the perfect place to sleep, nice and warm. The area was crowded and one of the passengers was playing some “evergreens” on the guitar and singing to it. Perfect setting to relax.
It was really nice of him, since walking after these three days would have been hell.
