There were two numbers on my Viking Line ferry ticket. One is the departure and  I didn't pay too much attention to the other one. I thought the only two information I need are the departure and when they close the gates. With smaller letters it was written they open 90 and they close 30 minutes before departure. So I shown up about an hour before departure. They wanted to make the ticket stupid proof for the ones who can't calculate 90 minutes. So when I get there I find out that the first number was when they open the gates and the second one was the departure(I thought that would be the arrival) That's how I arrived 2h 30m before outbound.

I had my own sleeping cabin, with bathroom and toilet for the same price that I paid for the hostels in Amsterdam and Helsinki. After I moved in I wanted to go to the top deck, but on my way my documentary film making self awoke again and wanted to cover the life of the ferry. In the next cabin a Russian group were drinking and playing some card game. I asked them If I could take a photo of them while they are playing. None of them spoke English. I put it in Google translate and shown my phone. The guy was squinching like he had struggles reading my phone then get it from my hand and slowly read it loud holding it 3 inches from his face.

Four years before I had a period when I always asked girls for explicit pictures. But not even that time I had such a reaction for a photo request like they gave. They were really against the idea and gave me a strong why would you even think about this look. After I read the first chapters of Mr. Nice(incidentally left the book in Amsterdam, before I finished it) it was easier to put my ego aside and handle problems smart instead of tough. I get my friendliest voice and look and said something like "nei ma problema" and smilled. I felt as the public mood changed, they might have regretted being a bit harsh.

"Okey, okey niet probyiem" - an older one made a motion to the one who still had my phone(he was the youngest probably around 35-40). He had a slice of bread and salami in one hand, got some spirit in a plastic cup in the other one and gave both to me and kinda signed it that he gives my phone back if I drink with them.

"Nazderovje!" And drank it all up.

They found it funny that I didn't even know how to say hi in Russian, but it is almost impossible not to know what Russians say when they drink.

They gave the phone back and were ready to let me go. I quickly get Google translate:

"Spasibo!"

My first ever encounter with Russians. I liked how they changed their mood. I really hate this about the west that people are always the same. Low risk no outcome. If you are friendly they answer with cold politeness if you're rude they answer with cold politeness. I like when people show themselves whether they are mad or happy.

After I mapped the ferry I went back to my cabin to sleep. It was a thirteen hours trip. For half midnight I set an alarm to see the sky with minimal light pollution. The sun was just behind the horizon reflecting on the water. No stars for me. Took a few photos and went back to my cabin to sleep. I was tired af.

The ferry was in  Mariehamn'sport at 7:15. I get my life together for 7:40 or something. At that time everyone's left.

I get off, sit on a bench and start browsing my phone for things to do in Åland. I don't know what I expected, but I was disappointed by the only thing I found. It was a ship museum. I mean only one ship with a museum inside. It was closed. Most shops and restaurants in Åland opened at 10 or 11. It was 8ish. A girl sat to the next bench. She was from Germany and spent a week on the island. When I asked what she did, she was like "just chilling". She wasn't too talkative so I left her for going to explore the city. It was really quiet and slow. For the first time on my trip I felt no need for doing stuff. During a travel it is easy to fall for the pressure of taking the most out of the time, the fear of missing out. In Åland this pressure was off from my shoulders. It is quite a recent experience how I pick up the mood of a place. I mean probably we all have this, but without frequently changing locations it isn't that obvious.

I didn't do too much, just walked through a park, went to the bay then for some shopping. I bought some bread sat on an other bench and fed some strange birds. They were black and gray with bright goofy gray eyes and the friendliness of a labrador. I also went to a souvenir shop. They sold everything for like 0.5€. For the bread, grapes, pate and a can of russchian tonic I paid 7.2 so I had absolutely no idea how a shop like that can keep running.

The shops radio played some really smooth jazz music. I asked for the radio station. It was Ålands radio (https://alandsradio.ax/lyssna), my reminder for the place I still listen it in the background.

On my way to the Mariehamn Turku ferry I spot a girl with a backpack and sleeping bag attached to the backpack. She spent a week on the island. When I asked how she spent the week she said : "just chilling." She explained that it is allowed to camp anywhere at least 400 meter away from the nearest house for two nights and then have to move to a new camp place. Also said that there are no bears on the island but there are moose.

The ferry was quite casual, I just wrote and eat.

As I get off from the ferry I felt good. Just walked a few hundreds of meters from the ferry to the train station and noticed that the people were not afraid of me or eachother they looked at eachother made eye contact smiled. People were like in Hungary before they started to be wannabe westerners. It had a childhood feeling, before I've been taught not to say hi to random strangers and I thought anyone could be my friend. On the train from Turku port to Turku there was some confusion, probably a lady took the wrong coach and we had the same seat number. I quadra checked it before, so I'm sure I was at the right place, but it wasn't a big deal, just agreed that she takes the window seat. I told her how I made a mistake with the booking: booked the ticket from Turku port to Turku and from Turku to Helsinki on the same train. People were laughing when I said that one stop later I'll have to change seat. She asked where I'm coming from. I told her. And she also asked where I'm going to. I told her Helsinki.

- and from there, you go back to England? - she asked.

- no, I continue my journey to Saint Petersburg. - I said.

- and from there?

- Moscow

- and from there?

- Vladivostok

- you?

- yes - I smiled, cus I know that finally I met someone who actually knows what the Trans-Siberian is.

- take the Trans-Siberian? - she finished the sentence.

- hopefully.

She talked a little about that she and her her husband are planning it for years, but they couldn't have the time. And then kept asking "and from there?"

And I told her the full itinerary and she were paying a really high quality attention. It really made me feel good about what I was saying. After the first stop she got off in Turku.

I got distracted when someone started to talk in finish. I thought I can understand the conversation just didn't pay enough attention. So creepyly I start listening others conversations, but nothing. The way people were talking their voices, the articulation, the space, the tonality and everything was so similar to Hungarian, but I didn't understand a single word.

I took a little risk in Helsinki and get off from the train one stop early. It paid off, it was closer to the hostel, and  it was less busy than the central station. I followed the map to get out from the train stop, but when I saw the city I just had a last long look at my phone and just start going. When I'm in Hungary, I always feel how much it changed, so in that moment in Helsinki, that city reminded me my childhood in Budapest more than Budapest. The buildings were really similar, but the streets were less busy. On my way I bought some premade hamburgers a pack of Chrisps(anyone who's not from England: Chips) and a chocolate bar. I don't think it was that much more expensive than in the UK, but for that time my brain was really scrambled by the different currencies and I got really anxious when I spent money.

When I thought I'm close to the hostel I had a look on the phone. I was right it was just on the other side, the next building from the corner. The one on the corner was a jazz club, I was really regretting not spending more time around.

The hostel a little bit reminded me to Alma Porto hostel, just the Finnish version. Staff was young and friendly, so do most of the guests.

I microwaved my hamburgers. Even that nostalgic crap tasted like the Hungarian ones before there were quality controls.

The guy sitting next to me didn't really looked Asian, but ate raw fish and talked Japanese to an Asian girl. Good old always working question:

So  are you guys from Japan?

The girl was, and the guy was from Alabama, but spoke Chinese, Japanese and I wouldn't be surprised if some other languages as well. His name was Artur. When everyone in our quickly formed gathering introduced themselves he was like "uhh increasing lengths of names! Ben three letters, Sadi four letters, Artur five letters and Miwako six letters. Very fascinating!" He was in Helsinki to play music. It was some Finnish style music that we didn't know so he explained that it is some kind of psychedelic trance subgenre. It is funny that most of the time when I don't know a type of music it turns out to be some sort of psychedelic trance, just like the one that a year before the Alma hostel's Russian volunteer receptionist mentioned.

Sadi was from Algeria, but lives in Malta. When I mentioned my blog he instantly checked it out. He's working on the field of marketing so instantly noticed some advertising options on it what I wasn't aware of. He joined in when we talked about homesickness. He also seemed to be a really good multitasker. Eventhough he was doing stuff on his laptop never lost the conversation. He also spent a good week in Helsinki.

Miwako was taking things very easy, she could be positive even about that her passport got stolen on the her first day in Finland. She was really keen to talk about Japan but I wasn't gonna kill the conversation with my stream of questions so I only asked if it is easy to bump into bears in Japan and if people in Japan really consider certain personality traits to blood types.

The conversation could possibly go on till next morning with these three, but it was already around half midnight and I was intending to wake up at 6 to catch my train to Saint Petersburg at 7:20.

I made it I was on my way towards Russia.

The end of the second chapter.