Category: In the Beginning

Lots of Planning and Lots of Details

After weeks of research, checking out possibilities and options, a trip to Europe began to look like an idea whose time might have arrived. However, what looked like a fairly simple task started evolving into a major planning effort. That’s OK though, as I typically enjoy planning and the power of the Internet makes it something like fun, just different.

As I dug into the potential of this trip the better I liked it. But, to pull it off was going to take more time and money than the Europe 2022 trip. That trip was mostly about lots of flying here and there and with only Scotland (The Open) and Denmark (Tour de France and Frank) as countries to schedule the trip around.

Planning this new and relatively long 2023 outing was not going to be a linear project. There were lots of ideas that ended up as dead ends but often a new possibility would appear and off I’d go checking it out. For example, I originally thought it would be an excellent idea to travel to Miami a few days before my cruise departed, rent a car and explore the Florida Keys. But, the more I research the logistics and time necessary to really see the Keys including Everglade National Park and Key Largo, the more I realized it was simply too much to try to do ahead of taking a long transatlantic cruise. Similarly, the idea of revisiting all three of the Balearic Islands I had explored 30-plus years ago would not work. Getting to and around Mallorca, Ibiza, and Formentera was too much of a reach with the time I would have. So, for as much as I would have liked to see the two smaller islands, Mallorca would have to suffice.

And the details! Lots of ’em. Big ones, little ones, and in-between ones. These details were everything from having my snail mail held to arranging for my ongoing bills to be paid on time and that there would be sufficient funds in the bank to cover all the charges. And I needed to obtain an International Drivers Permit if I wanted to rent a car in Mallorca. And I needed to make sure my U.S. passport was current and that I had all the tickets and passes and other travel documents with me both in digital form and paper. And what to pack? And equally important – what to not pack! As you can see – lots and lots of details.

Getting to Miami and on the Valiant Lady

Then I had to plan for and figure out how to get from here to there. That meant arranging for a shuttle ride from Bend to the Redmond Airport to catch my way too early 5:00 AM flight to Seattle. Then, after making my flight transfer in Seattle onto the Miami flight, getting to my hotel for the night, and then getting to the Virgin Voyages Pier in time for the next day’s afternoon scheduled boarding time before debarkation. And, of course, there are lots of pre-boarding procedures just to get on the darn ship. Miss the ship and the trip is – well, no longer.

Being on the Valiant Lady for a couple of weeks was beginning to look like a place I could relax and recharge before land in the shape of Europe arrived.

Fast forward 16 days of cruising and I now must debark the safety of the Valiant Lady at Barcelona. A new set of schedules begin.

Now I’m in Europe

I need to get from Barcelona to Palma to be able to spend some quality time on the island of Mallorca. This is both simple and complex. Simple if you just want to debark the cruise ship in Barcelona, take a taxi to the airport, wait around for hours, and then hop on a short, 50-minute flight over to Palma. However, if I wanted to see at least a little bit of Barcelona it was going to be complex as there is not much time from when one must debark from the cruise ship and when a flight could get me to Palma in time to secure my rental car and drive across the island to my Port de Pollensa Airbnb before it was dark. I really didn’t want to be driving in the dark in a foreign land trying to find an address among the narrow streets of a never-before-visited town.

I wanted my four days in Mallorca to be different than the first time all those years ago. This meant less passive tourism and more active exploration. And that meant bicycling a world-class cycling “paradise”. I planned three days of road cycling to just sample what Mallorca has to offer. And to bicycle, I needed to book a rental E-bike in Port de Pollensa well in advance.

It was becoming very clear during each passing trip-planning day that details were going to be the key to my trip’s success.

Mallorca to Denmark via Oslo

I then began to look into how I could get to Denmark from Mallorca. At first, flying into Copenhagen seemed like the easiest. And it was. But after video chats with Frank, the possibility of going to Oslo and then to Copenhagen first surfaced. Even though I had lived in Germany for about three years back in my Army days I never made it to Norway, the country my father’s relatives immigrated to America from. I’m half-Norwegian and half-German so a stop in Oslo seemed like the right thing to do. So I booked a direct flight from Palma to Oslo that would take me across central Europe over Spain, France, Germany, and Denmark to Norway.

Since I wasn’t going to be able to properly see all of Norway, a couple of days in Oslo was going to have to do. And, of course, a bit of bicycling was in my plans, as Oslo, like many other European cities, is very bicycle friendly.

Now I needed to get from Oslo to Copenhagen. At first, of course, I thought of flying. But somehow I stumbled on a YouTube video that explained how taking the overnight ferry from Oslo to Copenhagen was a great bargain. After a bit of research, I was sold on the ferry idea and booked a passage on what was to become my second-ever “cruise” even if it was only for one night.

Frank liked the ferry idea. He explained that where the ferry docked would be a much closer and easier place to pick me up than it would be at the huge and more distant Copenhagen airport.

So now I’ve got myself to Denmark and I’ve even got my very own personal Danish guide to show me around. I’d say that was some pretty good planning. I booked a Copenhagen Airbnb for us so we could explore the city by foot, bike, canal boat, and public transit. To visit attractions a bit away from the city we’d utilize Frank’s car. And yes, even though Frank put up a bit of resistance there’s at least one Copenhagen bicycle outing as I booked us with Bike Copenhagen with Mike. I’m hoping I can talk Frank into taking advantage of Copenhagen’s bicycle friendliness by exploring by bike Copenhagen attractions missed by Mike’s tour.

After our nearly five-day stay in Copenhagen, it’s off to Aalborg in northern Denmark where Frank lives with his wife Bente. Frank lives among some of the best-known ancient Viking stomping grounds. I’ll spend another five days or so in northern Denmark with Frank again as my guide. As this part of Denmark is pretty much off the beaten tourist path we’ll not have to battle the tourists like in Copenhagen and will get to take some E-bike rides. Frank said he and Bente have their own E-bikes and I’ll be able to use Bente’s as it’s larger than Frank’s.

Stay tuned. There’s more to come if only I can get the underpaid, overworked, and soon-to-be-off to Somewhere blog author to just sit down and type!

Hawaii

Years ago I secured an Alaska Air mileage credit card with the goal of accumulating enough miles to be able to visit Hawaii and see the Oregon Duck men’s basketball team play in the famous Maui Jim Maui Invitational Tournament that’s held each year during Thanksgiving week.

I had been to Maui once decades past. At the beginning of that ill-fated, two-week vacation, I rented a 4-wheel drive vehicle and started on a loop drive around Maui that included the famous Road to Hana. After a few hours negotiating the rough Hana “highway” I started to feel poorly. Unfortunately, I was past the small village of Hana and about halfway around the island so returning the way I had come was simply not an option. By the time I finally reached the condo I was fully miserable. My Hawaiian holiday was effectively terminated by a severe case of the flu. I ended up confined to my bed for nearly a week followed by three days outdoors but I was only able to lay on the beach in an attempt to regain my strength. All too soon I was on an airplane headed back to the mainland. I promised myself I’d someday visit Maui again. And promise to not be sick while there.

Sadly the Ducks haven’t been invited back for the last few years so I’ve kept postponing my return trip to Maui.

And, of course, my Alaska Air miles remained unused.

Europe 2022

A trip to Europe in 2022 started out as an idea to visit Denmark and my longtime friend, Frank Petersen. I’ve known Frank for 40 years or so. We met in Portland in 1983 as novice mountain climbers who were enrolled in the Mazama Basic Climbing School. We bonded over learning about climbing mountains and the occasional rock face. A Dane, Frank was successfully working in the States under a Green Card but, after a few years of the two of us experiencing a number of mountain and rock climbing adventures, circumstances pulled him back to Denmark.

The years passed and the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the advent of convenient-to-use, cost-free video calling which made staying in touch with Frank amazingly easy. What started out as once-in-awhile video chats turned into almost weekly calls. A common thread during our calls was the idea of me visiting Denmark and spending some time with Frank.

So, in 2021, as it appeared that the pandemic might eventually abate, I began to casually check out the possibility of flying to Europe during 2022. I discovered that the 2022 Tour de France actually started in Copenhagen and had its first three stages in Denmark before heading to France. And the United Kingdom was celebrating the 150th occasion of The Open at St. Andrews, “The Royal and Ancient” Old Course (Americans refer to this major golf tournament as “the British Open” which really irritates the Brits).

I’d been a TV armchair fan of the Tour de France starting in 1986 when American riders began to do well. I really became a fan during the famous “Blue Train” years of the American U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team. Now, to actually be able to see some of the Tour in person was an exciting idea. Plus I’d get to visit Frank in Denmark.

Years ago when I was a young US Army Photo Officer stationed in Germany, I had the incredible opportunity to actually play the Old Course at St. Andrews, where the game was first played 600 years ago. This was back when I actually knew how to play golf so it was great fun playing such a renowned and historic links course. I was even invited to High Tea after my round by a party of wonderful Scottish ladies who were curious about this young American. Getting a tee time today requires lots of pre-planning and way more money than what I paid in 1970.

All fired up, I started researching the trip, booked an Airbnb in Copenhagen, won and paid for limited and not inexpensive lottery tickets to attend The Open, and generally planned out a fantastic Denmark and Scotland 2022 trip.

Unfortunately, the pandemic continued to cause chaos around the world and other challenges closer to home appeared and I found it necessary to cancel my plans including letting my lottery tickets to The Open go unused.

RVing the West

I’ve long wanted to downsize as much as possible and take off on an RV tour of the eleven Western States and revisit a few of the Canadian Provinces while at it. I’m talking about living in a motorhome full-time. For as long as I could manage it. No “home base” for me. Nope, I yearned for the unhampered, free-as-a-bird, going-it-alone, call of the wild adventure. The road beckoned to me.

But this was another of my pre-COVID-19 plans that kept getting postponed by the pandemic and those continuing challenges at home helping my 100-year-old mother navigate life in a retirement community.

Near the end of 2022, my Alaska Air miles continued to be unused and Frank continued to remind me to remember to visit him in Denmark.

Europe 2023?

It’s now late 2022 and Hope Springs Eternal. Regular video chats continue with Frank and the pandemic actually appears to be receding. I again start to contemplate a trip to Europe. I began by seeing how I might use my Alaska Air miles but soon discover that I don’t have enough miles to get to Europe. And back. But I do find that I can fly Alaska Air to Miami at nearly no cost using most of my miles.

While looking for flights to Europe from Miami I stumbled across the possibility of getting to Europe via a transatlantic cruise ship. This is where the cruise industry repositions some of their ships from Caribbean duty to the Mediterranean for cruise season there. While I’ve flown many times to Europe on those long and boring Atlantic or over-the-pole flights, I’ve never, ever been on a cruise so I began to explore the idea.

Now, taking a cruise is way, way down on my “bucket list” and even then I really have no interest in a Disney cruise that’s full of kids, nor a Carnival “party boat” full of hard-drinking 30-somethings. But the cruise I stumbled upon was an adult-only, all-inclusive (except for those all-important adult beverages), 16-day voyage across the Atlantic from Miami to Barcelona, Spain on Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady. And, amazingly enough, by taking advantage of the early booking discount, I could end up paying about what it would cost me to fly to Europe from Miami. Plus, I’ll get to eat for free for 16 days!

So, in early November 2022, I put down a small, refundable deposit for the April 22 to May 7, 2023 “Miami to Med” Virgin Voyages cruise and started researching to see how I might be able to use a ship landing in Barcelona as a way to get to Denmark.

If I can’t make it work, I’ll cancel and tell Frank to meet me in Hawaii instead.