Travel Talk

Hanging out in Heaven, Ferry from Rostock, Germany to Helsinki, Finland

August 8, 2010July 20, 2019 by SHABL

Greetings and Salutations,

I’m kinda, ehh, sorta, in heaven? I’m on a ferry which should be called a cruise ship from Rostock, Germany to Helsinki, Finland. It’s odd how the old trite saying “the difference a day makes” is so incredibly true. Yesterday I woke up in some rose bushes, I will note that the little “nook” I made was quite cozy, it wasn’t that bad a sleep to be frank. Today, I woke up on the top floor of a cruise ship in the Baltic sea in a suite with 2 wonderful German ladies, wunderbar!

You see, at times I wonder where this blog is going, then I realize there are millions of gents and ladies in the situation I was that aren’t sure if they should go. There are countless travel blogs out there and most are fake or written by people that in general, are kinda boring. Just watched a “travel show” depicting Rostock to be heaven on earth, it’s not. Sure it has some cool stuff but they have professional photographers and cinematographers capturing the best angles on the nicest days with this music that you hear when you’re getting a massage. That’s not reality, that is fantasy. Most want to sell you on a fantasy and as we all know, often times fantasy trumps reality 10 to 1.

I digress.

So this blog will continue to outline the daily ups and downs of doing a trip so you can get an idea of WHAT might happen should you roll the dice and just go for it, no one is doing it and the world needs to know. Had I found a blog like this before I left, it would have made my decision easier. Also DO NOT assume or fantasize about what it will be like, just go. People who make bucket lists live boring lives. Why? Most are rehashed from others ideas and it is setting a ceiling, the coolest moments I’ve had on this trip are things I never ever could have imagined in my previous existence. Also if you have a bit of luck and a decent personality, you truly can have the time of your life in this wonderfully whacky world.

So yeah, yesterday was boring, it was one of those days that nothing goes right. You wake up freezing on the streets, you buy a coke and when you open it, the cap flies into your face and fizz explodes all over your face, clothes everything. You buy groceries and some of the cheese is moldy, you walk down the street and the bag you had to pay extra for breaks. A friend of yours has something horrible happen and you can’t find anywhere to get online to find out / talk about it. You’re sick, tired and disillusioned. You go to a ferry and find out it doesn’t leave for another 15 hours, great.

Then, suddenly you show up again to the ferry terminal and there are 2 wonderful ladies who are just as bored as you are and the next leg of your journey begins. If you have a Eurail pass, you can get on a Tallink “Superfast VIII” or whatever cruiser for 69E for a seat, 150E for a sleeper bed. I took the seat. I am reorganizing my priorities. Why won’t I take a sleeper bed but sometimes spend that AND MORE at some night clubs in the developing world? Oh yeah, spending that on an egregious night out is A LOT MORE FUN. Still though, it’s been a sick ~11 months time to do some work for the next leg up.

Turns out the ladies had a deluxe room and invited me to stay with them, I slept like a baby. That is the benefit of being a “gentleman”. You see, there are creeps, pigs, blokes, dudes and gents. A street sweeper can be a gent and a CEO can be a creep. It doesn’t matter what you do in life, it’s who you are, wise people can see that, regardless of how you dress, how well “kept” you are, it doesn’t matter! I will also note there are not many “gents” out there so if you are one, I tip my hat to thee and urge you to get a move on and discover this wunderbar of a world.

Side note, lots of female Doctor’s I’ve met want to date mechanics and other guys who are good with their hands. They can’t be bothered to deal with white collared useless at everything else but making cash kinda guys, it’s true. One asked me if the car broke down on the side of the road if I could fix it, I said “no”. She said if we dated, I’d better at least lift the hood and say, “I know what’s wrong but don’t have the tools, better get it towed”. hahaha If you are good with your hands, you can work anywhere in the world it’s a dream portable occupation. Degrees and “professions” do not transfer so well and are more difficult to find work for.

I have no hard feelings on Germany, I just didn’t have the sickest time. I could have tied my shoes and spent an extra 2 minutes brushing my teeth and all the people I ran into would have been different, that is a fact. I met a lot of cool people just never got the “I’d live here for part of my year vibe”. That is what I’m looking for, FYI. I’d definitely go back to Berlin to party if I had friends that were there, indeudably.

Regardless, if you come on this ferry, bring some food. I felt like a piker with my bag of cheese and meats. After paying 7E for a coffee and a coke… I feel like a champ. I thought the lady at the restaurant was my “Crew” (getit?) and filled a big mug but she charged me for 2 coffees, shame really. For 6E you can get access to the sauna and whirlpool. It’s for 1 hour. Sometimes it pays to be slightly pretentious. I just walked out with the key so yeah, I’m still “saunaing” whenever I wish, indeed.

I don’t feel like I’m traveling right now, I’m in this first class cruise ship cruising through the Baltic Sea on my way to a cottage party outside Helsinki with gents I met on a tiny island called Koh Tao in Thailand, wtf!?!? If you have a Eurail pass, make the trek, it’s a very refreshing change from the hosteldeloca or whatever. The trip is a total of 28 hours but I wish it was 72 hours, I love this ship, I think it would be cool to go on a really long cruise. Also, working on a cruise ship would be very cool if you want to earn some coin and see the world. I could totally work here. All my jobs have been insanely isolating and that is part of the reason I have great disdain for traditional work. I’m skewed, I’m biased, realize that, ok?

In my old job, I had an office 3x the size of yours, I don’t care how big your office is, mine was way larger. That said, it was in an industrial park and it sucked. I used to watch a squirrel run the wire for entertainment. My highlight was when the accountant who was sorta my dream girl would come in. I was convinced they were discriminating against interesting people and only had boring / weird people in the building. It sucked. When you’re a lobbyist though or an agent for any industry that pays your bills, you need to cut costs where you can. We had a massive office outside of town instead of a small one in town and saved money. It was cool but isolating, enough about that.

Not much else to say, I’m chilling out on this cruise ship. Also, going to start writing more about things you can do to get out of the work world. Lots of people write about this stuff but they got it all wrong. You don’t save and leave, you invest and leave so you can come back when you wish, if you wish.Stocks and internet properties are a great way to get going, I will get deeper into that. I miss trading stocks daily it’s a good time but remember, as wise men say “Stocks are for A$$HATS”. I reckon it is so because when you’re winning, you’re a tall top hat on top of the world, when you’re not you feel like an a$$. Everyone has been both places, the trick is to be the top hat in the game of monopoly not the shoe… I can say this, I’ve been both.

In closing, remember this. Whatever you value most in life tends to come into your life. I value cyberspace money, novel experiences, freedom and fine company. What do you value most? If you said “security or comfort” please close this browser and never come back, EVER!