Lessons from the Road: It’s All About Attitude

 


This article was published first in Travel Awaits on Oct. 13, 2019. It was republished in this blog on March 26, 2021. I have updated it today. 

 
Franklin D. Roosevelt once said: “I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird and not enough the bad luck of the early worm.” Yes, unfortunately, luck has two sides to it. For travelers who put themselves in foreign or new lands and in the middle of many unfamiliar activities, luck comes into play many more times than normal. Sometimes a travel day turns out good. Sometimes it turns out bad. How do we navigate such differing situations?

You Can’t Control Everything

One of the worst days of our life happened in 2018. My husband and I were at Washington Dulles International Airport in Washington DC to board a flight bound for London where we were to catch a connecting flight to Ljubljana, Slovenia. Our tickets had been bought at the unbelievably discounted price of US$250 per person but we ended up paying more than ten times that, even after the refund.

While we were en route from Phoenix, our airline Primera declared bankruptcy. All its flights were immediately canceled. Understandably, I was terribly upset. And you don’t want to be near me when I am! But my husband said, “It’s just money.” When we arrived in London, he immediately looked for an English pub at the airport. The Scottish/Irish fellow delighted in a classic English breakfast he had been missing. Clearly, he had already put everything behind him.

Don’t Be Stymied. Go Ahead with Your Travel Plans

Without hesitation, we went ahead with our travel plans because the Slovenia trip could not be postponed. It was dependent on the schedule of our two hosts whom we met on the road in the Philippines a few years earlier. In fact, we hosted them in the US two years later.

The apartments they had reserved for us were fully booked before and after our visit. Our room at her B&B was at the foot of the Ljubljana Castle, in front of the huge daily farmer’s market in Old Ljubljana. In Bled, his apartment was right on the famous lake with postcard scenes from the balcony. We couldn’t have asked for more. And it was a reunion of great friends. Our week in Slovenia was priceless, even if it cost us $3,000.

Be Easy on Yourself: You Are Allowed to Make Mistakes

From our base in Innsbruck the following week, we wanted to explore more of Austria. We decided to take the four-hour train ride to Vienna, stay overnight, then stop at Salzburg, midway on the way back, the next day. At the Hauptbahnhof, I got a brochure from the ticket counters while Bill bought a bottle of water at the store. Mixed signals gave us almost zero time left when we finally found each other again. That’s how we got on the wrong train, the one going in the other direction. Instead of Vienna, we found ourselves in Munich.

In short, we got to Vienna mid-afternoon instead of before lunch as we had planned.  I was so stressed. And you don’t want to be near me when I am! Dear husband said, “Charge it to experience; we’re allowed to make mistakes.” We made it to St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the Mozart House, the Opera House, Karlskirche, the Hofburg Palace, and the Museum Quartier, missing only Schonbrunn Palace from our Vienna bucket list.

But we had to “run” from place to place. It was great that they were so close to each other. We even ended the day with dinner complete with sacher torte at a Viennese Coffee House. We preferred to go to the Hotel Sacher for the original but, as luck would have it, they have an outlet in Innsbruck, Café Sacher. 

There Are Many Good People on the Road

Our next base was Oberstaufen, Germany. This is where bad luck started to turn into good luck. After one of our long day trips, we missed the shuttle bus back to our resort. Tired and hungry, I must have looked so desperate when I found out the next one was an hour away. And you should not be near me when my tummy grumbles!

Without being asked, a German couple, who were also waiting at the station, rounded each of the stops, reading each poster (all of them were in German), and looking for an available alternative for us. They didn’t find any, but it didn’t matter. With the gesture, I totally forgot I was hungry.

The following day, we decided to look at Hotel Ludwig with its two rows of unique windows in Steibus, a village close to Oberstaufen.  It turned out that the couple we met were staying at their vacation condo right in front of the RV campground we found next to the Hotel. They invited us in for drinks.

The interesting thing was the man spoke very little English and my husband spoke very little German, so the wives were gesticulating a lot. Before we parted, they extended us an invitation to visit them at their home in Uberlinger, Germany.

The day before we left for France, we found the chance. At their deck overlooking the legendary Bodensee Lake, we enjoyed a typical German lunch. Then we toured the resort city which was hardly touched during WWII because of treaties. An hour of hunger was such a small price to pay for this GOOD LUCK in capital letters.

Let the Good Times Roll

“When it rains, it pours” had turned into “Let the good times roll.”  Bad luck turns into good luck, sometimes as quickly as it comes. And when our hearts fill with gratitude for the good luck, more of it happens!

In Paris, France we were even gifted with a fabulous upgrade from a studio to a one-bedroom apartment. For one romantic week, this elegant Parisian home was the base for many of our day trips to the highlights of Paris. In Brussels the following week, we didn’t expect to add another level to our travel experiences. I was always just for sightseeing. But in this Belgian capital, I turned into a food tripper: beef carbonnade, moules frites, fondues, waffles, chocolates, and beer.

What matters most, and what we can control, is how we react to others, things, and situations.  When bad luck strikes, we should quickly pick up the lesson and move on. And when good luck happens, we should give free rein to express our gratitude. It also helps to travel with people who remain positive. As you can see, I am blessed to have the best traveling companion...and husband.

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