I celebrated 5 years on Hive blockchain 2 months ago. Actually, it was Steem at the beginning. And every year I salivated over general excitement about the annual Hive (Steem) Fest, but there were always more important reasons to spend my short vacation and modest wage. Also, the guilt prevented me from spending that money on myself and going out far away to have fun, while my husband would be working hard during the day and spending the rest of his time searching for ready meals and clean socks.
Dreams
But deep down, I always dreamed of attending the event and even calculated how much it might cost. And in the end, I told myself "NO", the next few months I felt bitter and jealous (if I don't confess, you still won't believe me), looking at the feed with posts about preparation, registration, etc, and then with lots of nice memories.
To be or not to be
The line of fate sometimes makes very unexpected turns. The irony is that the year I go to the fest is the hardest year for me. Last year I took out a mortgage loan (a kind of, you'll say - a silly optimist, and you'll be right!..), and you can imagine how income and expenses have changed during wartime.
On the other hand, this is without exaggeration a unique opportunity, especially now. When I learned that Hive Fest would finally take place, a little joy, or perhaps hope, flashed in me. And then I sighed and gave myself the same reason as always, supplementing them with reminders about the mortgage and the war in my country.
However, when @arcange proposed me the same, I took it more seriously. It was as if he convinced me, but in fact, I just needed the support of an outsider who sees the situation objectively. Moreover, he.was soo.kind and offered to help, although he did not know at the time how much trouble he would have to deal with me.
Okay, the decision is made. Where to do next? For many years I planned and organized our trips myself, but it turned out that I had lost the skills.
Hotel
I started from the end, that is, booking a hotel. Everyone was talking about the fact that there is an unprecedented surge in tourism in the post-covid world, so I need to hurry. And I was in a hurry. I looked at Airbnb and Booking and realized that the prices had changed significantly over the years since I last visited Europe. In the end, I chose the Volkshotel.
Transport quest
Next, I should solve one equation with several unknowns. How to get from Kyiv, Ukraine to Amsterdam, Netherlands. I looked at the fanciest routes, from car sharing to Flixbus. The plane turned out to be the most realistic and cheapest, and I don't depend on other people (or they don't depend on me). The plane from Warsaw, Poland.
The next quest was to get to Warsaw. Train, bus, or car, in order of preference. Train tickets appear on sale 20 days before the trip, at 8:am sharp. I made all preparations, set the alarm clock, checked the process a few days before, and created an account.
On the appointed day, I got up early, turned on my laptop, and waited for the tickets to appear. They appeared at 8:00, I quickly chose a car, a seat, added it to the cart, and clicked Checkout, or whatever. Hooray! Then entered my name and surname, selected additional options, pressed the submit button, and ... "This place is already taken." Whaaaat? No time to think, I return back to search, there are still free sits, I repeat it again... "This place is already taken." Damn it! The third try, 1 last place and... yeap, it is taken too. 8:03, and it's over.
I could decide whether should I scream or burst into tears. No, there is probably a chance to get a ticket at the central rail station. They should have a quota. I rushed to the railway station, but no, they don't have a quota. My hope vanished. At that moment, I felt every kilometer that separated me from Amsterdam.
Now, the only option was Flixbus. The option I so much wanted to avoid. Oh, and one more night to book in Warsaw, because I might not be in time for my flight, and after at least 16 hours sitting in a bus with my back, I don't know if I'll be still able to make next hop on the same day. On the way back, I will have 4 hours to get from Warsaw airport to the bus station to get on bus back home.
Presentation
One last thing, but not least, is my speech. The text, and pictures for slides. I prepared them on my laptop. It fell asleep this weekend and never woke up again. If he were a human, I would say that this is a wonderful death. But it's my work tool, damn it! Yesterday I got another one, totally empty, and I am still in the process of installation and setup. The good news is before it I uploaded my speech to Google Disk, and it's finished.
The other stuff
Small things that could hinder my trip. Like booster shot, insurance, baggage restrictions, covid test, delays, queues in airports, strikes and so on. But now I know that this is not the worst that can happen.
When Hive Fest was announced, September seemed so uncertain. A lot could go wrong during a war. I didn't believe until the last that there would be a war, now I believe in the worst. But here I am, seems that I am to come over at last.