It’s over 460 days now that we are back from our last U.S. trip, beginning of March 2020. We were at home more or less continuously, bored and depressive. It’s the longest stretch of not-traveling in our career as freelance writers.
We are
fully vaccinated in the meantime, COVID numbers in Germany are low, though
there is, again, talk about a 4th wave because of the Delta variant. Currently,
there are only a few COVID rules and regulations still in operation. One of
them concerns the mandatory masks in
stores/restaurants/offices/public transport, etc. – in Bavaria it’s the dense FFP2
masks exclusively. Still not too much
fun to go shopping in the city center or to sit in a concert hall or theater in
the heat with these masks on. Still not too much spontaneity in regard to
restaurant visits.
Clubs, bars and other late-night spots are still closed and events only take place with restricted numbers of visitors. Much fewer summer events in total this year, and, if so, they are rather small and require advance reservation/registration. Big events like Oktoberfest or our local Friedensfest (Peace Festival) are already cancelled (again).
Not really back to normal yet, but feeling better now, less caged in. Fear and anxiety of the virus waned, being cautious and washing hands all the time did not. Also, masks became an indispensable piece of clothing. Summer and gardening are helping, too, though, April/May were horrendously cold and rainy, and, June continued with pretty mixed and extreme weather, severe thunderstorms, heavy rain and hailstorms. Can only get better now!
We eventually were lucky this June and qualified for one of the governmental programs for freelancers. From submission of application to payment it took almost three months ,,, the mills of German bureaucracy grind slowly! This support restored some confidence and gave us some security, though there is not much improvement yet in regard to tourism recovery . Correspondingly, we are not really in high demand yet being focused on the U.S.A. Borders are still closed for European travelers while Americans are allowed to travel in the E.U.
Keep your fingers crossed that borders to the U.S. will reopen soon (next key date is July 21st) because we have booked flights to the U.S. two days ago! The big travel trade show IPW will take place in Las Vegas in September, we are invited, and, we absolutely want to be there. Beg your president to let us in, pleeeease!
Happy Fourth of July to our American friends!
