Day #11: Disaster!

Its no secret that I am a fan of the sitcom Frasier. There is one episode later on in the series where Frasier and his brother Niles are planning their father's wedding. The day of the wedding dawns and we see the lovely (and meticulously prepared) reception room. Suddenly, Niles burts in one side door while Frasier runs in from another side door. "Frasier!" Niles says. "Niles!" Frasier responds. "Disaster!" they both say together. It turns out both of them had discovered problems with the wedding that would lead to their father being married at a vet's office, ruining they're carefully prepared plans.

And that's how my day went. The original plan was to spend two days in Stockholm, catch a train to Malmö, Sweden, and then take a sleeper train to Berlin. Thus, I would arrive in Berlin the morning of the third day and it would be good.

But when I went to the train station in the morning to make those reservations, disaster struck. I was cleared through Malmö, no problem. BUt when it came time to book the sleeper train, I was informed it was booked full. Stunned, I left the ticket counter. I wasn't sure what to do next. I stumbled over to the free tourist info computers to check flight prices, but at this late hour, the prices were astronomical.

At this point, you might wonder what the big deal was, so I spend another day in Stockholm. I have all this time left, right? Well, not quite. I recently confirmed a reservation in Swtizerland to stay a week at L'Abri, a type of Christian education center starting September 19th. So I have a defined two week period to get through Germany and Austria.

My next move was to consult my time table schedules to see what other train arrangements could be made. And that's when I discovered I no longer had my daypack with me. I must have set it down when I mooned away from the ticket counter. No matter, I was there only five minutes ago, it had to be nearby. But it wasn't. A wave of panic spread over me. While nothing in my daypack was 100% essential, there were several helpful items.

I went up to a side counter and asked if anyone had brought a bag up. She asked me to describe it and soon disappeared behind a door, only to re-appear with my bag! Hallelujah! I was saved. Although, I think I might have been a bit effusive in my thanks. When I called the ticket lady my hero, I think she blushed.

After finally sitting down to consult the train timetable, I determined I would go on my day of planned sightseeing, come back early to check to see if anyone had cancelled, and, if not, reserve a seat on the next morning's first train to Berlin out of Copenhagen. (Malmö is less than 30 minutes from Copenhagen.) So I went sightseeing at Stockholm's palace complex, seeing the royal armory, the crown jewels, royal apartment, and changing of the guard.

I returned to the train station 45 minutes before my train to Malmö was scheduled to depart and headed to the ticket line. Sure enough, still booked full. Expecting this, I unleashed Plan B. BUt at this time, I was informed that the early morning train from Copenhagen was also fully booked. Disaster! As Frasier and Niles might say.

It seemed like everyone was fleeing Scandianvia for Berlin and I was caught in the middle of it. I couldn't do anything else but hop on the train to Malmö and figure out a Plan C. The next train from Copenhagen was in the afternoon, getting me to Berlin too late. So I ended day 11 in Copenhagen, waiting to go to the train station early the next morning to play my last card.

Will I make it to Berlin? Will my carefully constructed itinerary beyond destroyed beyond redemption? Will I be stuck in Scandianvia . . . forever?

Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion!