Amidst such turmoil, Rachmaninoff received an unexpected offer to perform ten piano recitals across Scandinavia which he immediately accepted, using it as an excuse to obtain permits so he and his family could leave the country. On 22 December 1917, they left Saint Petersburg by train to the Finnish border, from where they travelled through Finland on an open sled and train to Helsinki. Carrying what they could pack into their small suitcases, Rachmaninoff brought some sketches of compositions and scores to the first act of his unfinished opera "Monna Vanna" and Rimsky-Korsakov's opera "The Golden Cockerel". They arrived in Stockholm, Sweden, on 24 December. In January 1918, they relocated to Copenhagen, Denmark, and, with the help of friend and composer Nikolai von Struve, settled on the ground floor of a house. In debt and in need of money, the 44-year-old Rachmaninoff chose performing as his main source of income, as a career solely in composition was too restrictive. His piano repertoire was small, which prompted the start of regular practise of his technique and learning new pieces to play. Rachmaninoff toured between February and October 1918.