Unemployment: Unintended Opportunities

Sometimes you just have to act. Where travel is concerned, if you don’t act quickly, you may lose out on an opportunity for a bargain-priced trip and all the fun that goes with it.

Last spring, my friend and I were both unemployed, frustrated by the lack of interesting jobs in our respective fields, and we each had a little bit of money we could devote to travel. We started researching and found an incredible deal on a cruise to the Baltic and Scandinavia.

We went back and forth about making the commitment and finally decided that we would do it if we could both use our airline miles and get business class fares on flights that worked with our schedules. Remarkably, we got the flights and business class accommodations we wanted with miles to spare, so we booked a ten-day cruise beginning and ending in Copenhagen, with a double room and a large balcony on one of the upper levels of a huge ship.

We both admit now that we had tiny twinges of buyer’s remorse immediately after making our payment and debiting our airline mile accounts. But that lasted only a few minutes. From then on, we had a wonderful time researching each port and making long lists of places to hit. I made spreadsheets of the ports with museums and sites and their hours of operation, costs, etc. We were organized.

We had the hardest times telling our respective mothers, who are both frugal and practical, but friends saluted our bravery and wished us well.

We vowed not to buy gifts or souvenirs and to watch our spending, and we remained true to our vows.

Of all the destinations, my interest was mainly in St. Petersburg, Russia, in particular the Catherine Palace and the Hermitage.

A cruise does not afford the luxury of getting to know the countries or the people or even the food, since you dine primarily on the ship. With daytime stops, usually 8:00 a.m. until about 4:00 p.m., it was only possible to hit the highlights of the ports of call. We got a taste of Oslo, Helsinki, and Stockholm.

All the Scandinavian cities were beautiful, with interesting museums, incredible water views, and beautiful people. We longed to stay and were sad each time we returned to the ship. The weather was spectacular, the air was crisp, and the routes in and out of the ports were filled with gorgeous scenery. We were thrilled to have a balcony and got accustomed to having room service on our perch for the departures. It was also a good place to enjoy magnificent sunsets and sunrises.

The place we got to know best was Copenhagen, after spending three nights and four days there. It is a beautiful city, full of history, with very accessible museums, castles, and public buildings. The people are hospitable and speak English. There is an energetic vibrancy about the place, probably due to the healthy, young-looking people who walk and ride bicycles everywhere. The public transportation system is simple to navigate.

The last day, we visited Tivoli. It was beautiful, with lively music, flowering gardens, and beautifully painted carousels.

In the end, we spent a little more than we had budgeted, in part because the dollar was so devalued, but I am glad I wasn’t afraid to be spontaneous and a little bit frivolous. And I am pleased to have something that registers high on the fun scale for this period of uncertainty.

You never know what’s around the corner, and sometimes you just have to live a little. I don’t regret the decision, and I would jump at the chance to go back.