![]() My patience can use some help sometimes, okay maybe a lot of the time. I am especially impatient if I have a problem of "making something happen right NOW!!!!". Here's the problem: Yes, I know it's a spoiled first world problem, and I completely understand that. But when you are excited and anxious, and impatient, things that stand in your way of moving on, of being completely organized, become PROBLEMS. Our problem is filed under : transportation reservations. In Europe, car and rail are the most affordable and convenient options, and we have just excitedly chosen to use both. The car will take us out of the city in Norway and Iceland for some geographical and geological adventures and scenic detours. But for the majority of this trip, we have decided to embrace the European way of travelling by rail. Without the stress of the drive, we can put our feet up and enjoy the Scandinavian surroundings, eliminate the astronomical hotel parking charges, and let someone else do the driving. We would love to book our tickets and seats from Copenhagen to Stockholm, and from Stockholm to Oslo. But, alas this is where my patience is being tested. Sweden has a 180 day open booking window, Norway has a 90 day open booking window, and Denmark has a 60 day open booking window. AHHHH. What does this mean? It means I would love to book the Stockholm to Oslo portion of our trip and have our reservation and seat ticket in early April ( the 90 day window), but then I wouldn't be able to reserve the Copenhagen to Stockholm portion of the journey until May ( the 60 day window). If I patiently wait and book the entire journey all at once as a multi city journey instead of two one way tickets booked on different days it will also save us an addition 20.00 booking fee. This is only a small part of the frustration. Because it is tourist season, there are many other tours and reservations we would like to plan and reserve, but until we have confirmed our travel schedule, with our train tickets in our hands, or at least in our email inbox, we can not move forward with many of those reservations.... you can now see my frustration and impatience. Dear: raileurope.ca I am trying so hard to be patient I really, really am. I know that it will all work itself out magically, after all Europeans do this everyday. Many travelers don't even book reservations, they just grab their backpacks and hop on the next train and take their chances. But I am a planner, a very organized and thorough one at that, and I have to take step back from our North American ways of urgency and start to slow down, to a European way of life. (WOW...Even as I just said that in my head and typed it into the keys I think my heart rate slowed. SERIOUSLY!!!!! ) Perhaps Europe will be good for me. Slowing this busy bee down to relax and enjoy everything at a slower pace. This trip is sounding better by the minute. But I wish it would hurry up and get here then! ... Just kidding!!! Okay, maybe just a little. :)
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When I found out about our fantastic summer adventure, it was 6 months away and we had a lot of time to plan and figure everything out.
Then E2's play production schedule stepped up, we were having nightly rehearsals, and then two weeks of show performances. Then it was a week of strep throat for our little actress and then her mother, and then a week recuperating with antibiotics and a snowy march break. But here we are.. the last week of March and suddenly it seems that 3 months just slipped away, meaning the next three will go just as quickly for us. So J and I have sat down and started to plot out each day, each km, each city and each $. ... the trip is planned. The calendar is set. Now time just needs to fly, and then we can. |
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