Here Comes the Kvetch!

I've never been adventurous. I'm more of what you'd probably define as a couch potato. In my youth I never went camping (unless it was with Girl Scouts), hated "roughing it" and a 12 hour hike up to Talac in the Tahoe Basin nearly did me in (in my 20's!).

This year, after Covid restrictions lifted I saw a lot of people I know going to places I have longed dreamed about: Germany, Switzerland, Italy, etc. We've finally reached a point in our married lives where we now have both the time available and the means to travel. For the first time ever, we discussed and even agreed to spend a sizeable amount of money of what was to be for us the trip of a lifetime. An adventure. Going to places I never considered going before. I wanted to do this before: 1) I got too old to enjoy it, and 2) Breast cancer reoccurring (or even worse) popping up somewhere else more serious.

So, when The Viking Cruise catalog showed up in the mail yesterday touting its Grand European Tour to most of the places on my bucket list, we decided to take the plunge. Even my ever budget-conscious husband was agreeable to the hefty sum of $ that would be involved. I called the travel agent and gave them our credit card to put down a $50 deposit to reserve our veranda suite for the fall of 2023.

Excited to share the news, I thought I would give my boss the first heads up about our future 21-day excursion to Amsterdam, Austria, and Hungary with a side trip to Germany to see the Neuschwanstein Castle that has been on my bucket list for over 25 years. I told him about the Viking cruise and he (knowing that I am unvaccinated and never intend to be) said that one of our coworkers just came back from a cruise where half the ship came down with Covid (all vaccinated). I thought. Hmmmm. Maybe I should check with the travel agent about this. I call her. Bad news confirmed. You have to show proof of vaccination to get on a Viking Cruise (and to enter Germany).

Trip of a lifetime cancelled. Major bummer. For the first time in my life, I was willing to go outside of my comfort zone and Covid ruins it all. Just like it ruined our planned trip to Australia/New Zealand back in March of 2020. Never mind that people who are vaccinated who get Covid anyway on these crew ships. It doesn't seem to make a bit of difference which I why I don't understand why they insist on it. IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY LOGICAL SENSE!

My husband came home in May with Covid and while we did our best to sanitize and sleep apart, we were still in the same house, and I kissed him just before he tested positive and I NEVER.GOT.COVID. Even though I was considered immune compromised by my cancer treatments!!!

Austria and Hungary no longer require vaccinations (but Germany does) nor does Italy so we could still plan something or just take a long road trip back east. I've never been to Europe and don't know what I'm doing so the Viking Cruise offered a lot of peace of mind with everything built in and included.

Travel agents don't make money except on cruises anymore, so I don't want to bother her with a lot of work where she doesn't get compensated. Gone are the days where you could call a travel agent and have them help you plan your dream trip. I'm very intimidated to try and plan this on my own but feel that time is running out.

What would YOU do?