Traveling In A Pandemic
The world is kind of a crazy place right now… if you didn’t already know.
Traveling internationally is normally a bit of a process but man… nowadays? You better have done all your homework for all the forms you have to fill out before you even step into the airport. There’s a great deal to submit and you had better know what you have to submit because if you don’t have the proper paperwork… your travels might just get a tiny bit more complicated.
QR codes. These are the hot commodities that everyone is using these days. Whether it be governments or airlines… QR codes are the keys to the kingdom of traveling these days. Nearly every country that you are going to be visiting requires one. Some countries like Switzerland require you to pay 40€ to get yours. And nearly every different country has different rules. The real fun part about all this paperwork is that you can’t just fill out these forms in advance. Oh no… that would be too easy. I ran into this situation multiple times where they would only allow you to fill these in and submit them two to three days before you arrived in the country. You just have to love when bureaucracy is actually making things unnecessarily more difficult than they have to be. I’m not bitter at all. PLUS… there are some forms that you may have to have that aren’t very obvious to the common traveler. This Switzerland QR code that I’ve been talking about is actually two different QR codes. One is to just gain entry into the country and then the other is one you have to have on you at all times because you need it to get into any place in the country. They also of course need a Photo ID to match up with that QR code.
Bloody cold… but beautiful.
This brings me to how people treat you when you are traveling nowadays. I will say that Spain was exceptional in how I was treated. Which was very nice because when you are traveling… you kind of want to relax and have a good time. Having people look at you with suspicion or downright hostility… is never a good thing. So I would very much entreat you to do a tiny bit of research into how the country that you are planning to visit… is handling the pandemic. Switzerland has some extreme but good… methods of locking down the spread of COVID-19 and as a byproduct plus the news of Omicron… lets just say I wasn’t treated very well overall. Just imagine having to show a QR code with your ID every single day when going anywhere… every day… for more than half a year. It has to get a tiny bit tiresome. Which then builds up resentment. And who is that resentment focused on? DING DING DING. Strangers and travelers. “Why else are we doing these extreme measures?” Some might ask. Well… some might say that they are the ones not doing the proper measures and they are the reason why we are still in this mess of a pandemic. But of course… this is all conjecture. Well thought out conjecture… but conjecture nonetheless.
I will say that airlines are doing an excellent job during these trying times. The usual rules of making sure you have your mask on when onboard remain and I did not see anyone having issues with it. Which was extremely nice to see. When on a plane for over eleven hours… I think everyone just wants to bunker down and just get to the destination without any drama. I will mention that the flight attendants were really diligent with telling people to put their masks back on if they were not eating or drinking. Which was nice to see.
Getting back into the United States is always a bit of a process but with the pandemic? A bit more complicated. Even up until 3 days before my flight… the rules for re-entry were changing. It was a bit alarming. Then news of Omicron started to come out and things got a bit more intense. When I was traveling back… the rules were if you were vaccinated you still had to get a COVID test within three days before your flight. If you were not vaccinated you had to get a COVID test within a day before your flight. As of today… whether you are vaccinated or unvaccinated… you have to have a negative COVID test within a day of your flight. I would bet money that stricter rules will invariably follow. When I was actually flying out of Europe… I had my COVID information and Passport checked three different times before I was able to board the plane. Then when we landed at LAX… it was bizarre because it was just normal customs and there wasn’t any checking of my COVID information. We were all told on the plane that there was a chance of random checks when we landed but I did not see any of it when I was there. I do have a feeling that the government is leaning on the airlines a great deal with making sure that all the rules and regulations are being followed perfectly.
Overall… I will say I think I traveled at a very good time. I had already gotten my COVID booster shot before the trip and I will say that it gave me peace of mind while I was traveling. So… I will just say this. It's immeasurably easier to travel internationally if you are vaccinated. Less hoops to jump through and it’s just safer.
