This week was the first week after the eight weeks of quarantine in Germany. After so many lifted restriction, quarantine is officially over. Nether the less social distancing is still in place. Streets are filling up again with people and cars, as shops are reopened. The ghost town feeling is officially over, life is coming back to the cities. Sometimes it feels like the pandemic is over, sadly we are far from it.
Even that the international travel warning is still in place until the 15th June, it is likely that the borders in Europe will open up again at the beginning of June. There is just too much pressure to waste the whole summer vacation session in Europe. The question is, what kind of vacation this might be? This week the beaches at the “Ostsee” and “Nordsee”, in the north of Germany opened up again. It is possible to go swimming but not sun bathing. Meaning lying on the beach. For me this all sounds so wrong. I always have the question in my mind: Is travel as we knew it even possible with a pandemic that is still in place?
At the moment it is so hard to even think about planning any new trip. There still so many restrictions in place e.g. camping sides can open but only for camper vans and not for campers with a tent, as the facilities can not be used. Some airports in Europe open up again, but some border to neighbor countries are still closed. Some countries require a health pass that proves that you are not infected. It is a whole new level of things to follow. Might this will become the new level of travel requirements?
The first time in 15 years I am not planning or booking actively any trip. Only browsing and think what can be done with all the restrictions in place. Needless to say that our life was put in hold and flipped upside down, when we had to cancel our trip around the world. I am grateful that we already did so much in our life and saw so many amazing things the worlds has to offer. But there is still this soft voice in my head, that there was so much time to do a world trip, and we never done it. Nether the less we can’t life backwards, only forward and see what the future will hold for us.
