A pirate's life

The day had come. We set sail as participants of the 'Pirates of the Baltic Sea Tour'. Since Konstantin sold his ticket to Kirill at short notice, it was not an official Flat 17 crew outing, but that didn't dampen the mood. We started on Sunday morning with a Bavarian breakfast. Wheat beer, white sausages, pretzels, and fitting music were a welcome change from toast and tea/coffee. Well fortified and with a few beers, we got on the bus which safely took us to Helsinki in three hours.
Tickets and small gift bags were distributed to each of the approximately 1,600 students before boarding. Unfortunately, the whole thing was not properly thought out logistically. The result was a completely overcrowded hall. We waited casually for an hour until we reached the bag check. Prohibited items included alcohol, any food, and music boxes. Following the motto 'rules don't apply to us' we smuggled bread, pastries, and a music box onto the ship.

The ship was huge and fully equipped. It had everything, from (overpriced) restaurants, a casino, a pub, two clubs, a tax-free shop, to a spa area. Everything the heart desires, so to speak. Our first stop was our cabin, and even this didn't bode well. We were accommodated on Deck 2. It was the lowest deck on this ship. Even animals and cars were higher up. Only one out of 10 elevators and a staircase led so deep into the ship's interior. In the last, really the very last corner, we found our cabin. In general, it was a labyrinth and we were afraid that we wouldn't find it when we were drunk. Flo's idea of writing the elevator number on his arm was certainly not a bad idea. We quickly settled in and then went straight to the buffet. The special feature was the free drinks for 90 minutes. There was complete chaos when half of the students stormed into the restaurant at the same time and grabbed everything edible. Piles of meat piled up on our plates. A mixture of chicken, kebab, köttbullar, and sauce. We stuffed ourselves until we couldn't eat anymore. Beer and wine were, of course, not forgotten, and even plates were spontaneously turned into trays. Completely stuffed, we rested for a short while before the pre-party for the later party started.

The elevator doors opened on the 12th floor. Karaoke bar. Here, we gathered with some friends and sang louder than the people on the microphone. The atmosphere reached its peak when 'Wonderwall' was sung by the entire bar. After a few more drinks, we lost sight of each other more or less. Marcos' path led him to the Atlantis Dance Club. Too many people on a too small dance floor. Added to that was the swaying of the ship. It almost resembled a choreographed dance as everyone wobbled in the same direction. Flo's path led him here and there, as usual at every party. At the end of the evening, only a few fragments of memories remained, such as conversations with Chinese and Finnish families in the elevator, invitations to play blackjack, surprisingly successful sessions at the slot machines, spontaneous 'the floor is lava' challenges, and a few pictures with aliens. Miraculously, he still showed up on time for the after-show.

7:30 am. Finally, it was time to rest and get some sleep. The alarm clock rang at 10 am, the planned arrival time. Unfortunately, there were unplanned delays during the night, which now deducted from our time in Stockholm. Instead of six, we only had four hours left. The metro station was once again in complete chaos. Everyone was trying to get to the city center this way. So we needed a different way and ordered an Uber taxi. Even this alternative cost us a lot of time, and we lost an additional hour.
Nevertheless, we were greeted by clear skies and intense sunshine in Sweden, showing the city at its most beautiful. Stockholm is an incredible city. Unfortunately, we almost ran from monument to monument and still couldn't see everything. Another visit is not ruled out. Finally, we had an especially good burger as a hangover breakfast (local time: 3/3 pm).

Back on the ship, the cabin was our first point of contact. We tried to catch up on some sleep. Unfortunately, we only managed to get an hour of sleep. Dinner was getting closer and finding a seat was not easy with the mass of hungry students. Fortunately, the slightly more expensive Italian restaurant was not the main destination for many, so we could enjoy ourselves there in a cozy atmosphere. In any case, it had the most expensive lasagna of our lives. But it tasted fabulous and provided a perfect foundation.

Change of location. Pre-party on Deck two. The corridors between the cabins were converted into dance floors, seating areas, and gymnastic areas. Flo's floor gymnastics show included some somersaults over sitting people and handstands, including moonwalking on the ceiling. After everyone had enough drinks, we initially went back to the karaoke bar. Unfortunately, this time without group singing, so our path led us to the casino. We watched an Asian couple (according to Flo, not his new friends from last night) lose too much money at the roulette table until we ourselves came up with the idea to place a bet. To keep it from becoming too expensive, we bet on players, not games. At the air hockey table, everyone chose one of the opponents, and the loser had to carry on with the next round. As always with such stupid ideas, Flo emerged as the winner.

Afterwards, we returned to the dance floor. Here, our paths separated again. There was no way to stay together as a group. We all found ourselves on Deck two at a seating party initiated by Flo. It was already 6:40 am. We were supposed to dock in Helsinki at 10:30 am. The catch: we still had some beer left. There was no way around it, we had to finish it on the ship. Shortly after 8 am, we were back in the cabin. An hour of sleep was still due before we had to clean up our cabin. Completely destroyed, we left the ship on time and boarded the buses.

Almost everyone found a place to sleep, so the noise level on the bus was only increased by snoring people. We reached Lappeenranta at 2 pm. Our day was more than calm and the lights went out at 8:30 pm. We feel like we've aged 9 years, but the trip was fun, and that's the most important thing. We don't want to hear anything about the upcoming parties on Friday and Saturday just yet. First, a cold turkey is in order before we can experience a relapse. But the next countdown is already set: 11 days until snowy Lapland.