The Last Cruise of Elvis Beard

Today we docked in Stockholm and tonight when we shove off for Helsinki we begin the last cruise. I hope for good passengers and tips as we have two more chances to make some cash money to bring home or spend on the adventure after the adventure. My plan for Monday when I return to Stockholm is to hop a train and head for a town called LINKÖPING. Once there I will get picked up by a friend of my Aunt Suzanne's named Riley Toorn, she knows my aunt from Colorado and has married a guy from Sweden and now they are care takers for a castle. They have promised not to take me sailing but I think there is hiking and biking to do on the property, but I don't know much more than that.
Two nights ago I met three pieces of a metal band that played stuff like old Motorhead, the drummer and one of the guitarists were father and son, while talking to them the son came over and said "hey you've got that Elvis Beard" I lost it, soo funny. so now I have another nickname "Elvis Beard". I'll let you know more tomorrow. haven't had a whole lot more to tell ya'll but I am sure when I get home there will be many things to relate.

6 days left at sea

Tuesday being today and I haven't missed the boat again. ahha. it's good to be on time. and the back lash as of yet is nonexistent so I think I still can do this job in the future. I am not sure yet what I am going to do when I am done on the boat but I think I will hang out in Stockholm as I enjoy this city much more than Helsinki. I am making friends from all over the world and can't wait for the day when I can visit them in their homes. see you all really soon.

The lone Stowaway

One should try to never upset your stomach after a good meal especially one that was prepared by good hands after eating from a cafeteria for the better part of a month. One also should know how to use the tram system in a foreign city and not miss his boat but alas I have broken that one too. I now sit in the belly of a different boat on an adventure that has bought me a day as a tourist in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. “Carpe Diem!” as they say and seize I have although I am not sure what I have by the tail. Somewhere in conversation or at a museum in the last week I heard it said that humans love abnormality and it becomes something that we prize. I hear truth in that statement and in a way missing my boat today in Helsinki is the broken schedule of time and calendars that I love so much in life. I have been learning a lot about myself in the weeks that have passed on these floating motels. I have begun to enjoy the status of an entertainer for peoples that find beauty in songs that they don’t really understand it’s kind of like a study in emotional performance. In the same way that I can pick up the meaning of Swedish words because of the inflection of the speaker and yet it’s a game that only one can play alone in a room of tongues bizarre. Like a ringmaster dealing out feats of musical acrobatics cracking whips at the folk song and heavy metal ballad with equal parts of admiration for the ears that find it pleasing and the challenge of emoting properly the correct impetus of the original muse. (That reminds me that I do really love the run on sentence and often think of how my lack of English grammar can be chalked up to the one teacher that taught us the best lesson about my native language: break all the rules because English is one messed up mish-mosh of linguistic pearls) And so now I have a night off to take in the performance of other English speakers and their performance of “pop” tunes.
I like writing this blog like this here’ why, I just spent the last 2 hours wandering the ship and checking out the differences meeting the troubadours here and playing a little video poker. I won 5 euro off of 20cents but then lost it all on a true double match of “is my card higher than the dealers”. The troubadours are a very nice couple from California although I didn’t catch the city they have been playing together for 20 years as entertainers and have been married for 31. They have a good thing going with the agent that booked us they keep an apartment in Copenhagen and play there a lot of the time. They are on board the Viking boats for 3 months and unfortunate for them they haven’t been able to get off the boat because it’s like the Amorella in terms of the quick turn around in each port. I sent an email to the booking agent informing him of my mishap not sure if the news would get to him anyway but I figure its good business to own up quickly to mistakes. The band that is playing in the fun club tonight is famous by Finnish standards and had hits in the 70’s and 80’s. They are good but it’s really funny to hear our hit songs sung in their tongue; which is in the throat.
So back to why I am on this misadventure… When I met the students that were studying in Helsinki I made friends with the girl from Spain, Nuria. She is doing a semester away from Barcelona in dentistry and missing ferries is her forte’. (see old post)
We had made plans via email for her to show me around Helsinki but hadn’t met up until today because of her course load. I should have known from the start of the day that there would be trouble as we got all crossed up on the meeting place and time but eventually figured it out. The central train and bus terminal was our starting point and from there we went to a sky bar at the top of a hotel. It was a great vantage point to get and idea of what is where it’s such a “low” city that when walking it is easy to get turned around, at least for me. I never realized how much I use tall landmarks to navigate until today and that I am much more at home in nature than in a city. We decided to head for a museum that she had been to but was not impressed by, and was not impressed again we didn’t even go in, small expensive and not very interesting material, something about animals. Next stop was a movie theater/mall/museum that was in a building resembling an aircraft hanger. The exhibit was of Robert Doisneau who all of you have seen I am sure. It was great fun to see his photographs all lined up like they were; he really had a knack for getting it right. I learned that he was an avid fisherman and used the same tactics for his art. Which was to pick a spot and wait for something to happen. He captured some amazing things around Paris that are so funny or out of the ordinary actually now that I think of it that whole abnormalities thing was him. Hah! There was a series of shots taken of people looking at the Mona Lisa what a range of facial expressions among the people viewing the masterpiece. From there we went back to her apartment and cooked a bizarre meal of steak with a blue cheese cream sauce, rice, zucchini and a Spanish dish of tomatoes, onions and garlic. Very tasty, she likes cooking up whatever she thinks of and it was good but odd. Now I don’t wear a watch and I haven’t for many years (see previous post) but I wish I had one today. I realized the time and it was a dash for the dock that started with trying to figure out the tram system. I did well on picking the right one thanks to some help from Nuria. When I got to the harbor the boat was there and I ran like the dickens and missed the boat by literally 3 minutes. So I run down to the ticket counter and they say well there’s a train going to Turrku in 25 minutes from the Central Terminal so off I was again running through the streets of Helsinki. I made that connection with 7 minutes to spare and took a nap on the train while listening to Django Reinhardt; which fit in theme with the French photographer because it was Jazz in Paris. I was awakened by a 3 or 4 year old kid running up and down the train pretending to be a motorcycle making the noise like he was changing gears and I was right there with him laughing, I believe I was the only one who was amused even his mother was horrified but still did nothing. The next connection was tight as well I walked off the train in the Turrku Harbor station and made the boat about 15 minutes before it sailed. They booked me as a standing passenger, which meant I didn’t have a room but after getting my name on a waiting list and waiting I got one. I am down in the belly of the boat on floor 2 below sea level and underneath the car decks and for 10 Euro it’s nicer than the room I had on High Street in New Brunswick.
Tomorrow will be a big day of being a tourist in Stockholm at 7am I am going to check out Swedish Mass in the morning and hopefully get some hymns that I know and try to sing them in Swedish. Then off to a gallery that Nuria visited and said was amazing and then who knows. I do eventually have to get back to the terminal and face the music but I will prolong that as long as possible. Cause hey I did it, it’s done and I am sorry but I ain’t wasting any time crying over spilt milk. This trip is much too short.
Missing every single one of you and if you think I’m not shoot me an email and then we’ll see whose thinking about whom.

not much to report

Hey just went to the modern art museum. some cool stuff once I digest it I will tell you more.
all's quiet on the eastern front.
davey

Garlic and Bananas

Another day and another Wayne’s coffee house although this one doesn’t have wifi access it does have an escalator. I just left the Nobel Museum which was fantastic the main exhibit at the moment is the art and writing of Winston Churchill, I didn’t know that he was such a painter it’s a kind of impressionism that I am not sure was intended or more like an attempt to be realistic but came up with just impressions. I would probably know better if I read or understood Swedish and took the tour. There is a small theatre where they show film clips of the past recipients and their work, I am leaving today with a much greater appreciation of the Nobel Prize process and those whose work has benefited humanity. In a way however there seems to be a theme among some of them, esp. in the science fields, that speaks of achievement and draw back at the same time. Meaning their inventions or discoveries have helped the world but also helped to destroy unintended portions of the human race or the earth. Back to the subject of what I have been doing since Friday.
So we sang on Friday night to a packed pub of very excited Swed/Finn’s who were all to eager to sing along ask for songs and drop Euros into our tip jar. Infact from Friday to Monday we made a killing unlike the other boat that slowed down on Sunday and Monday this one stays pretty jumpin we will see what tomorrow brings. We also met the dancers and singers in the “California Show.” As follows: Elaine who is American she is a singer-dancer who lives in Vegas and gets various gigs either as a showgirl or walking around on stilts. She is a feisty one that speaks her mind and has plenty to say to back things up. Next is Magnus he is from the south of Sweden where it is said that Swedish is spoken the best. He is also a singer-dancer who smokes too much and worries about what others think of him esp. in his talents. Then there are the Russians/Estonians. I forget their names but I will write about them as soon as I can get that info back in my head. In any event the 7 of us spent Friday night dancing in the disco until 4 and then drinking vodka screw drivers until 7 am getting to know each other with the all-American game of “truth or dare”…. Nuff said. I slept Saturday away as well having the night-owl time-table is fun but not good for going to museums or cafes in port. Saturday night was again a ruckus time in the pub and like I said yesterday learning to get my sea-legs while on stage is sooooo much fun. Sometimes it’s as if James and I are doing choreographed dance moves with the music and boat “dancing” us around the stage, which by the way is not very big. Oh and of course because it was St. Patty’s day there we lots of Irish drinking songs and Jameson shots all around. We even had a token Irishman to chide us about what songs we should and should not be singing to these uneducated Finns.
Sunday while docked in Helsinki I took a walk not really knowing where I would end up. I spied a spire in the distance and decided to head for it and glad I was when I discovered that it was the National Finnish Museum filled with the history of the country. It was as if fourth grade was never over for me, here’s why. In fourth grade we were given an assignment to report on a foreign country I chose Finland and so visiting the museum was like getting back into the head of my 8 year-old self, what fun haha. Some things that I saw there were: an 8,000 year old sled runner, pottery from the culture that was named after their vessals, a seal skeleton with an ivory spear hook in it that was found 30 meters above sea level but at one time was 80 meters below sea level and then the modern antiques of the rich and famous of the last 600 years. Honestly the really old stuff is so much more interesting because it is unique to that part of the world. The “new stuff” has style elements that resemble things that we see in our culture back home in terms of furniture but I guess not some much in fashion. That night was a good night in the pub lots of people and lots of requests that we were mostly able to fill.
Monday in Stockholm I went shopping with Magnus and Elaine, we started by going to a little shop that sells the fashions of Swedish designers that are up and coming. Some really cool stuff that you would see being created by the people on “project runway.” There was one of a kind t-shirts and belts, shoes, dresses and jewelry all of it very beautiful. I might go back and by a tie if I feel like spending the money. Then the three of us wandered around and talked about culture and religion while drinking coffee a café until we got to my favorite subject, philosophy and meta-physics. It was great fun learning about the way the two of them think about the world. One a Vegas showgirl and the other a gay Swedish man the three of us all very different and yet many similarities in the way we view this modern world. I am beginning to get a grasp of the landscape that is the modern thought for humanity my peers who range in age from 20 to 40 all have great ideas for the world that we live in and yet most feel that they cannot help to shape the world of the future because of the powers that be. I am hopeful.
Tuesday brought some interesting adventure in the form of a hair cut and yesterdays post. the stylist did not speak so much English, in fact I think that I could count the number of words that we exchanged on both hands. I think the clipping and snipping turned out pretty well, see previous post for photo. I have been taking pictures and I am still trying to get the right site to post them on. Well that's pretty much all the news that I have from here. My right arm is getting better thanks to the meds and some rest. much love. davey

Pitch and Roll

It's the first Cafe that I have ever been to that has an escalator to get in and out of, it's called Wayne's Coffee and I believe that it is a franchise. There is free WiFI and a hair salon that I seen the symbol for all over. I decided to get my hairs cut today, even though I fit the part of the "California scruffy surfer" before this new boat that we are on is a little nicer in that there are many more city people traveling on board. I believe that I left you off when I had one more day aboard the Amorella...yes I did (I just checked). Well just in case you wanted to know I did have a great last night. There were two birthdays, we were leaving and the Bulgarian band was leaving Saturday so there were many reasons to have a party, and party we did till the wee hours of the morning and then I packed in 5 minutes right before I left the ship. I was a mad dash and I forgot to leave the microphones with the sound tech so I had to "mail" them back to the ship at the ticket counter, haha what a morning that was. Because I was so tired I slept the entire way to Helsinki which now that I think of it is a real bummer because I missed a lot of countryside. Once we got to Helsinki we took a short tram ride down to the docks and got on board the Gabriella and again I fell asleep until about 8pm and upon being woken up I was informed that we were expected to sing a song in the "jam packed" fun club with one of the bands. What an experience that was, we decided to sing "Proud Mary" by CCR it went well but it was very overwhelming my palms were sweating and all that.
It is tough playing on a boat in the open sea, unlike the Amorella that was along the coast and in between the islands the Gabriella crosses a long stretch of open sea for about 8 hours of the trip. When in open water the boat pitches and rolls which sends most people to their cabins to lay down to prevent getting sea sick but we are still on the stage. It's difficult to sing into a mic and play guitar while all of this is happening but we manage even while I sit here I feel the ocean and the movement of the boat. I am gonna have to cut this short as my arm is starting to really bother me. The swelling has gone down thanks to an anti-inflammatory and I am learning how to adjust my playing so that I don't keep injuring it but typing is tough. I'll try it in spurts and paste it from word for tomorrow, lots of things to catch you up on.
much love and thanks for reading.
Dave

it's a pain in the hand

Hi guys, I am trying to lay off the computer for a couple of days. I have developed tendinitis in my right hand. the comp. aggravates the condition. I will type something in word and post it tomorrow.
skol
till then.
dave

This an old one from two days ago. I will post a new one from the new ship tomorrow.!

Last night I got to visit the engine deck, which is down in the belly of the ship down under water. Angelo who I think I told you about in a previous post is an machinist/mechanic who is considered a sailor. Being a sailor and not just a guy working on a ship is a very big deal here in Finland. Apparently if you are working on a ship under the Finnish flag you get the most money in the world for your job. Something to do with the seamen’s union be notorious for walking off ships for minor but important things like no “shit paper” as Angelo says. He himself if actually Dutch; which means that he still pays 10% of his earnings to his mother land, ahhh socialism at it’s finest. Although some of the more interesting points about the socialism are things like health care but that’s money that has to come from somewhere, I am very undecided about the comparison of systems. Meaning people ask, when it comes up in conversation, why doesn’t the US adopt a socialist system? My answer has been that because our system is based on effort those in favor of socialism are usually those who haven’t worked hard for what they have and that those who are against it have worked for what they have and they don’t want to give away “free lunch”. How does that sound to you guys back home? I really would like to know what you think as I am your “ambassador” to the outside world at the moment and I would like to have some input as to what America thinks. So America what do you think? So now that I am an ambassador to the world can I get those parking tickets torn up? Maybe not, in other words back to my story. The ship runs on four engines, they are huge 12 cylinder crude oil engines that are paired up to drive the 2 “screws”. For the boat illiterate that means propellers. (Listen to me 2 weeks on a cruise ship and I am “boat literate” hah ha). There are also back-up engines in case one of the mains fails to operate. Below deck is separated by partitions that I believe they call “bulkheads’, so that when you walk from say the back of the ship to the front, every 20 or 30 feet there is a sliding door that is water-tight. They open with hydraulics and a really loud bell rings when you close it that stops once the door is all the way closed. Oh that reminds me because of the noise of all the machines you have to wear really heavy-duty ear protection, which I did. Next room was the auxiliary engine room these engines produce the electricity of which I think there were 8 all of them the size of a Dodge Caravan towing a motor cycle trailer (the trailer being the generator part). I will revisit this topic later I am forgetting some things that will appear in my mind at some point soon.
Last week I finished one of the best books I have read to date, it was Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead. What a descriptive writer she is, I was amazed at the way she would begin talk about a situation through the eyes of a character that was meaningless to the plot in everyway except as a tool to view that scene. The main character’s mind was not revealed until the last pages of the book and it is quite a long book at that. Secondary players even had great character depth to the point of being as deep as primary players in most other books I’ve read. The philosophy of it was very apropos of my travels here in an ex communist region of the world. I was having a conversation (alright it was an argument) with a nice woman named Johanna. Communist parents raised her and her mother was also an artist, I will have to find out her mother’s name, as it would be interesting to see what kinds of ideas she expressed. Anyway I tried to have her explain why communism was better than what we have in the west as she said she was much more a fan of communism and socialism. I didn’t get very far because she kept accusing me of being close minded and all I was really doing was standing on the philosophy of person freedom which is an affront to her mentality of “the person doesn’t matter, the state does”. In contrast when speaking with someone like Mark who’s mother is Finnish and his father is Jamaican-Canadian and who has been raised in Canada but living here in Finland fro the last 12 years. His view is drastically different than Johanna’s but closer to my world-view. Like myself he is very interested in the fringe knowledge that has been circling the world for all of time. He is reading a book called “The Koran, The Bible and Science” very intriguing stuff. Did you know that part of the “divine” revelation of the Koran talks about the embryonic development of a human being in the uterus. As well star constellations, water in the ocean and some other neat things. He told some story about Armstrong hearing chanting on the moon and when landed back on earth became a Muslim because the chant that he heard was from Islam. Another one about Jaques Custou (sp?), also searching for the source of all the water in the ocean that is spoken about in the book as well.
Tonight is my last night aboard the m/s Amorella, hoping for a good time. It is the birthday of “jack” the guitarist from the Bulgarian band. The funny thing about them is that they all have nicknames that sound American because no one can pronounce their Bulgarian names. I will tell you all about it when next I write. Ohh and only two days before I get some pictures up, so get ready to see what life and sights have been passing by my eyes.


Much love to you all. the new ship is great. what a party. good crowd and good tips.

Viva la Musica

Yesterday was quite a day for music! Tuesdays are not usually great for us Troubadours because the passengers are pensioners. Which is the equivalent of our senior citizens or retired peoples back home. They are very nice people it’s just that they are there just to be getting out of the house and go on an overnight that is fairly inexpensive and they generally don’t want to hear songs like Hotel California or California Dreaming. They want to hear Finnish Songs that James and I have never heard of. So back to yesterday; the pub was empty so we thought that we would have a practice session on stage. A couple sat down that we’re probably in their late fifties and asked us to play Irish drinking songs and James being the Irishman that he could be said sure…so play we did.
Well they loved it and they drank a bit too. The wife decided to tip us 10 Euro, which is about 13$ US, after Jpat pointed out that our sick mothers at home needed money for their operations. This has been a running gag that has landed us a good deal of loot. Sorry Mom, you may get some get well soon cards from some compassionate Finns.
In the evening sets, that start at 11pm, we showed up and there was a whole group of English university students that were on tour with their chamber choir. They had some requests that ended up to be kinda lame, we were hope for a rough time in trying to please them after all they are choir singers. But alas the choir kids in Britain are just as much dorks as the ones in the US. Just kidding. When I talked to them at set break I found out that a lot of the material they sing is stuff we used to sing at Koinonia. So I had fun showing off some singing skills that they thought were funny. All in all the evening sets left a bit to be desired, with the requests that were coming in and the songs we played between it was a little flat. The real joy of the evening was just about to begin in the Fun Club. Celebration the (Bulgarian band) decided that it would be jam session night and so they brought up on stage some of the other entertainment staff myself being included in that. First up was Cecilia, and she sang some dance tune I don’t know the name of but she killed it. It was good hearing a real English-speaking singer after listening to Danielle the normal female vocal in the band whose pronunciation of words is quite comical sometimes. Then it was Marks turn, he sang purple rain like he owned the stage and had written it himself, dance moves and all. Then I got up and sang and played guitar to I shot the Sheriff what a blast to play with trumpet and saxophone and lights and staging and great musicians. I think it’s even on video. I will try and get ahold of that and post it up on you-tube. Then this afternoon between sets we walked down to the fun club from the pub and Jpat got on stage with the band and sang Mustang Sally.
The weather here is unseasonably warm, I only have to wear a sweatshirt when I go out of doors. They say that it is a good 10 degrees warmer than it usually is for this time of year, I am sure glad I didn’t buy more cold weather clothing as it is totally unnecessary. Hoping that some deep-pocketed music lovers jump onboard tonight in Stockholm as today was not that great for tips. I am hoping to have a chunk of change to use for travel at the end of our work. Turns out that the tickets home are actually for Thursday not Friday so I have one less day. But that’s ok I am hoping if all goes well to be back onboard one of these ferries as soon as I can be. It suits me very well. I have lots of time to read, there is a gym that I started using yesterday, I don’t have to buy food and as long as I am on a boat that stays in port for longer than 5 hours a day I could do this for a stretch of time. My thinking is that it is a great way to save money for college and pay off my debt. Wooohooo. How are things back home. I haven’t any clue what is going on in the world and I love it. But I would love to hear from all of you out there in cyberspace. Drop me a line sometime?
Right now the boat is doing what I call the big turn. When we get into port and the ship is docking it spins around to then face the open water so that we can just shove off and sail on. Tonight I might try out the new infared sauna onboard they say it will make you feel amazing. Although the Finns love to be naked I haven’t quite figured out the rules of the sauna yet. Although I do know it is very common to go naked in the sauna with your whole family.
Hope to hear from you!!

Card Shark and the Sputnik Three

Hey there I think we can both agree that it’s been awhile since we last chatted about what has been going on over here in the Baltic Sea, so here’s the skinny as best as I can put in words. I’ll start where I am at the moment and then jump around a whole bunch just like I do when I talk with you face to face. Does that sound good? IT BETTER! Haha. (just joshin around) I miss that Jersey humor a bit although I haven’t thought about it till now but you know what I mean the way that only jersey people of my contemporary age bracket can say “how the @%*$ are you doin?! Just spent a good hour arguing with a gal who grew up in communist Russia and it was amazing to see the way that a mind subjected to such a philosophy from the time that she was born can’t help but always revert back to a communist way of thinking and not see it for herself. The “ego” is so squashed in her mind that she can’t even recognize it when it shows itself in ideas and behaviors of hers. Amazing maybe I will take some psychology classes next year and dive deep into something have to do with the communist mind on holiday?
At the moment it is 3:41 in the morning, the day is Tuesday and I have trained my voice singing tonight and I am hoping that when I wake I will not have lost it due to the dry air. Jpat has taught me some warm up exercises I have been utilizing before our sets and I have actually gained more range in a consistent way it’s so very cool to get lower notes than I thought I could hit. The exercises consist of humming beginning in the middle of my vocal range and working my way up chromatically in octave scales and then down to my lowest note which is an “F”. The song we were playing was House of the Rising Sun and I thought that we need to play it in a certain key that ended up to be too low so then I tried to jump an octave up and that’s when I did it. It is an odd feeling, kind of like my vocal chords are stuck to each side of my throat. We shall see what happens I will be fine I am sure.
I am looking forward to changing ships more than ever now that I have some friends to visit in Helsinki. Yesterday between our evening sets I walked past some kids that were talking English in a fairly English way so I started a conversation with them. They were four university students from a school in Helsinki that had gone to Stockholm for the weekend and were on their way back home. Last Thursday the boat they had taken to Stockholm was the Gabriella; which is the ship we will be working on, they said that it was a much more lively time then the Amorella (this ship). So first there was Julia she is From Milano and I can’t at the moment remember what she was studying at school but a very happy and smiley person. Next was Tim he is a German although I cannot remember what town he is a history and political science major, very kindly he had a bag of nuts in each of his sweat jacket pockets and kept munching all night. Shiona is from Glasgow a very bubbly Scottish girl who studies I don’t know what but is a DJ back home and loves music. Lastly, Nuria who is from Barcelona she is a Dentistry student who is only in Helsinki till april. They ended up on the Amorella because they missed the Gabriella, so they were taking my ship to Turrku and then the trains back to Helsinki. Nuria has missed the Gabriella both ways and was not doing well wit h seasickness until we all went to the disco. When you go to the disco there are so many lights that it gets the head so confused. Actually I think that there are to many lights, they were messing with my eyes last night when we were dancing. They promised to show me around Helsinki when I get there!
I am finally meeting more of the crew, the security guards and engineers, the kitchen cooks and maids it is truly amazing how many facets there are to this ferry business. It’s part motel, resort, high school keg party, all you can eat buffet, child-care, cargo ship, and office building all rolled into one. The full time employees work one week on the boat and then have one week off to do whatever they want. It makes for a very interesting atmosphere of ever revolving people that are happy with their work have a set routine for what they do many of them having made careers out of it. Bartenders, most of them have worked on the boats for more than 10 years, the engineers and sea men love the job because unlike cargo ships that go out to sea for chunks of time like 3 months at sea and then 3 on land work one week and are off the next. Better for family life they say, not sure what they mean. J/K.
The Bulgarian band “Celebration” has been playing on the boat for more than 12 years, well I guess not just the Amorella but the whole Baltic-ferryboat circuit. They are an 8 piece band and work here in Scandinavia because of the money. They are a whole bunch of fun Saturday night was spent hanging out with them after their set in the Fun Club, which is where the bands play along with casino tables and a big bar. The club sits on the 8th deck of the ship at the rear, there is a wall of windows that I sit at and watch the islands that we pass between every evening. I will take some pictures of it today so that you can see how beautiful the islands are.
I am tired now. Good night.
oh and as for the name I don't know what to tell you.

This a short one.

Still waiting to get the moisture issue figured out. Good tippers are here! and we are going to make a killing tonight.

Black Market for Beer

The first difficulty of telling time away from home is that I don’t have a cell phone. I gave up wearing watches after a pickup game of football in 7th grade when my Casio G-Shock watch broke as I was tackling someone. It’s funny that I remember that day so well but I was a little pissed as the watch was advertised as being indestructible; and it sure wasn’t. Back to the present time and place some six hours ahead of you on the East Coast and maybe more for you out in the expanse of our great nation. The second is the 24-hour clock I am continually mixing up 5 and 7 o’clock. Further more since the boat runs between two time zones there is Swedish and Finnish time the later being an hour ahead. So their clocks have 2 hour hands that is neat but it can be confusing when you ask a passenger for the time. If you ask a Swedish guest the time and become late for the stage then things aren’t so good.
I am greatly looking forward to next week when we change boats, as should you. Why do you ask? Well for one I will have much more time to figure out the whole picture-hosting thing. And I will also be able to take some pictures of interesting things. I haven’t really taken many pictures on the boat as there is not much that is interesting to me anymore. It has a very generic feel to it. One of the seamen, Angelo, who is a Dutch sailor showed me around the ships work shops (say that ten times fast) and lower decks. We didn’t have time for the engine room but I am hoping I will see it at some point this week. It is amazing how much work and upkeep it takes to run a ship there is always something breaking and needing to be rebuilt. The workshop was amazing filled with all sorts of hand tools and giant machines like a metal lathe and drill press. It's fun to be part of a crew and see how all the behind the scenes stuff works.
The beginning of the week was slow for tips so I am hoping that more people show up tonight. In the middle of the week they have like a senior citizens cruise. I am guessing that they have an add that runs with some deal that brings them. Two things make it all very interesting the first is seeing elder people dance, they may move slowly but man do they have some moves. The other is a little more sad and that's seeing old people drunk.
Tonight will be a fun night. I am planning to go dancing in the disco, it has become my exercise almost everyday. Last night I was hangin on the dance floor with Mark a Canadian born Jamaican/Finn. he is a singer/dancer in a show that goes on when we play in the pub.
Still having trouble with the dry air on the boat. I can't remember if I have mentioned it to you or not but the cabins are soo dry I woke up this morning feeling like a towel that had been wrung out and then laid on a radiator, very painful.
Yesterday I met some kids that got on board with a mission! A mission for beer. There were four of them Danny, Monica, and two alcoholics (old men). Anyway Danny's father buys a lot of beer from the Viking Line Tax Free shops so he gets complimentary tix. So they bought 38 cases of beer and had their own big folding hand trucks. It was such a sight. Funny kids that don't have a job other than to be beer runners for the ghetto of Stockholm.
More to come.

And then there are the Gypsies.

All sorts of people get on and off this carnival of a ferry boat and some people leave with things that don’t belong to them….in their skirts. The Gypsie women wear dark velvet dresses with what you would call a “bustle” but off the hips rather than the rear of the “get-up”. I have been told not to deal with them in anyway as they steal things and hide them in the pockets of their dresses.
I met a group of Kurdish men who were very grateful about the freedom they now have. One of them named Kardu bought me some drinks and gave me a big genuine hug. He had lost his leg fighting as a young man; he has been living in Stockholm for 23 years.
I have been enjoying myself on the boat and there are always new people to talk with. In the evening we stop in Stockholm and in the morning we stop in Turku with a few stops in between at some small islands.
The food has been messing with my stomach a bit; I think I have eaten too many pickles. Because of the timetable that we have we miss the hot crew meals that are served during our afternoon set.
We play as we are approaching the Viking Terminal/dock and the past few days have gotten a great view of the sun set. Opposite the stage and pub is a big bank of windows that runs down the side of the boat giving a great view of the passing shore lines of small islands and cars ferries. We can almost time the set based on what land marks we are passing.
Last night I went out dancing in the disco and had a great time. Like so many other things here it is funny what the DJ plays and what American songs they like. Well ta ta for now.

Kippis= cheers in Finnish.

Life at sea!

When last I left you I was entering the world of the floating Atlantic City and now I am on solid ground for a few minutes while we are docked in Stockholm. Having now been on board the m/s Amorella for 5 days a bit of a routine has been established.

1. Get out of bed between 12 and 2
2. Eat a solid meal usually consisting of cheese, pickle chips and water
3. Walk around the ship and see whats new, passengers and such
4. Play two sets of music between 5 and 7 then two more between 11 and 1am
5. Hang out around the fun club, which is like a vegas show room of round tables and chairs with a stage for one of the bands or the California show they have going on
6. Eat a little bit of food
   
7. Go to bed around 3

I hope this will do for now. I have to run back to the ship as the internet on board is not so good. Pictures will come as soon as I can figure out how to host them. any ideas you tekies out there?
I love you all much hugs and kisses (to those applicable)

1. 
   

OK so Atlantic City has been duplicated.....sort of

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas and the same goes for the Viking line, oh my when I have been telling people in Stockholm that I was coming on board the Viking line they all kind of snickered blushed. Apparently the Viking line is a sort of Vegas but more like an Atlantic City. All I can say for now is the Swedes and Finns are just as crasy and liberal as we have heard they are. Not but 5 minutes after getting on board did I see stumbling people walking the halls of the boat. tata for now. send more later. got to go down to the disco and see some great dancing haha.

davey t

"Come downstairs and enjoy us?"

It's very funny the things that get literal translation into the English tongue, I think I almost fell out of my chair when she said this. In fact I am still giggling about it now. My friend Erin is engaged to a man named Henrick that lives here is Stockholm she told me that if I brought him some cheeze-its he would take me out for a beer. Last night I called up Henrick and he and his friend Max took me out for a night of drinking Stockholm style. We took the "t" (the subway) to the island of Gamla Stan, the oldest part of the city, and went to a bar called Medusa. While sitting at a table that was perched on a small balcony/floor/level inside of the bar one of Max's friends Jon who was Greek and was a spitting image of Telly Savalas started talking to my friends in Swedish. One by one his girlfriends came up the stairs and said hello to us, all of them very different in style. Well one girl had dreadlocks, very blond Swedish dreads and after introducing herself to us she left. In the mean time Jon (aka Kojak) was coming and going down to the bar and back and the girls wanted us to come and hang out with them. Then the dreaddy girl walks up the stairs and says something in Swedish to my friends and then turned to me and said "come downstairs and enjoy us". We all had a very good laugh about it all night long and I still am giggling and I think I will for many days.
Skol=cheers

Well I got here......but

Didn't take Dad's advice about the sleeping on the plane, wasn't tired but now I am. oh and the airline forgot my luggage back there at Newark so now I am tired nothing to shower with and, and, and....we still need to get to the embassy and iron out the details of the work visas.
god morgan (good morning)

Day arrives like a big spilled slushie!

Don't think crushed ice drinks will be very desirable in 24 hours when I am on the ground in Stockholm but for now a big giant has spilled his white slushie across the Jersey shore. I am all packed and ready to go....well almost. I digress, thanks for checking out this blog I hope that you check back as I will try to give you a daily look inside the adventures of a ferry boat musician and traveler in the Baltic states of Europe.
At the moment I am sitting in the kitchen of my condo on the Jersey Shore waiting for the passports to come back from the Finnish Consulate. Our Visa's have not been approved yet by the Finnish Gov. so one of the first experiences I will be having is ironing out approval in Stockholm at the Finnish Embassy to obtain the needed work visa so that I can get on the boat and play on Thursday.
Flight takes off tonight at 9:40 weather permitting from Newark International Airport. I have not figured out the time differences yet but I am sure that my body will let me know what time it believes it is. Tomorrow and Wednesday nights James and I will be staying at a youth hostel in Stockholm where there is free internet, coffee and pasta I will let you know all about it!
Signing off for now, check back and see how my writing skills improve, maybe I'll even teach you some Finnish or Swedish as I learn it.