Post-pandemic travel: Austria and Germany

Throughout the pandemic, when allowed, I have travelled. I get why some people haven’t felt confident to do so. Official websites are written in complex language and even when you think you understand the rules, there’s a nagging doubt that you’ve got something wrong which will leave your booking high and dry – and unless you’ve got decent insurance, out of pocket too. For amber list countries there’s the slim but present chance that the country you picked might turn red, necessitating expensive hotel quarantine. There’s supposed to be a logic to the classification but even the industry’s so-called experts haven’t guessed correctly prior to the reviews, so what chance have the rest of us got? Then there’s the risk of catching COVID while you’re away and finding yourself stranded or worse, alone in a foreign hospital.

I get it. You’ve got to be travel mad to want to go away. But I am, and I do.

Some of the trips I’ve made have been within the UK – with my husband and the dog to Northumberland, Shropshire and the Isle of Wight, with my Dad to Dundee and Falkirk, and solo to Barra and Skye. They’ve all been great trips, but I’ve always been most excited to travel abroad. With COVID-era trips to Iceland (twice!) and Madeira under my belt, I decided it was time to head over to mainland Europe again. Just to make things complicated, I couldn’t decide between Bavaria and the Austrian Tirol, so I opted to visit both.

Flying to Munich

easyJet have been reliable, affordable and above all, flexible during the pandemic, so once again I chose this budget carrier. It’s too early in the season for their Salzburg flights so a couple of months ago I booked to fly into Munich on the late evening flight. As it would be a late arrival (oh how I miss the old days when you had a full flight schedule to choose from rather than the new normal’s take this flight or leave it offering), I reserved a room at the Novotel just up the road. Having studied the FCDO website for Germany’s entry requirements, I was a little surprised to then receive a reply which basically said we’d love to host you but we might not be able to. At that time, the COVID incidence rates came into play – basically if the rate rose too high, under local regulations, hotels would be forced to close. Things do change quickly in regards to COVID, however, so I figured I’d just wait it out and decide what to do nearer to my departure date. As luck would have it, the rules changed in time and I was able to fulfill my original booking.

Overland to Austria

With six nights to fill, I had already toyed with travelling over the border to Austria and when the country officially opened its doors to UK travellers I decided that would be the way to go. I’ve previously trained it to Salzburg; this time, I decided to make Seefeld-in-Tirol my base. I’d last visited as a child in the 1970s so had few memories of the place. Armed with notes from my Mum about where we’d stayed and visited, I checked in to the Alte Schmiede Hiltpolt, an exceptionally well-run family hotel right in the centre of the resort. I stopped off for a wander around Mittenwald on the Bavarian side of the border – very quaint – and then hopped on a local cross-border train to complete the last few minutes of the journey. Thanks to advice given by both the German and Austrian tourist boards in the UK, I already knew that my Digital Registration on Entry submission for Germany would get me into Austria with no further need for form-filling.

Where 3G has nothing to do with your phone

Both countries currently work on the three G’s principle for many scenarios where you’ll come into contact with other people: geimpft, genesen, getestet. To translate, that means you either need to be vaccinated, hold proof recovery or be in receipt of a negative test result. In my case, it was the vaccination certificate that was the documentation that got me on the plane and checked in to the hotels. Some of the cafes I ate at also asked to see it, though some were happy to take my word for it without actually looking at the paperwork. In all other respects, the situation was rather casual. When I walked across the border during a hike along the Leutasch Geisterklamm and from Germany into Austria at the summit of the Zugspitze, no checks or border formalities were made at all – just as you’d expect from two Schengen signatories.

Returning to the UK

For the last time – next time I travel the requirement to test will have been removed – I had to take a lateral flow test to be able to return to the UK. As with my Iceland trip, I’d already sent off for my do-at-home PCR test kit from Randox as the drop box is conveniently located in the next village from my home. Although I’m pleased the result came back negative this weekend, it was the booking reference from the purchase that was the crucial piece of the puzzle – without it, I’d be lacking essential information for the UK government’s Passenger Locator Form. I made sure I arrived at the airport in good time to be able to take a lateral flow test; the negative result came through about 30 minutes later. I will be glad not to have to do one next trip as it’s a bit stressful waiting for the result – even though I was pretty sure I had no COVID symptoms.

In the end, I’m pleased to report that my trip was memorable for the scenery, sunshine, food and entertainment – not for the COVID-related admin and – happily – not for a positive test result. Time to start planning the next one…

Important note

As before, this was the situation at the time of my visit in September 2021. Rules change frequently, so always check carefully before embarking on your own trip to make sure you’re abreast of current regulations when you travel.