And now, we’ve come to the end of my latest series… which I will admit was not long on food and activities, but had plenty of gorgeous scenery and solitude. When I am finished writing this post, I’ll do my usual “ten things I learned post”, but that will probably be done tomorrow, so as not to overwhelm anyone with all the action my travel blog is suddenly getting. 😉
Because we were coming from “high risk” areas– Croatia and Slovenia– we had to upload our vaccination information to officials in Germany. This would absolve us from having to quarantine. But, when we got to the border, they just waved us through, anyway. Maybe because it was Sunday.
Our drive home was mostly uneventful. Salzburg is about six hours or so from where we live, I think… Ray had made it easy to check out. All we had to do, besides take out the trash and make sure we used the toilet brush, was put the 12 euro city tourist tax (three euros per person per night) in the lockbox, along with the key. We got an early start, and, at first, the weather was beautiful.
Goodbye to Ray’s house.
The sun is shining…
One last look at Austria’s beauty…
Because all of a sudden, we were crossing the border.
The nice weather began to change the further north we went. It got cold and decidedly cloudy, then it was raining. At one point, we tried to stop for lunch, but there was no parking in the parking lot. The spots were all taken up by tractor trailers. We eventually ended up at the very same rest stop where we stopped on the way down to Croatia. On that visit, I wore a surgical face mask, as did a lot of other people. Surgical masks are the rule for all of Germany… except hard assed Bavaria, where people are supposed to wear FFP2s, the tighter fitting “coffee filter” masks. I did have a fresh one in my purse, but I really hate wearing them.
Anyway, we walked into the McDonald’s, which was empty. Evidently, the COVID-19 rules changed again, because the cashier pointed to me and said I needed the heavier mask. That pissed me off, so Bill and I left. I ranted about it on my other blog. We went to Burger King and ate lunch in the car. I spent much of the rest of the drive annoyed, since the heavier masks are obviously not curbing the now soaring infection rate in Germany. People need to be vaccinated. But if they’re going to enforce mask mandates, I wish they’d be consistent about it. And I wish they’d show common sense, particularly toward people who have actually done the responsible thing and gotten the vaccine.
I mean, look at this…
This is in Koln, where Carnival is in full swing.
It’s ridiculous. I can’t sit in an empty McDonald’s without being forced to wear a heavy mask, but these fools can party and drink unmasked in huge crowds in Mainz and Cologne! I fear we may be heading for another lockdown soon, which makes me even more glad that we took our trip. As it stands now, James Taylor has postponed his European tour. We have second row tickets to his Frankfurt show, but who knows when it will happen. We still have tickets to see Keb’ Mo’ for a show that was supposed to happen on November 16 (our anniversary) 2020. At this point, it’s been postponed three times, thanks to COVID-19. Maybe we’ll get to see him in May of 2022. This COVID shit really needs to be sorted.
The only other notable thing that happened on the way home was that we passed a van that had a sticker on it that read “Porn casting car”.
And then, we noticed that the driver had drapes with little gold tassels on them in the front seat. Maybe it really is a porn casting car.
After we got home, we unpacked and started doing the laundry. Later, we went to get Arran and Noyzi, who I guess could hear and smell us as we approached. They were so excited! Noyzi was even ecstatic to see Bill. He practically dragged me to the car and was delighted to jump in the back all by himself.
When we got home, we discovered that Arran had a couple of swollen flesh wounds on his ears. And the next day, Noyzi had kennel cough. By Tuesday, Arran was coughing too, although they are both okay now. Fortunately, it was a mild case. It was the first time I have ever dealt with kennel cough, which is usually a mild illness that clears up on its own. Our dogs are usually vaccinated against it, but we stopped giving Arran most vaccines because he’s had mast cell tumors. Noyzi is due for his vaccines next month.
Here are a few final pictures of a few things we brought back with us… I wish I had found a few things to put in the house. Oh well. Maybe on the next trip. Bill has to go to Poland on Monday, and he’ll be gone on our 19th wedding anniversary, which is on Tuesday. I’m sure he’ll get some Bison Grass vodka. Just what we need! 😉 We also got jams, honeys, liqueurs, and gin.
Bill will be…
eating all of this Croatian cheese on his own…
Well… that about does it for the series. Stay tuned tomorrow, for my super fun “ten things I learned” post. I actually did learn some new things on this trip. It was one of our better ones, and we’ve been on some great trips. I hope we can do it again, soon.
It’s early Sunday morning. We are still in Salzburg, Austria, but we’re already packed up and will probably be on the road to Germany in an hour or so. We have had a marvelous trip, and I am ready to write all about it. I don’t know what time we’ll get home today, since Germany has experienced a large surge in COVID-19 infections since we’ve been gone. I expect we could experience a delay at the border, even though Bill uploaded our vaccine documents to the Robert Bosch Institute (or whatever), proving that we’ve had the shots.
I look forward to having clean laundry and seeing my dogs. I’ve been worried about them while we’ve been gone, but I also know that we would have heard something if they weren’t okay. I look forward to taking a nap with Arran and being goosed in the butt by Noyzi. I do like to take trips, but I also like being at home, where everything is familiar. I suppose my car battery is probably dead, since the Mini hasn’t been started in ages. And hopefully, no one broke in during our absence, but our landlord lives next door and is always home, so I doubt that happened.
So this blog will be waking up very soon…. I look forward to sharing the many photos and stories, hopefully starting today, but definitely starting tomorrow… unless we get wiped out on the Autobahn, or I get arrested for punching out bikers who flip me off (more on that in an upcoming blog post).
A few days ago, I was really looking forward to this weekend. The weather looked like it was going to be beautiful. There were several wine centered events going on, to include our local wine stand that takes place in the town square. Before COVID-19 messed everything up, we would have those wine stands every other week during the warm months. They were a lot of fun, and a great way to get to know the neighbors.
There was a wine market in Hofheim yesterday, and a wine festival in Ingelheim, which I really wanted to go to. Fortunately, the fest will continue all week until next Sunday. Hopefully, by then, I’ll be well, and Bill won’t have to work.
That’s right… I am sick this weekend. I don’t know how it happened, but it has put a real damper on our fun. Thanks to a big work exercise, Bill also had to work this morning. He arranged to do a four hour shift early today, so we could have had the rest of the day to do something fun. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere today, either.
I spent most of yesterday in bed with gastroenteritis. I don’t know how I got it. I don’t spend time around anyone other than Bill, and he hasn’t had it. It’s possible I ate something that made me sick. It came on Friday night, when I suddenly developed a fever and chills. Of course I was worried about COVID-19, even though I live like a hermit.
As Friday night went on, my stomach started to feel weird. I actually wanted pizza for dinner, though, and was relieved that when Bill made it, I could easily smell it. Unfortunately, the pizza didn’t last. After dinner, the vomiting started. I spent the whole night shivering under two duvets.
Yesterday, Bill made breakfast and, once again, I was relieved that I could smell it. In fact, the aroma of bacon was almost overwhelming. But breakfast also didn’t stay with me. I resolved not to try to eat anything else, other than a waffle syrup cookie, which is pretty bland. I managed to hang onto that and the two sodas Bill brought me. Then I watched movies and took a nap.
This morning, my stomach feels marginally better, but I can’t trust my sphincter. A good sneeze, fart, or cough could make quite a mess, if you catch my drift. So I don’t think we’ll be doing anything today, because I don’t want to crap my pants.
I did have Bill go out and get a COVID test, just to make sure that wasn’t the source of my discomfort. At first, before the diarrhea set in, I thought it might be possible that the virus finally found me. He paid two euros for a Chinese COVID-19 home test. We tried to use it last night, but somehow didn’t do the test right. So I ended up with no result.
I did think to take some photos, though… the directions are in German and include pictures. Bill later said he saw there was a video we could have watched for instructions. It reminded me a little of a pregnancy test, except the sample to be tested came from my nose.
Noyzi is no longer afraid of the TV. He sat for a moment as I watched Netflix.
A Chinese COVID-19 test. Would someone like to tell me why the people in the picture are so happy?
My phone quickly recognized the QR code.
Contents of the box.
But we clearly messed up somehow.
Oh well… I guess I’ll do more reading today. I do feel somewhat better than I did yesterday, at least. I think the fever went away, and I haven’t had to puke since yesterday morning. So there’s some bright news…
SIGH.
I’ll end this post on a positive note. Four years ago, I was also sick. That time, it was with a very nasty cold that I picked up when we cruised in Scotland. I wasn’t surprised that I got the cold, since there was a visibly sick woman on the boat who kept sniffling all week. By the time the cruise was almost over, I had her cold. Although that beat the everloving hell out of the norovirus infection I got in Scotland in March of 2016, having that cold was pretty miserable.
Bill and I came home to our driveway torn up, since our former landlords decided to renovate it. The work wasn’t completed while we were gone. Then, the day after it was done, while I was still sick, the landlords came over unannounced. I opened the door to get the mail, dressed in my nightgown. There they were, standing there on the driveway, inspecting the work. I had an awkward conversation with them, not just because I wasn’t dressed and had a bad cold, but also because by that time, our relationship had gone sour. A few weeks prior to our trip to Scotland, an awning that the landlady’s husband had “fixed” collapsed on a windy day. They tried to blame me for it, and the wife got very irate and screamed at me in my living room, specifically blaming me for other things that were wrong in the house.
The next day, the landlords showed up unannounced and started cleaning the gutters, right outside my bedroom window. I was in bed, still sick with the cold, and FUMING, because it was yet another unexpected visit. I had told them I was sick, and was trying to rest. Of course they never thought to consider my feelings. I was just someone whose husband they were deigning to let rent their house. Clearly, in their minds, I was not entitled to any respect, privacy, or consideration. I literally wanted to throttle them. (I am not the most patient patient) But instead of telling them to come back another day, like I should have, I just tried to ignore them.
Well… I didn’t quite ignore them. I posted on Facebook that I felt like choking them. I noticed yesterday that I had written that. I was really upset. Later, Bill did ask them for more notice, and was met with a rather rude response. But if you know what happened in the end, you know that we eventually came out on top in that situation, although it took some time.
Anyway, it occurred to me yesterday, reading that past Facebook status, that I have much to be grateful for. I don’t get sick very often in Wiesbaden. Bill doesn’t have to travel to Africa, so he doesn’t bring home weird germs. When I do get sick, I can recuperate in private. The landlord lives next door, but he never bothers us, and would never do loud work on our house without planning ahead. And I just really prefer this house on so many levels. In fact, yesterday, it occurred to me how glad I was to be resting in my own bed and using my own bathroom. When I last had a stomach bug, I had to deal with it while traveling. It was awful. So I’m glad to be at home, and glad to be living somewhere where the landlord isn’t an inconsiderate jerk.
And hopefully, the rest of this virus will “run its course”… I just ate a banana, so we’ll see how that goes. Looks like the fever may be done, too.
A couple of weeks ago, Bill tried to get us dentist appointments in Stuttgart. Why Stuttgart, and not Wiesbaden? Because we both love our Stuttgart dentist’s work and, even after almost three years in Wiesbaden, we haven’t found a new dentist yet. Although Stuttgart is a couple of hours away by train, when we moved here at the end of 2018, we had visions of coming back down there at regular intervals. And then COVID-19 struck. We haven’t seen Dr. Blair since May 2019, and we won’t see him until the end of August, because he’s booked for the rest of this month and, like so many locals, is taking vacation through most of August.
But Bill still had the days off, so he asked me to plan a short trip. I queried my Facebook friends for ideas. My caveats were that the suggested places had to be somewhat nearby, because I don’t want to fly anywhere unless I absolutely must. I also didn’t want to go anywhere where COVID-19 was on the rise. I’m stressed out enough as it is, even though I’m fully vaccinated with the Moderna shots as of last month.
Bill has been seeing an online Jungian therapist for the past few months. He’s doing so because I’ve been telling him for years that therapy is a great thing, but also because he is fascinated by Carl G. Jung. Bill’s therapist is American and based in Berlin. The guy has a background in art therapy, which also really interests Bill and fits right in with Jung, since Jung was an artist, as well as a great thinker and psychologist. Our friend Meg, who made it possible for us to adopt our Kosovar rescue dog, Noyzi, also has an interest in Jung and has been studying him. It was she who suggested that we visit Küsnacht, which is where Carl Jung’s house and museum is located.
It occurred to me that Bill and I had never actually visited Zürich before this past weekend. We’d only been to its, admittedly superb, airport. When we lived near Stuttgart, we lived pretty close to the city and could have gone there with ease. For that reason, it always lost out to other, more “exciting” cities. Also, I’d heard that Zürich wasn’t that interesting compared to some other places we’ve been. Of course, now that we’re living in Wiesbaden, Zürich is a little more exotic. I decided to see what kind of hotels were available in Zürich and found one that is in a building that used to be a brewery. When I read that it was also connected to a Thermalbad, I was sold! I booked four nights at the B2 Boutique Hotel, located in the Enge area of the city.
An artsy photo of Lake Zürich. I took this with my digital camera, rather than my usual iPhone or iPad.
Then it turned out that Bill had actually only wanted me to book three nights. We were starting our trip on Thursday, because he’d been trying to get dental appointments for us. When he failed to get them for the time he’d arranged to be off work, he decided to just take Thursday and Friday off instead of his usual Friday and Monday. I misunderstood him, though, and booked four nights instead of three. Bill was a little pissy about it at first, but then I reminded him of all the things we could see and the fact that we haven’t traveled in so long because of COVID-19. He relented, and got today off from work. That turned out to be a good decision, which I’m sure will become clear as I write about this trip.
In the end, I wasn’t surprised that I chose Switzerland for this trip. I’ve had Switzerland on the brain for some time now. For years, I’ve felt kind of “meh” about the beautiful neutral country, mainly because it’s so expensive and always seemed a bit sterile to me. But last year, we took our vacation to Austria, Italy, and Switzerland. We had a great time in Austria, and a decent time in Italy (marred by too many rambunctious kids at our hotel), but Switzerland turned out to be a healing balm to us after four hectic nights at the nice, but noisy and busy Italian property. I was able to rest in Switzerland… enjoy peace and quiet and good food, as well as an excellent spa at the Oberwaid in St. Gallen. I have noticed that Switzerland does spa retreats well.
I was definitely eager to go back to Switzerland, even if it meant we’d be spending more money than usual for our long weekend break. What the hell, anyway? Prior to this past weekend, we hadn’t done any decent traveling in a long time. We might as well spend some money and have some laughs and big fun. As it turned out, we even spent less than I feared we would.
So I’m going to write up my usual blow by blow account of our trip to Die Schweiz, as the Germans like to call it. I expect this series will run at least six or seven parts, depending on how I split up the story. We had a really nice time, and got some much needed rest and relaxation. Now it’s time to get back to work… and reality. Luckily for me, part of my “life’s work” is writing this blog. 😉
Before COVID times, Bill and I loved to visit Little Italy in Wiesbaden. It was one of the first restaurants we discovered when we moved to Wiesabaden in 2018. We love going there on Sundays and having long, elegant lunches. The pandemic put our habit to an end. I think the last time we managed to visit was in summer 2020. Today, Bill asked if I wanted to go out to lunch, and I was happy to agree. And when we parked in Wiesbaden, we found our way to Little Italy, where we were quickly welcomed and seated indoors. We mentioned our vaccinations, but the waiter didn’t seem to care. He simply pointed out the Luca app for contract tracing purposes.
Today’s lunch was as wonderful as always, coupled with fine service and good wine. Below are some photos.
Bill is back to perusing menus.
Bill had slice rinderfilet (steak) with mashed potatoes with black olives, vegetables, and parmesan cheese.
I had shrimp with lime risotto. Both his dish and mine were garnished with sweet potato chips.
As you can see, Bill HATED his lunch. 😉
I hated mine, too… 😉
For dessert, Bill had tiramisu.
I had an ice cream tartufo (truffle) garnished with whipped cream and fruit.
While I had a second glass of Montpulciano, Bill had an espresso.
I really enjoyed my risotto, which was perfect and full of shrimp– four grilled on top, and several mixed in the creamy, lime scented risotto. It was pure comfort food. For once, it wasn’t topped with a bread stick. Bill loved his sliced filet, which was cooked to medium rare perfection. I was surprised to see black olives mixed with the potatoes, but Bill said it was really excellent. And, of course, we paired everything with sparkling water and a glass of Primitivo for him and Montepulciano for me.
While we were dining, I got a private message from a Peace Corps friend of mine. He was was a Volunteer in Russia in the early 1990s, then came to Armenia to work. I met him when he was working for the United Methodist Committee on Relief. I was teaching business English there. I had lost touch with him about a year ago, so I was glad to get his message, especially since just last night, we had a memorial for an Armenia Volunteer who suddenly died a couple of months ago. My old friend is the same age as the guy we memorialized last night.
Other than that, it was another wonderful lunch at a neighborhood favorite. We spent about 89 euros before the tip, and it was money well spent. I doubt we’ll need much of a dinner… but I’ll probably indulge in some wine… to process last night a bit. On the way out of Wiesabaden, I got a few photos…
This stone in the sword is right next to a rabbit warren. I saw one of the bunnies when I approached.
A shot of Wiesbaden’s distinctive steepled skyline.
An Italian gelato truck! First time I’ve seen one.
It’s so nice to see things a bit more normal… I don’t know how long it will last, but we’re going to enjoy it.
In other travel news, I have finally booked us a trip to Zurich. Yes, this will be our first visit there, even though we’ve lived pretty close for years. When we were in Stuttgart, we could have been there in about two hours. I got us four nights, starting July 22. I think we’ll do some specialized touring, to include visits to Carl Jung’s museum, which I know will fascinate Bill. Maybe a stop at the Lindt Chocolate Factory for me… I can’t wait. We’re ready for a change of scenery.
In celebration of our fully vaccinated and certified status, Bill and I decided to visit Wiesbaden yesterday. It was my first visit to the downtown in almost a year. I hated the COVID-19 rules so much that I just stayed home, where I could do my own thing without having to worry about confrontations, dirty looks, or judgments from other people. I realize that attitude was probably prompted by news articles and social media posts I was reading on the Internet about how things are in the United States. I read so many accounts of people getting into altercations about COVID-19 that it just turned me off of interacting with other people. So, visiting Wiesbaden was kind of a big deal. I guess our Heidelberg visit last weekend was a reminder to me that life is still going on where we live, too.
I took some photos of what was happening in Wiesbaden yesterday, as well as our visit to Scotch N’ Soda, an Irish pub and popular American hangout. We stopped in for lunch and got treated to a little concert by buskers… guys I’ve seen before in the city. They rove around town with their instruments. One guy has an upright bass violin. We saw him lugging it around before he met his buddies for their session. I was so happy to see and hear them that I tipped ten euros. One of them rewarded me with “twinkling eyes” (he squinted and smiled affectionately– I used to see this in Armenia all the time) and a hearty “Danke schoen!”
Politics… as we were leaving, this truck was parked in the walkplatz. A table was set up with Schwag, and there were cops everywhere. Looks like a rally!
I had forgotten how pretty Wiesbaden is.
It definitely has a posh vibe.
It’s as if God was shining down on us… the bells were ringing, too.
The outdoor seating areas were full of people dining out.
The market was shutting down. I wished we were earlier, so we could have gotten some produce.
Signs of life and happiness everywhere.
Yes, we’re open!
Restaurant row was hopping! It was a little too crowded for me, though, despite the plexiglass barriers put up to hamper the spread of germs.
Bill checks out the bar menu at Scotch N’ Soda.
I thought about the MO FO burger, until I realized how huge it is… hence the hefty price tag.
Buskers!
That steakhouse also has good food.
I had spare ribs. Had to take some home.
The ribs came with mashed potatoes and salad. Bill had to help.
He had fish n’ chips, which were excellent.
This is so Wiesbaden…
There’s a lot of money here.
It’s not uncommon to see many ladies who lunch, dressed to the nines and driving hot cars.
Yeah… it fucked my year!
A classic European version of the brown squirrel who kindly posed for me. American squirrels don’t look this cute. I think think the squirrel approved of our fun yesterday.
As we were enjoying beer and lunch at Scotch N’ Soda, the buskers played “my song”. It’s not my song in that I love it– although I do. It’s my song because I’ve sung it so many times that the lyrics are burned on my brain and I can’t mess it up. I’m the same way with Patsy Cline’s version of “Crazy”. I don’t actually do those songs very often anymore, because I’ve done them so many times. But people who know me and know my songs, know those are perennial favorites from way back!
Another one of our funny experiences in a Biergarten.
On our way out of Wiesbaden, a young woman with a child asked me in German if I had two ten cent pieces for a twenty cent piece. I was surprised when I understood her without having to think too hard about it. I guess seven years in Germany is finally rubbing off on me. 😉
I think we may head out again today… take my Mini Cooper convertible, which has suffered mightily from disuse during the pandemic. We had to replace the battery two or three times because it went dead from lack of driving. Finally, we bought a battery charger and an air pump for the tires, which also were going flat from temperature changes and lack of use. Normally, during the summer months, we use my car all the time!
I would like to drive to the Rhein– maybe to Eltville or Bacharach. I’m not sure how successful that would be, though, because Die Salzbachtalbrücke, which is a bridge on A66 is falling apart and will have to be blown up soon, because it can’t be repaired. That means a traffic nightmare for the next fourteen months or so, or at least that’s what the paper estimates. I’m pretty sure we usually go over that to get to those areas… and there are other places we haven’t been recently that need our attention. Maybe we’ll hit Hofheim today, instead. We’ll see… it’s just so nice to finally have the option to go out and be relatively free to be normal.
Wiesbaden was almost back to normal yesterday. They didn’t even do contact tracing at Scotch N’ Soda yesterday… no need to use the Luca app for checking in, like we did in Heidelberg last weekend. I hope the trend continues, although everybody is a bit worried about the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus.
I think now it’s time to plan for a vacation… and a trip to Stuttgart for dental hygiene purposes.
Every once in awhile, I try to write blog posts that are genuinely helpful. Today’s post is meant as a service to Americans in Germany, or possibly elsewhere in Europe, who are confounded by the new COVPass app and COVID-19 vaccine certificates. I know a lot of us are in helpful Facebook groups where this information is already available, but for those who aren’t… here’s my story about getting pandemic “legit”.
Edited to add on June 26th: The Corona Warn app is also acceptable for uploading the certificates. I just downloaded that app using my new German iTunes account, and I think I actually like it better than COVPass. It offers more functionality, such as warning of high infection rates, creating QR codes for events, and uploading tests. But for the purpose of uploading certificates, both apps work fine.
Edited to add October 7, 2021: I understand that the COVPass app is now available in the US Apple Store. I haven’t tried to download it, since I already have the app from the German store. This development should make things much easier for Americans, though.
A couple of weeks ago, I read an interesting article on The Local: Germany about 50 year old John Camp, an American guy in Cologne who had gotten a COVID vaccine in the United States. When he got back to Germany with his white CDC vaccine card, he found that 8 out of 10 of German officials didn’t want to recognize it. Camp was significantly inconvenienced, because when he’d show the white CDC card– say when he wanted to eat at a restaurant or visit a gym– the locals would balk at accepting it because the CDC card is in English and lacks official stamps.
A screenshot of a trusty German Impfbuch (vaccination book). You can get one of these at a doctor’s office, pharmacy, or Amazon.de, among other places.
If you were to get your vaccine locally, you would get a yellow booklet (Impfbuch) that can be stamped. I got a very similar yellow booklet years ago, when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer. I probably still have it somewhere in storage. It’s an internationally recognized document put out by the World Health Organization. Why the US isn’t also using the yellow booklet, I don’t know. In any case, if you’re American and you get your shot(s) on a military installation or at home in the States, you’ll get a white card instead of a yellow booklet. That can be problematic in some areas of Germany or other parts of Europe, especially where there aren’t a lot of Americans.
German officials at the Robert Koch Institut have introduced the COVPass app, which allows users to upload their vaccine info into smartphones. That makes it easier to prove vaccination status without having to carry a paper around everywhere. The problem is, the German app is only available in the German iTunes store or on Google Play (for Android users). Additionally, it can be accessed from the HUAWEI app gallery.
As an American, I have a US iTunes account. I don’t have an Android phone, and the HUAWEI app gallery proved to be utterly useless. Nevertheless, I managed to get the app loaded and functional last night. So here’s the step by step process on how I went about getting COVID-19 legit. This could work for you, too.
Step 1. I found a pharmacist to issue the official certificates with the QR code by searching the My Pharmacy Manager database for participating pharmacies.
According to the article in The Local: Germany, not all pharmacies are participating in issuing the COV-Pass QR codes at this time. Some pharmacies don’t have the system working yet, and others are apparently opting out (per the article dated June 14th– that may have since changed). So I used the pharmacy manager database to locate a participating pharmacy near me.
Step 2. Bill sent an email in German to a local pharmacist.
This is probably an unnecessary step for anyone living in an area where there are a lot of Americans. We only did it because in the article about John Camp, the American in Cologne, it mentioned that he went to six different pharmacies before he found one that could help him get certified with his American credentials. Now, this was a few weeks ago, and he’s in Cologne, which isn’t loaded with American residents. Things might have changed significantly since that article was written. But we didn’t have the time or inclination to go hunting for a pharmacy that could help us, so we pre-emptively asked the pharmacist if our American CDC cards would be a problem before we visited.
Bill only asked the pharmacist if she would recognize the CDC card because of the article I read. John Camp had explained that one of the SIX pharmacists he visited could make certificates, but would not recognize his Pfizer vaccine. This was because the US vaccine name “Pfizer” wasn’t listed in the drop down menu of available vaccines on the program the pharmacists are using. Even when Camp tried to tell the German pharmacist that the Pfizer shot is the same product as the locally named BioNTech vaccine, it was still a “no go”. So our pre-emptive email to the local pharmacist was simply to save us time and aggravation. This probably wouldn’t be an issue with the Moderna shots, which are named the same in Europe as they are in the States.
We went to Heidelberg last weekend, and knew we’d need our certificates for our trip. So, after we found a participating pharmacist in nearby Wallau, Bill sent her an email in German, which also wasn’t necessary since she was fluent in English. Bill explained that we’re U.S. citizens who live in Wiesbaden and we got our Moderna vaccines on post. He asked the pharmacist if she would recognize the CDC card. The pharmacist responded that it was no problem.
Step 3. Bill dropped off our paperwork at the participating pharmacy.
In our case, it took a couple of days to get the certificates made. That’s because on the day we requested them, the system crashed, as a whole lot of people were trying to access it at the same time. You probably won’t have to drop off your paperwork like we did. You’ll likely get same day service. However, I recommend bringing copies of the CDC card, in case you do get snagged by a system crash or some other unforeseen issue.
Don’t leave the actual card with the pharmacist; treat it like you would treat any other important document. The pharmacist we had was willing to make copies for us, but your mileage may vary. It’s probably best to be prepared with your own copies.
I didn’t have to be present when Bill dropped off the copies of our CDC cards. We also didn’t need our passports, although some people have said they’ve needed them. I suggest making a copy of the front page, just in case you run into a more anal retentive pharmacist than we did. You also might want to arrange to get the certificates a few days before a scheduled trip to allow for any extra time needed due to system crashes, logistical hassles, uptight officials, or other SNAFUs.
Step 4. Bill picked up our certificates with the QR codes.
Again, I didn’t have to be present. You may want to plan for a wait. When we got our certificates, there was a line of people standing outside of the pharmacy, either to get the certificates or pick up medications.
The pharmacist gave us each two certificates— one for each vaccine. If you don’t manage to get the app, you can also show the paper certificates.
Step 5. I made a new Apple ID basing my location in Germany.
Right now, the German COVPass app isn’t available in the US iTunes store. I couldn’t easily switch my account to Germany, because I have unfinished subscriptions on Apple TV. If you don’t have unfinished Apple TV subscriptions, you can just change your account to Germany without making a new ID.
I couldn’t use Google Play because that only works for Android phones. So, what I did was make a new Apple ID. There are lots of articles on how to accomplish this technological feat. Here’s a link to instructions directly from Apple Support, although these aren’t the instructions I used.
It did take awhile to set up the new ID, and it was a bit of a pain in the ass to do it, mainly because the new ID wanted my billing information. Since I am an American in Germany, I have US credit cards and a US billing address, even though I have a German physical address. Not all Americans have this problem, because some have wisely set up German bank accounts. Alas, Bill didn’t listen to me when I suggested that he do that in 2014, so I frequently run into the address discrepancy issue.
Usually, using PayPal solves the address discrepancy problem, but that wasn’t the case last night. Apple recognized my APO address through PayPal, and would not let me input my German phone number with the American address. Eventually, I just made the account without the payment info and used an old US phone number. It still let me keep my German location. Since this app doesn’t cost anything, it doesn’t matter. I probably wouldn’t want to buy anything from German iTunes anyway.
You may want to be near your other computer devices as you’re making a German iTunes account. I had to use my iPad to get codes and confirm my identity on the phone. That’s another reason it took time. Yes, it was a pain in the ass– all in the name of security.
Step 6. Once I had the German iTunes account, I downloaded the COVPass app.
This was super easy.
It’s finally on my phone!
Step 7. I aimed the QR reader through the COVPass app at the QR code on each of the certificates made by the local pharmacist.
Again… super easy! My phone immediately recognized the codes and I was gratified to see all of my info loaded into the phone. This will make traveling a whole lot easier! Hopefully, as Americans start coming back to Europe, the white CDC cards will be less of an issue. But, until then, the official app is a huge help.
Success!On the next page is the special QR code generated just for me.
Now that I have this app on my phone, I won’t need to carry the certificates with me, although I probably will. I have a tendency to dump stuff in my purse where it stays until I buy a new one. Since my current handbag is an expensive Harris Tweed number I bought in Scotland, I probably won’t be cleaning out my purse anytime soon. But this app will certainly make things easier for those who prefer to travel light.
One other note— once I got the app and uploaded my certificates through the QR reader, I didn’t need to keep my iTunes account set to Germany. I switched back to my US account and the app is still accessible and works as expected. How convenient!
Hopefully, this process will become even more streamlined in the weeks to come and you won’t need to follow as many steps as I did. In the meantime, I hope this guide is helpful! Wishing you happy, plentiful, and safe COVID-19 travels!
Five more days to go before I’m fully “street legal”, as Bill puts it. I don’t know what we’ll do this weekend, but if we stay home, it may be the last time for awhile. Next weekend, we will be going to Heidelberg for the weekend. I’ve booked us a beautiful hotel which has a (hopefully) great bar, a spa, and gourmet food. Since Bill is now considered fully vaccinated and I will be by the time we check in, I don’t expect we’ll have to take COVID-19 tests. I have yet to actually be tested for COVID, because I have spent most of the pandemic holed up in our house.
It’s been a long, monotonous stretch since last October, which was when we had our last trip. That was when we picked up Noyzi, the Kosovar wonder dog. I look forward to interacting with people again. I think it will help Bill and me a whole lot. Bill needs a vacation. He’s been working non-stop, as have all of his co-workers. So this planned trip to Heidelberg will be a welcome taste of freedom, and it will give Noyzi the chance to try out the Tierpension. The next trip after Heidelberg will probably be to Stuttgart, so we can see the dentist.
Bill and I have visited Heidelberg before, back in October 2008, when we lived in Stuttgart the first time. In those days, there was still a functioning Army post there. We had several friends who were posted there. After we left in 2009, two more of Bill’s former co-workers moved to Heidelberg. I think they both left when it came time to move their offices up to Wiesbaden in anticipation of Heidelberg’s closure in 2013. It will be interesting to check out the city without the Army flavor that existed there for decades. It really is a nice place, and I look forward to relaxing, eating good food, and taking lots of new pictures.
This morning on our walk, I went the “old” way, rather than the new route we’ve been doing. It’s a slightly shorter route to go the old way, but it doesn’t really change where we go much. I just wanted to avoid disturbing a hardworking farmer who was tending his field on the newer route. I’m glad we went the old way, because we were treated to sounds of a neighing horse. There have been a few times we’ve walked on our route and run into a lady with a couple of bay mares she hitches to a wagon. I think she might actually have a barn for her mares on our walking route and puts them out to pasture in one of the fields nearby. Sometimes, when we’re walking through there, I can smell the heavenly scent of horses, but today was the first time I actually heard one neighing.
And we were also visited by a special feathered friend…
Looks like a big ol’ stork…
Thank God for zooming!
This bird wasn’t too worried about the dogs…
even though Arran was in stealth mode…
This was how far it was really away from us, minus the zoom.
Off to find some food, I guess.
It’s not that uncommon to see these birds in Europe. I have seen them a lot in Alsace, but also down near the Swiss/German border. I have never seen a stork in Breckenheim, but obviously they exist. I didn’t see a nest anywhere, and stork’s nests are pretty easy to spot. Wonder where this bird flew in from…
Wiesbaden is already notable because there are wild parakeets/parrots here. Sometimes people who don’t know about them spot them in trees and think someone’s pet got loose. I haven’t seen any of the special birds yet, but maybe I will before we leave here someday. Below is a video someone posted of the parakeets copulating.
Well… just a week before I can bring this blog back to its original function of being a “travel” blog. Looking forward to it! And on the occasion of our planned trip to the next state, here’s a plucky song about Heidelberg a German friend shared with me today.
Now… off to go turn off the lawnmower, have some lunch, and take a nap.
Poor Bill had his second Moderna shot yesterday. The installation opened up some walk in slots for the second vaccine, so Bill went so he could spare himself a long drive to Landstuhl today. He went to Landstuhl for the first shot, back in late April. It’s not such a bad drive to get there, but it does take about an hour just to get out that way. Then he’d have to get through the process and drive back. It’s much easier to get the shot locally, which is what I plan to do myself in a couple of weeks.
He was feeling okay after the shot, but by about 3:00am, he started feeling like he did when we both got swine flu in December 2013. Today, he’s taking it easy, lying in bed. Luckily, the sheets are nice and fresh, since we washed everything yesterday.
I just took the dogs for a walk. I didn’t mind, since my new Apple Watch gives me pep talks about exercising. Bill usually walks the dogs if he’s home, but he’s not up to it today. So off I went, and I managed to get some photos of the flowers blooming in our neighborhood, along with some meddlesome nettles. No, they aren’t particularly exciting pictures… and I look forward to when we can get out and see and do more. Hopefully, that won’t be too much longer, as COVID-19 infection numbers continue to drop here in Deutschland. I think it’s partly due to the weather, and mostly due to people becoming vaccinated, at long last. After a slow start, Germany has kicked its immunization program into high gear! Hooray!
I started with a shot of these horrid plants… nettles! They are EVERYWHERE in Germany.
Pretty purple flowers…
growing with the nettles next to the creek.
I love walking past the creek…
Wish I could see it a little more clearly.
I love the sound of rushing water.
Daisies… I like how Germans will mow around patches of wild flowers.
More daisies and buttercups and dandelions…
As I was taking this photo, Arran was doing his part to fertilize. 😉
If there weren’t an Autobahn on the right edge, this would almost look bucolic. You can’t see our Rewe, either.
I like how bursts of color pop up through the asphalt.
These last four…
are pictures of…
my neighbors’
well-tended gardens…
I meant to get a picture of this one lady’s tree, next to her well-tended house. Under the tree is a carpet of beautiful purple flowers. I noticed it the other day and thought it looked so pretty. I feel fortunate to live in a safe, clean, country where people work to beautify the surroundings, especially in the spring. Maybe tomorrow, I’ll get a chance to take a photo of that pretty flower adorned tree. Perhaps Bill and I can even take a walk together, like we did in the old days.
The elderly lady who lives in that house has a little female dog who does NOT like other dogs. We run into her quite frequently, and her little dog always acts like the proverbial bitch, wanting to take a piece out of Arran and Noyzi (and Zane before him). Her dog barks, shows her teeth, and strains against the bright orange leash the lady uses to keep her in check. It’s a myth that all German dogs are perfectly trained. But the lady is nice enough and always says “Guten Morgen” when we pass each other.
The featured photo is the rainbow that appeared after it rained all day and the sun came out. The rainbow only lasted for a couple of minutes, so I was lucky to catch it. I hope it’s a good omen that means better days are coming soon. At the very least, Bill should be feeling better tomorrow. And then we can look forward to when shot number two knocks me on my ass.
Although my travel blog has kind of tanked thanks to COVID-19, I decided to go ahead and renew my subscription for the next two years. I use the WordPress business plan, so it wasn’t cheap to renew. I spent $521, but that’s good until July 2023. For all I know, we could still be here that far down the line. Or we could be living somewhere else… probably in Europe. That seems to be where Bill’s best prospects for employment are at this point in time.
Bill got home from his latest TDY from Hell yesterday. On Thursday, he’ll get his second vaccination. Then, on June 9th, I’ll get my second shot… and then, maybe I can get back to reviewing restaurants and visiting exotic places. There are so many areas I still want to see. At this point, our plans to travel will come down to what places are open and which ones will give us the least hassle.
I suspect that our weekends at home may soon be coming to an end. I look forward to getting out more, if only so I can take more pictures. I’m getting tired of seeing the same ones on my photo feed every day. And I’m tired of only writing about what happens in Breckenheim.
Incidentally, Noyzi is fine after last week’s pet toy scare. He spent a couple of days pooping out the toy he partially ingested and never had a single moment’s trouble.
Today is Whit Sunday (Whitsun or “White Sunday”), a religious holiday that is celebrated in Germany, along with Whit Monday. I had almost forgotten about it, until I noticed the “three day holiday” mentioned in The Local, a useful online news source for English speakers in Germany (I think they have different editions for countries all over Europe). I finally broke down and bought a subscription last year. For the most part, I’m glad I did. It helps me figure out life in this country that isn’t really home, but has sort of become home. Or, at least it helps me keep informed about what the rules are now, regarding COVID-19.
Whit Sunday is the Christian High Holy Day of the Pentecost, which is celebrated 50 days after Easter. According to Google, “…it commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles.” I don’t think too many Germans are very religious these days, but they do love their holidays. That’s probably why they still celebrate religious holidays like Whit Sunday and Whit Monday and close all the stores. Germany is pretty unusual in that stores are still closed on Sundays, although plenty of Germans don’t subscribe to religion or identify with another faith, like Islam or Judaism.
I hear my landlord’s grandchildren outside. That’s not unusual, though. They come over a lot.
The sun is finally out and the weather is slightly warmer… although it’s still unseasonably chilly for May. It’s hard to believe that in two months, it’ll probably be hot again. One thing I do appreciate about Germany is that the summer heat doesn’t last for too long, especially since air conditioning is not a given, especially in people’s homes.
Anyway… thanks to today’s purchase, this blog will be around for the next two years at the very least. Unless, of course, I croak or wind up in jail or something. I don’t have plans for either of those things to happen, but you know what they say about life being what happens when you’re busy making plans. 😉 As I learned once again this week, you never know when things can suddenly change.
I think one of our first trips will be to Stuttgart, so we can finally see the dentist. Beyond that, I have no idea where we’ll end up going. I’m just so glad to finally see the COVID-19 infections dropping and things slowly opening up again. The constant lockdown has been extreme, and I know for me, it’s been hard on my mental health. I’m also getting a little too comfortable with being a hermit, and that’s no way to live. So here’s to two more years… and the prospect of breaking out of this COVID-19 exile.
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