In A Fortnight

 I am slightly less than two weeks away from the most amazing adventure that I could have ever dreamed of. It all started in November with a text from Janis, "What do you think of Scotland?"

Janis bought a raffle ticket for a fundraiser and won two airline tickets to anywhere the airline flew, and I am the very, very, very lucky person that she asked to join her! We had 4 days between Christmas and New Years to plan this journey. Neither of us has travelled overseas before. I've only booked hotels a handful of times. I think the last time I booked a flight myself, it was at the Student Cuts kiosk in the Student Union Building at the U of A in the mid 90s.

The terms of the prize were pretty simple. We had to fly in and out of the same airport. We had blackout dates, like long weekends. We had to use it before September. We chose to travel before May Long weekend, since we are both gardeners and it's an easy time for both of us to book off work. Turns out that West Jet doesn't fly to many airports before the busy summer season. We were limited to London and Rome for our dates. Heathrow it is! 

We decided that 3 weeks was the most reasonable length of time to travel. Long enough for a great adventure, not too much time off work and within our budget. Next step - what are the "must see" places? For both of us, Scotland and Italy were top of the list. They aren't exactly close together, but it's our trip and we can do what we want! Janis' family heritage is Danish and mine (a 1/4 of it) is Norwegian. Just as I have dreamt of seeing Norway all my life, she has longed to visit Denmark.

So there you go; Italy, Denmark, Norway and Scotland in 25 days. You should see the looks on people's faces when we tell them and they take a moment to picture the geography of Europe and Scandinavia. Are we crazy? Maybe. Will it be amazing? Absolutely! Who knows if we will ever get to travel overseas again. We wanted no regrets.

We had five months to plan, but with Janis' work schedule, we only see each other once a month (with the exception of Christmas). In November we only managed to book the flights, to and from London. We spent the next month compiling our individual wish lists. 

 We had 4 days a the end of December to plan the bulk of our trip. It took a full day to plan each country. There are so many choices to make, so many options to explore, but eventually you just have to bite the bullet and make a decision. There comes a point when you have to stop researching and click on a choice.  Fortunately, Janis and I have similar budget priorities. We chose hotels just outside the main areas which significantly reduced the cost. We are willing to explore local transit to find our way around. I would much rather spend my money on experiences, than a fancy bed for the night.  

Although we did pre-book a few excursions that sounded to good to risk missing out on, we didn't want to over schedule our days. We wanted to get a lay of the land while we were there and also let the weather guide how we spend our time. Who wants to be committed to a boat tour of a fiord in the pouring rain, or spend a glorious sunny day inside a museum? Don't get me wrong, there will be museums (and castles, and ruins, and Viking ships...)

We have some long travel days and may require lazy mornings with strong coffee in a sidewalk café, watching the world go by, We may discover local tours or festivals that aren't big enough to warrant advertising on travel websites.

Another priority for both of us is trains. We have both always wanted to travel by train and are doing so as much as we can.  At first we thought we would only use trains, but then discovered that Italy to Denmark is a full 24 hours by rail, and no cheaper than flying. So it just didn't make sense.

I am beyond excited and, I won't lie, a little nervous. It is one of those occasions that I don't know what I don't know. I have always wanted to travel, and wasn't sure if I would truly get the opportunity. It still seems a bit like a surreal dream. 

Saga and Leif will be coming with me and we will be sharing this journey with you. Thanks to a dear friend who has loaned me her tablet with a keyboard so I can write on our travels.

P.S. I discovered that fortnight comes from an old English word, feowertiene niht, which means fourteen nights.