Germany: My last overseas trip for quite some time…

‘Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it.’ – Khalil Gibran.

This quote rings true to me about our time in Germany. A lot of the trip felt very fluid as the situation changed rapidly across Europe, and I was desperate for more control. As soon as I made the decision to fly home early, rather than wait and hope that things turn would out okay as borders closed, I felt a lot better and my anxiety waned.

Travelling to Germany as COVID-19 hit.

I travelled to Germany in early March just as COVID-19 was sweeping across Europe. In retrospect, perhaps we shouldn’t have gone at all. The situation was fluid and for me, the trip was highly stressful. The days we spent in Germany were fraught with highly-charged discussions about whether we should go home early. We constantly refreshed our news apps, searching for the latest tidbit of information. It was a worrying, anxious time and not a trip I necessarily look back on entirely fondly.

Train delays and travelling as the pandemic gripped Europe.

Things began badly. Our 7am Eurostar train bound for Brussels limped back into St Pancras a mere forty minutes after initially departing due to an electricity fault. We were transferred an hour later onto another train but the delay caused us to miss our connection in Brussels and so the dominoes fell as all consequent connections were unceremoniously missed. What should have been a reasonably pleasant six-seven hour train journey to our final destination of Borken in north Germany ended up taking twelve hours.

However, despite reports that COVID-19 was spreading rapidly across Europe, things on the trains seemed quite normal. Few people wore masks. We got some odd looks as we reapplied antibacterial gel every half hour or so, conscious that travelling on public transport exposed us to germs, potentially the virus itself. There was little or no social distancing on the Eurostar. On subsequent trains as we crossed Belgium, the Netherlands and finally entered Germany, we sat away from other people as much as possible.

Despite the delays, things didn’t seem too bad. While not fully relaxed, neither my Mum or I felt at that point like travelling to Germany was a misjudgment. Plenty of other people were also travelling and the stations were still bustling.

Border hopping into the Netherlands.

We spent a couple of days with family in Borken. During our stay, we hopped over the border into the Netherlands to visit a couple of small towns. As we wandered around, the streets were noticeably quieter than normal and the shadow of COVID-19 was beginning to hang over us. We drove back to my aunts house later that afternoon after a delicious lunch in a small village. As we effortlessly crossed the open border back into Germany, little could we know that a mere forty eight hours later, that same border would be shut as Europe locked down.

Mum and I debated whether we should head directly back to the UK after visiting our family. However, we had a hotel booked in Munich and the trains were also booked. After some discussion, and more than a little anxiety on my part, we decided that we would continue our trip as planned. The next morning, we departed Borken and travelled south.

Making the decision to fly home…

This time, the trains were noticeably quieter. People were spaced out, avoiding one another, keeping their distance. We trundled the length of Germany, checking our phones for news and reading alerts as more and more countries announced that they were beginning to close their borders. My insides squirmed with anxiety.

Due to my commitment to fly less in 2020, we had planned to travel by train for the entire trip. After our night in Munich, we were due to catch an overnight train travelling from Innsbruck in Austria to Brussels in Belgium. During the journey, the train had to cross multiple borders. With the borders closing rapidly, my concerns were growing that we would not be able to take our planned sleeper and that we might become stranded.

By the time we rolled in Munich five hours later, I’d decided that the best course of action might be to book a flight home from Munich the next day, rather than risk becoming stranded if the borders closed, as they seemed likely to do.

The last ‘normal’ weekend in Germany.

Munich was still bustling, with plenty of people out and about, but our hotel had barely more than thirty guests staying and felt like a ghost town. Setting aside our concerns for a few hours, I determined to show Mum everything I love about Munich. We wandered the streets, explored the market, drank beer in the packed Hofbrauhaus, bought a couple of souvenirs from shops on Marienplatz and had traditional Bavarian food for dinner with my good friend C. It was a lovely way to spend our short afternoon and evening in one of my favourite European cities.

It was easy to forget that COVID-19 was looming. The only nod towards the virus at the Hofbrauhaus was antibacterial gel dispensers at the door. Otherwise, the famous beer hall was crowded with large groups of increasingly raucous drinkers. The streets were quieter than normal for a Saturday, but there were still plenty of people around. I was able to forget the impending pandemic for just a few hours. Our time in Germany was the last ‘normal’ weekend I would have in a while. I enjoyed myself as much as possible.

Leaving Germany as the borders closed.

In the morning, I had coffee and a walk in the sunshine with C. Afterwards, Mum and I took the train to Munich airport for our flight home. It was becoming apparent that my hunch about the borders closing, thus preventing our sleeper train from travelling, was correct. Our BBC News apps updated to report that Austria had closed their borders. Germany and other countries around Europe followed suit soon after. We had been right to book a flight and get ourselves home sooner rather than later.

The airport was quiet, although nothing like the videos and images I’d see later of eerie empty airports during the height of the first wave of the pandemic. Our air stewards wore masks. We rubbed antibacterial gel into our hands every twenty minutes or so and accepted antibacterial wipes from the woman sitting next to us. The flight was full of people heading back to the UK, cutting their trips short after the border closures were announced. There was an air of camaraderie on board as people shared stories of their sudden departures.

The family behind us had left Austria the night before after hastily booking onto the same flight as us. All flights out of Austria had been full or cancelled, so Munich had been their best option. I breathed a sigh of relief that we’d managed to get a flight home. As we took off and flew north, the anxious knot in my stomach began to ease.

Taking the decision to avoid overseas travel for the foreseeable future.

Looking back on our trip, the last overseas trip I’ll be taking for a while, I relive the anxiety I was feeling. I feel some guilt that we went ahead with the trip, despite the fact that the virus was hanging over us. However, I am also grateful for those last few ‘normal’ days before 2020 and the world descended into chaos.

I’ve taken a conscious decision to avoid overseas travel for the remainder of 2020. This self-imposed ban will no doubt extend into 2021. The length of time before I travel abroad again all depends on the pandemic and the ever shifting rule changes. I’m doing what works for me – the uncertainty involved with overseas travel is, for me, too much right now. And while I miss the culture shock of visiting a far-flung country, miss the adventure, even miss taking flights, I’m grateful for the opportunity to explore the UK more thoroughly.

If you’re not travelling abroad right now and would like some inspiration for travelling in the UK, check out my posts about travel in Wales, Scotland and England!