Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts

Monday, November 15, 2021

European Travel During COVID-19: October-November 2021

This post contains observations from our trip to Greece and Italy in late October and early November of 2021. WARNING: This information is correct as of this writing to the best of my knowledge based on my observations, but the policies and restrictions related to COVID-19 continue to change frequently and only official documentation should be used to fully understand a given nation's entry requirements at any given time.

Vaccination Cards are Required and Checked

We needed to show our vaccination cards to enter nations as we expected, but were required to show them many additional times while in Greece and Italy. We had to show them at some restaurants to dine indoors. We needed to show them to enter museums and other indoor attractions and even needed them to enter attractions that were mostly outdoors such as the Colosseum and Heptapyrgion Fortress.

Although COVID-19 vaccination may not be required in some cases, it is typically easier for those who are vaccinated and have the cards showing that than it is for those who need to take COVID tests frequently and show negative results for entry. In some cases, entry may not be allowed at all for the unvaccinated and in other cases tests may be required even for the vaccinated.

Masks are Required

As is the case in many parts of the United States, people are generally expected to wear masks when indoors or when in busy places outdoors except when eating and drinking. Airline passengers and train passengers are also expected to wear masks except when eating and drinking.

Multiple Checkpoints ("Chokepoints") Abound

We traveled through Frankfurt in both directons and the experience in that airport was far less efficient than one would hope for. Long lines are common and many travelers worry (with reason) that they might not make their connecting flights. I recommend that anyone traveling through Frankfurt schedule plenty of time for the layover. Better yet, consider flights that fly directly from your home nation to your destination nation of choice and avoid the extra hassles associated with entry into a third nation.

On our way to Greece, we had a layover in Frankfurt and were in line to enter the European Union for over 45 minutes. With only a 2-hour layover and the added time to walk between our arrival terminal and the departure terminal, this left us with less time to make our connection flight to Thessaloniki than we would have desired. We were required to show our passport and CDC vaccination card in Frankfurt and then again in Greece (where we also needed to show our Greece Passenger Locator Form).

On the return flight, we again had a layover in Frankfurt. This much longer layover allowed plenty of time for standing in multiple lines, but it still is unpleasant to spend so much time in line. We again had to get in line for our vaccination cards to be checked before we could enter the terminal with gates for travel to the United States and other nations. When we finally got through that line, we sat where we could charge our devices. While we were sitting there, the checkpoint for checking vaccination cards was moved further into the airport terminal so that we needed to go through that line again (at least it was relatively short this second time)! One of the frustrating things about the first line is that we chose our line poorly and had the agent who also checked the vaccination cards of those who were riding on carts instead of walking. Because the agent always checked the passengers of the carts as soon as they arrived (probably in an effort to free up the carts as quickly as possible), those of us in line had to watch around 15 people arriving around the same time all get their vaccination cards examined while we just stood there.

Nations of the European Union and Schengen Area Set Their Own Policies and Restrictions

Although Greece and Italy are both part of the European Union and are both part of the Schengen Area, they have their own distinct entry requirements related to COVID-19. Although the individual nations have their own requirements and processes, it was easier to travel to Italy after being in Greece for 14 days because we did not need to take a COVID-19 test before flying to Italy.

We were able to fill out the nation-specific entry documentation for Greece and Italy online. A single Passenger Locator Form was encouraged per family for Greece entry while Italy required an EU Digital Passenger Locator Form per individual entering Italy. I found it interesting that only three nations (at the time of this writing) appear to be using the EU Passenger Locator Form (Italy, Malta, and Slovenia).

There is an EU Digital COVID Certificate, but for Americans traveling in Europe, the CDC COVID vaccination white cards are generally considered valid substitutes.

Because each nation sets its own policies, it is best to repeatedly review each nation's requirements before and during travel to those nations. Good sources of information include the COVID-19 pages those nations manintain and the U.S. Embassy pages for those nations. The Re-open EU site can also be helpful.

Uncertainty Abounds and Adaptability is a Must

The policies and restrictions related to COVID-19 continue to change in different nations of the world. More than ever, it's important to purchase travel insurance and to purchase flights, lodging, and activities that are as changeable or refundable as possible.

Re-entry into the United States

When the European vacation is almost over, there is still a need to deal with COVID-19 entry policies for those returning to the United States. The requirements depend on vaccination status and for those who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19, the requirements are to fill out the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) form and to produce negative results of a viral COVID-19 test taken within 3 days before return to the United States (or evidence of recovery from COVID-19). Unfortunately, I could not find a way to submit the APIS form electronically. It appeared that one needed to print it out and sign the hard copy. I printed it out at the hotel we were staying at for our last night, but Lufthansa Airlines did have some copies of it for passengers when we were checking in for our flight.

Some Attractions Will be Closed or Have Very Limited Operating Hours

Although most of the things we wanted to do were available, we did find some restaura and shops in the nations we visited and in the airports to still be closed due to the pandemic. There were some attractions and tours not operating because of the pandemic and some had their availability reduced. We also ran into issues where schedules were changed due to effects of COVID-19. For example, protests against COVID-19 policies in Greece and Italy impacted our ability to get to an Athens restaurant and to enter the Roman Forum. The "Green Pass" and other COVID-19 restrictions are not welcomed by everyone as this photo in Rome shows.

Conclusion

COVID-19 has caused new issues for travelers wanting to travel to and between other nations. In addition to carrying a passport, travelers must submit entry forms and carry related documentation and must carry evidence of vaccination and/or evidence of testing negative for COVID-19 to enter nations and to participate in some activities within those nations. However, we found that those we met in Greece and Italy were generally welcoming to us and doing what they could to ensure that travelers can visit their beautiful countries.

Friday, September 28, 2018

Melk

One of the ports our river cruise ship stopped in was in Melk (Austria).

We were only in Melk for half of day and the prime attraction for the majority of that time was Melk Abbey (Stift Melk).

Melk Abbey is a Baroque monastery that still to this day houses Benedictine monks. The abbey is also used as a school for boys and girls.

A bus took us the short (but with steep incline at points) distance from the river port to the parking lot of the Melk Abbey.

The main entrance to Melk Abbey features statues of St. Koloman and St. Leopold along with the star from the coat of arms of Berthold Dietmayr.

The portal in the main entrance leads to the outer Gatekeeper's Courtyard and the Eastern Facade.

Moving through the next portal leads one to the Prelate's Courtyard and its fountain.

We found that some of the highlights of our various destinations in Europe came from the views provided from strategic overviews and Melk Abbey's view of the town of Melk and of the rivers was no exception.

The ticket to Melk Abbey included admission to the Stiftspark and Gartenpavillon, but we only spent a few minutes there because we wanted to see the town of Melk before returning to the cruise ship.

Those who did not want to see Melk would ride the bus back, so it allowed us the 20 or so minutes to walk through Melk and back to the cruise ship. We are happy that we made that decision and were able to experience the charming town of Melk, even if only for a few minutes.

Going back to the river port via Milk was also advantageous because of the views of Melk Abbey from that route.

Two additional blog posts that provide detailed descriptions of Melk Abbey based on river cruise visits are "Part 2: Austria: Melk Abbey, Wachau Valley and Vienna" and "Melk Abbey: Visiting Austria's Famous Abbey on the Danube". The blog post "Bob and Nella's World: Melk" also provides significant more details on Melk Abbey. Two other interesting resources are "The Best Things to Do in Melk, Austria" and "11 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Melk."

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Salzburg

A day trip to Salzburg (Austria) was an optional excursion on our Danube river cruise. We elected this option because Salzburg was high on our list of places to see and we are glad we made that decision. The downside of selecting the day trip to Salzburg was that we had very little time in Linz, but one of the positives beyond Salzburg itself was that we got to at least briefly experience Mondsee on the way to Salzburg. Even though we spent far more time in Salzburg than we did in Linz or Mondsee, we were still only able to experience a small fraction of what Salzburg ("salt castle" / "Festival City") offers.

Salzburg is located on the Salzach River. This river is a tributary river to the Inn River and so its waters eventually become part of the Danube River (at Passau, Germany).

We started our tour of Salzburg on the New Town side of the Salzach in the Mirabell Gardens (gardens of Mirabell Palace [Schloss Mirabell]).

The Pegasus Fountain seemed to be one of the more popular spots in the Mirabell Gardens.

We used the Makartsteg Bridge to cross the Salzach River to the Old Town side of Salzburg. That bridge had numerous padlocks on it and these are discussed in online resources such as "Love Lock Pedestrian Bridge" and "Salzburg Bridge Attracts Lovers and Locks."

The Old Town portion of Salzburg was what I had pictured in my mind when I thought of Salzburg based on "The Sound of Music" and other sources of information on Salzburg that I had previously encountered. The Getreidegasse is described as "the bustling heart of Salzburg’s Old City."

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born at No. 9 Getreidegasse in 1756 in "Hagenauer Haus."

I was not able to get good photographs of Salzburg Cathedral (Dom zu Salzburg) because of work being done in front of it.

St. Peter's Monastery and Cemetery were popular with the tourists. It's no wonder given that St. Peter's Cemetery has been called "one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world" and given the late scene in "The Sound of Music" that was inspired by this cemetery.

We have found in our first trip to Europe (and in other trips) that some of the best photographs and memories of a city can be captured from high vantage points. This was the case in Salzburg, where we took photographs from Hohensalzburg Fortress (Festung Hohensalzburg).

The easiest approach to the sprawling Hohensalzburg Fortress is via FestungsBahn, a furnicular that takes less than one minute to go from Salzburg up to Hohensalzburg Fortress.

Hohensalzburg Fortress is huge. I only show a single photograph here, but more can be found at this Hohensalzburg Fortress Pictures and Videos site.

Although Hohensalzburg Fortress and the Fortress Museum are interesting to see in its own right, the views from it are even more spectacular.

Residence Square (Residenzplatz Square) and its Residence Fountain (Residenzbrunnen) attract many photograph-taking tourists!

While at Residence Square, we visited the Panorama Museum. That museum's page describes the 360 degrees panoramic painting that visitors can view from a platform, "As far as the eye can see: the cycloramic painting by Johann Michael Sattler gives us a view onto the City of Salzburg and its environs around the year 1829." The platform within the 360 degrees and highly detailed panoramic painting is the centerpiece and highlight of the museum, but it also has photographs, drawings, and text describing Salzburg's history (particularly fires and rebuilding). See the TravelAdvisor reviews to get a good idea of what to expect and not expect from this museum.

Before leaving Salzburg, we visited a few of its shops and sampled the "Original Salzburger Mozartkugel."

I purchased small books with photographs and light descriptive text of most cities we visited on this trip. For Salzburg, I purchased a copy of Colorama's 14th Edition (July 2016) of Salzburg: The Festival City set amidst a Gorgeous Alpine Countryside." This book features a section "Surrounding Areas of Salzburg" ("Day Trips to Surrounding Areas") that includes some photographs that make me wish we had time to visit those areas outside of Salzburg. These areas include Kehlsteinhaus (The Eagle's Nest), the Salzkammergut, Giant Ice Caves in Werfen, Liechtensteinklamm, Hohenwerfen Fortress, and Hohe Tauern National Park.

When we were reserving and planning this trip, we had high hopes for Salzburg and it was definitely worth the bus ride to see it and spend time in Salzburg. I just wish we had more time to see a few more things in Salzburg and in its surrounding area (including Mondsee).