I began planning for WDC VII even before WDC VI was over. As host of the 1996 event I had taken a great interest in the selection of the sites for 1997 (GOTHCON in Goteborg, Sweden) and 1998 (DIXIECON in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA) and one of the ideas I pushed at the 1996 event in Columbus, Ohio, was that future WDC sites should be picked two years in advance, rather than the 9 - 12 months that had been happening due to seasonal differences in event scheduling. I was also committed to the idea of sending some top Ami players to Goteborg and making sure they were prepared for the event.
Although I wasn't sure I would be able to attend WDC VII, I went ahead and began researching and planning my trip anyway. Doing proper research is very important in preparing for any overseas travel and Diplomacy event. Without it, money and time are wasted. My goal is always to get as much out of the trip as I can for my money and to use my time as wisely as possible. I spent months collecting travel literature on all the Scandinavian countries, reading travel books, studying maps until I could find myself around the big cities blind-folded, watching movies, keeping up with their current affairs on the news web sites, and checking out the many web sites devoted to Scandinavia. I kept all my options open as long as I could, considering and disgarding possible sites and events to visit.
Gradually my itinerary began to take shape. I knew that time and financial constraints would limit this trip to about two weeks, but it is possible to see and do quite a lot in that period if one plans ahead. I learned early on that a lot of places would be closed during the late winter and early springtime when I would be in Scandinavia. That was a negative. The plus side was that I would probably run into very few tourists in my travels. The WDC event would take up four full days of my trip, and two days would go to travelling to and from Scandinavia. That left me with only seven or eight days to do other things. After a lot of thought I decided to spend two days in a mid-sized Swedish city, Linkoping, four days in Copenhagen, the only world class city in Scandinavia, and three days in Stockholm, the Swedish capital. I wanted to spend as much time as possible seeing and doing things, not travelling.
As the months of research and planning passed, I began to track airfares and check out hotel costs because I knew these two items would be major expenses. My research told me that a $1,000 airfare wasn't impossible for a RT trip between San Diego and Copenhagen and/or Stockholm, or even Goteborg if I flew directly there. My goal was to get a fare around $800. Anything less would be gravy. I knew Scandinavia would be expensive, and I hoped to combine a variety of housing types to keep costs down. The hostel housing of the Con set the standard for the lowest possible housing costs, but it still wasn't cheap. Hotels of any type would be expensive because of the high taxes and service charges (35-40% on top of the regular costs). I looked at a variety of packages and finally decided to use the same program that the Swedes coming to Columbus had used, the Best Western Hotels vouchers in lieu of cash payment. The Swedes had had problems with their vouchers and getting hotels to accept them. I wanted to see what would happen going the other way. Little did I know.
There are several philosophies of travel when it comes to money. Some people spend money like there will be no tomorrow, figuring that a holiday must mean high-class travel. Others try to maintain their home life-style on the minimal possible budget when travelling. Some people trade a lower-class life-style for more days of travel. I have always figured money was a tool to be used in exchange for buying time and space. My goal is always to get the best possible value for the money I spend. If spending more money gets me more time to do the things I want, I'll spend it. If spending more money gets me a better space (e.g. hotel room, concert seat, etc.), I'll do it. However, I always try to get as varied a range of experiences in a trip as I can. I want to see and do what the locals of all kinds do. That was a driving force in planning this trip.
Knowing when to buy an airline ticket is half the battle. Knowing how to work the system is the other half. A difference in a few days can make a big difference in prices. I remember in 1994 paying over $300 more for a RT ticket from San Diego to London because I delayed the purchase by a weekend. This time I lucked out because of the potential American Airlines strike which resulted in American briefly putting all of its overseas seats on sale for half-price for a very short time. American only serves one airport in Scandinavia, Stockholm, but that was OK by me. It simply meant my trip would begin and end in Stockholm and I would have to arrange for ground transportation to and from Goteborg and anywhere else I wanted to visit in Scandinavia. However, the $513 airfare was too good a deal to pass up. Getting the ticket through the Sears Travel Club proved easy. Apparently even the low fare wasn't drawing lots of travellers to Scandinavia, especially in late March. A few days later I returned to the Travel Club (via an 800 telephone number) to order my hotel accommodations. I had decided to spend four nights in Copenhagen and three nights in Stockholm. Best Western had a variety of hotels in each city. I explained to the sales representative what I wanted and how I would pay for the vouchers. Briefly, here is how the system works. You pick a hotel, which is categorized by price, and order a number of vouchers for each night. These pay for your room, breakfast and taxes. Each voucher was worth US$21. Each night required from 6 vouchers (in Stockholm) to 8 vouchers (in Copenhagen). Multiply the number of nights by the number of vouchers for each night and that by US$21 and you get the total cost. Pretty simple, right? Well, it wasn't. It was a mess! It was a real horror story. Everybody: Sears, American Airlines, Best Western Hotels messed up numerous times. It took me dozens of hours and phone calls over a month long period to finally get things squared away. I didn't get my final travel documents until the Saturday before I left (on Monday morning). However, all the aggrevation did result in one positive. By the time you deduct the $300 credit I got from American Airlines, the $100 apology money and $75 rebate I got from the travel club, and the $63 in hotel vouchers I got from them, my $513 airfare was down to a credit of $25; and I still have all those bonus miles coming! Not bad, but not worth the inconvenience.
One unexpected result of all this frustration and anger over the travel arrangement was that it toughened my resolve and brought out the desire to win one for the Old Farts in me. By the time I got on the plane I was loaded for moose. Failing that, a reindeer would do nicely.
When travelling overseas I always try to buy as many big ticket items before I go as I can and I always pay for them with a credit card in case a problem arises over the services provided, or not provided, later. If you pay with cash or a check, you'll have a devil of a time getting a credit or refund later. My last big ticket item was a Scanrail pass. I had never used one of these but it seemed the best way to provide for the train transportation I would be needing from Stockholm to Linkoping, Linkoping to Goteborg, Goteborg to Copenhagen, and Copenhagen to Stockholm. I bought a basic Scanrail pass, good for any 5 days during a 15 day period, and I bought it for second class travel since second class rail travel in Scandinavia is very adequate and you usually meet more interesting people in second class than in first class.
All that was left was to load up on minor items; which came to some US$200; such as disposable cameras/film, candy and power food bars, a new pair of dedicated walking shoes, etc.; and get packed. I always take too much stuff when I travel. This time was even worse because I had the Rivasseau-Peery Cup to take along. Although it was well-boxed, it was still a pain to drag along. I took along enough heavy clothing to deal with any weather conditions I might run into. The one thing nobody had been able to tell me during my research was what the weather would be like during my travels. Last minute hitches always come up when preparing for a big trip. All you can do is prepare as best you can and allow for them. One problem that arose for me on this trip that I had never experienced before was a major health concern. I had spent 4 hours at the medical center on the Thursday before I left having 24 x-rays taken of my spine. For several weeks I had been in nearly constant pain, ranging from mild at times to extremely severe at others. The night before I left I was in such pain, I wasn't sure I would be able to make the trip. But, when I woke up that morning things seemed OK and remained that way through the first travel day.
Back to WDC VII
On to Travel Days
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Larry Peery (peery@ix.netcom.com) |
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