The visa/passport situation is not looking good. My credit card has not been charged for the visa processing fee, the courier firm says it has no deliveries scheduled for my postcode today, and the embassy is sticking by its 10 to 15 working day processing time. In 24 hours, Christmas in Denmark with Sofie and her family will be officially ruined.

At this rate, the earliest I can hope to see my passport is December 29. My Copenhagen-New York flight is scheduled for December 30. I am beginning to wonder whether I will even make that.