Dateline: 16:20 06 Sep 1996
Location: Stockholm-Helsinki, m/s Isabella
Well, almost; this chunk is being written at the terminal,
but close enough. It's quiet, and no wonder since Friday cruises
cost a a whopping 4 times more than all other days. Why, might
you ask? The answer is that it's a nefarious and vile plot by Viking
to snatch the heart and soul, not to mention wallet, of those who would
go for a weekend cruise. Bastards, eh? At least I got half
off with Interrail, which meant that leaving today would be a few kr cheaper
than staying another day and leaving then; besides, I couldn't have endured
the tedium of being penniless (öreless?) in Stockholm for an extra
24h. It's a truly dull place. Everybody speaks English, so
communication is not a challenge; the food is recognizable and mostly edible;
all the earthier pleasures of life (the interestingly acronymizing trio
of STD) have been eradicated; so what's a poor slob like me to do?
One
appreciates travel by ship in an entirely different way after 3 weeks of
train travel. No longer you have a 0.5x1.0x1.0m box to sit in, but
a floating chunk the size of a department store to walk around in, complete
with pool and sauna. OK, perhaps it's a rather expensive dep't store,
but a nice one just the same.
There's no beating the system: on the way to Stockholm
I won 13 FIM, so on the way back I lost precisely that sum. I would've
doubled my original winnings this time had I followed my original impulse,
but no, logic won the day and I lost by not marking that one ace in addition
to the joker. TANSTAAFL. I guess this means bye-bye to the
sauna/pool I was thinking of: turns out you have to pay 28 FIM (!) for
the privilege. No sirree; at least not without that royal flush in
poker.
The day's budget
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