So I left packing for the very last minute, because I'm a master of procrastination. I ended up not taking quite a few items that I originally planned on taking, because the rinkka was starting to weigh a lot. I even almost left out the sunscreen, but then decided to take it anyways. I'll just have to use it generously, so that it gets used up during the trip (it didn't). We also took some things that are probably not necessary - rope, pyykkipojat (laundry boys, lol) and duct tape. Then again, all of those could come in handy (they did).
The journey began around 16:00, when we got a ride to Turku. We hadn't even left the city yet, when it started pouring down with rain. It was also very windy - the trees were bending down and the car was pretty shaky. There were several lightnings and we heard thunder, and it was raining so hard that the sweepers didn't even help. We pulled over to the side of the road and waited for the weather to calm down a bit before continuing. And of course after about 15 more minutes of driving there wasn't even a sign of the thunderstorm anymore - the sky was much lighter and it barely rained. Still, a pretty scary way to start off on our adventure. Hopefully not a bad omen!
We got to the harbor around 18:30, and waited for the check-in to begin, and for the ferry to arrive. We had to wait for about 2 hours, and spent our time observing the people in the lobby. When we got on the ferry, we decided not to leave our luggage in the storage room, and went to sit in the room for the passengers who are too cheap to get a cabin. It was this room that fits maybe 30 people, with several rows of seats basically like the ones in trains or buses.
When we were sitting there, minding our own business, some weird lady started talking to us. Apparently she thought we were speaking Danish, and even after we told her several times that we are from Finland, she still kept speaking Danish to us! I only understood bits and pieces of what she was talking about. Then she gave us a riddle to solve, using some wooden sticks and a cigarette filter. Neither of us really understood what she wanted us to do because she was speaking Danish. Then she left an opened bottle of red wine on the floor between us and left. Pinky somehow understood what the riddle was about and managed to solve it. That was a pretty weird encounter. At some point during the night, the weird riddle-lady returned. Pinky showed her the solution she came up with and it was correct. The lady then rearranged the wooden sticks and started explaining a new riddle. At this point, I was half-pretending to be asleep, so she didn't disturb me. Pinky didn't really get the point of the new riddle, but the lady didn't insist much, took her bottle of red wine and left. We didn't see her again.
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| The strange Danish riddle... |
Note to future self: always get a cabin. Sleeping in the chairs wasn't too bad - I did get a little bit of sleep - but they were very very uncomfortable. It was also very cold in the room. I had my sweater on, and later during the night I also had Pinky's hoodie on. She decided to sleep on the floor in her sleeping bag, and there were several other people that did the same. That probably was more comfortable than trying to sleep in the chairs. There was a thunderstorm during the night. I noticed it when I turned to face the windows and there was a flash of lightning that illuminated the sea. It looked awesome - first seeing nothing but your own reflection, and then everything becoming light for a split second. I have no idea how safe it is to be out at sea during a thunderstorm, so it was a bit spooky. But we survived :)
-Brain
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