Welcome to the Baltic Sea!

The third route of my time on board AIDAcara has begun and the first 14-day trip is already behind us. Exciting, intense, and completely different from what I have experienced so far. The challenges increased and there was a lot to consider, which I was initially not aware of. The guest structure is somewhat older than on previous trips. In addition to necessary passport controls for entry into St. Petersburg, I encountered the first accident of a guest followed by a hospital stay in Tallinn. Many experiences that have not always made my everyday life as a scout easier. Nevertheless, I have been able to continue discovering many beautiful, new places and take away a lot of impressions. Despite more things to consider, the work is incredibly fun. The medieval Tallinn and Riga, magnificent palaces and cathedrals in St. Petersburg, as well as beautiful Baltic Sea beaches in Poland, fascinated me during the past weeks. Variety determines everyday life here. While the big city feeling in Russia caused a bit more stress for me than perhaps necessary, and I was pretty exhausted after 2 days of stay due to long tours and countless excursions, I enjoyed beautiful hours on Gotland or Stockholm in sunny weather, visited the ABBA Museum and sang karaoke there with a lady from the AIDA travel group, or laughed with guests during a hike through Åland's nature in Finland. Through this variety and many unique moments, I constantly recharge and enjoy the time. The Baltic Sea is definitely a new challenge to master over the next 6.5 weeks.

The time is once again ripe for farewells to my beloved colleagues... I will probably have to get used to that first, because it is one of the most difficult parts on board. People come and go - you get to know and appreciate each other quickly, and before you know it, the colleagues are leaving again. However, new colleagues have also arrived, with whom I quickly get along. Life goes on. But the most beautiful memories and experiences remain in my mind, which is really good! As long as you don't forget that, you will probably survive even the saddest farewells.

Yesterday we were in the port of Tallinn together with the large sister ship AIDAmar. A cool experience, as we could visit the other ship on board. A huge difference from the small AIDAcara, my current temporary home. But still great to gain such new insights.

We are currently ending our free evening in Riga in a 50s-style pub, enjoying a cocktail, as our ship will stay overnight today and therefore we have as much time off as we want. It's also awesome to end the day with colleagues in a relaxed way.

Cheers and see you soon!