MY FIRST ( very subjective) EXPERIENCE TRAVELING TO EUROPE SINCE 2020
I was very excited to have been invited to one of the first “in person” travel events which took place in the Lake Garda region in Northern Italy in October. I have chosen not to be vaccinated, so I did have some apprehension about the ability to easily navigate the check-in process at the airport, as well as being allowed to have easy admittance into Italy and Croatia once landed.
Because I did have COVID earlier this summer ( an almost completely asymptomatic form of it) I asked my personal physician to examine me, write an official letter of recovery and follow it up with a blood test showing antibodies in my system. One day before departure I also organized a rapid antigen test which came back negative. In addition to that, I had a letter from the organizers of the event I was to attend attesting that my reason for travel was work related.
Just prior to the departure date, Delta Airlines advised that I should fill out “Passenger Locator Form” online, which I dutifully complied with.
Armed with all this documentation both in electronic form as well as in hard copy, I approached the check-in counter at Delta in Miami. They wanted to see my passport as well as the result of my most recent antigen test. Nothing else interested them.
Upon arrival at Malpensa Airport in Milan, once again they were only interested in seeing my passport. They stamped it and I was on my way. Now I’m thinking: was I over prepared? Did I stress for nothing? I was almost disappointed that no one challenged me for not being vaccinated, particularly because I came armed with so much documentation. Yet no one seemed remotely interested. That was an eye opener!
Once my event was over, I took a train to Venice. On board the train I was asked to produce what Italians call a “green pass”. Since as US citizens we have no such thing, I showed the antigen test result I had received the day before landing in Italy. A quick glance looking for the word “ negative” was sufficient. Had they looked at the date they may have discovered that it was outdated at that point, but bureaucracy being what it is, that didn’t much matter. After spending a day in Venice never being asked for proof of vaccination or other documentation, I headed for the airport to check in to an Austrian Airlines flight flying Venice-Vienna-Zagreb. Of course while inside the airport I was wearing my ubiquitous blue mask; the very same one that had sufficed during all my travels up until that point, but Austrian Airlines had other ideas. An airline agent approached me while in line and advised me that I needed to have a K95 surgical mask in order to fly. Quite conveniently the coffee shop in that immediate area was selling them for €10 ( scam?). Now I try to check in. I was asked for a current antigen test which I did not have. The agent asked me to go back to the entrance area of the airport where I could be tested. Of course I had done research and knew that if I had a certificate of recovery, a test was not required for travel within Europe. The agent seemed baffled once I advised her of this but she was kind enough to look up the latest rules. Once certain that I was correct, I received my boarding passes. That was the ONLY time during my entire trip that my doctor’s note became useful. From that point on, including my arrival in Zagreb, it was smooth sailing.
I spent 3 days in Zagreb and then one week sailing the Adriatic on a yacht.
No need to display any type of certificates or green passes anywhere and masks were not required indoors or out. At the end of the Croatian portion of my trip we were all advised that in order to be able to fly out of the country we would be compelled to show a negative test. Conveniently, a doctor boarded our yacht in Split to collect €50 per person to perform a perfunctory non-test ( the swabs were just discarded after the pseudo test, something I witnessed personally). Naturally within a hour everyone in our group received a message showing an official negative diagnosis.
Again entering Italy at Fiumicino airport in Rome, only the passport was required, no other document.
Three days later I left Rome to return to the US. I went to a pharmacy directly across the street from my hotel to submit myself to the second test during my three and a half week voyage. It cost €15. Within 30 minutes i again had a negative diagnosis on my phone.
What is my conclusion after this experience? Being over prepared is cumbersome, yet advisable because one never knows who could ask for what during travels in Europe. My personal experience is that being vaccinated in order to travel is unnecessary, since you have to have a negative test whether vaccinated or not in order to leave and to return to the US. It is mostly theater in my opinion, and a way for test givers to make money. None of the theatrics are in place to keep anyone safe, rather they just want to give the appearance of doing so.
I will now travel more, and with less apprehension and stress. I can play the game, because in the end, that’s all it is.
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