We are supposed to leave next Friday. Landing in Salzburg. Doing the whole southern area with castles in Rhine area, etc. If you are currently there, could you answer the following for me?
- Are most restaurants still open? I hear of "empty shelves".... how are restaurants? I have Celiac and am afraid I'll get there and have no food to eat.
-Are most of the tourist sites (castles, etc) still open?
Thanks.
I am on the border of Germany, I go to Germany most weeks, last time on Tuesday to do some shopping.
Everything is totally normal. Shops are normal, restaurants are open, unless you consult the media you wouldn't notice anything.
Some large gatherings are being cancelled (concerts, football matches etc.). This is less strict than Switzerland, which has banned all events with more than 1000 people attending, or France which has banned events with more than 5000.
I live here. It is business as usual. Other than a distinct lack of tourists, you won't notice any difference. No one in Frankfurt is wearing masks, my grocery store had fairly full shelves last night at 20:00. Nothing is closed, except they have moved some of the trade fairs to autumn.
Thanks for the song MarkK.
Here is my new favorite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_QXvh8fVPI
I went from frankfurt-Heidelburg-praque-En route to salzburg now and all is fine! No panic -Great time to travel cuz no crowds to hassle with and those that have common colds seem to be protecting themselves and others better than normal I.e masks, washing hands etc except I have noticed people coughing into hands Gross I wish they would cough into crook of arm like supposed to
I think I will come back to europe in two weeks again because I am loving the lack of crowds at otherwise normally overcrowded places (prague castle, old town etc )
First case of COVID-19 was reported yesterday in the Oberpfalz in Kümmersbruck near Amberg. Some children were sent home from school for a long weekend. Hand Sanitizer seems to be sold out in the local stores around me. I couldn't find any a few days ago. Locals are getting wary of traveling.
I came with the same question. Our family of 4 will arrive in Frankfurt, leaving next Friday. We will tour Bavaria, Neuschwanstein Castle and Munich. I'm pleased to hear that sights are still open. Should we reconsider any plans such as staying away from crowded places? Is there anything in the local news about the German government taking measures to limit crowd sizes in the next few weeks?
Is there anything in the local news about the German government taking measures to limit crowd sizes in the next few weeks?
A few days ago, when they introduced a limit of 1000 people in Switzerland, I remember one comment on the Swiss news that in Germany such things are done at the local level, Land (state) or Gemeinde/Stadt (municipality/town).
There was also a story in the local that although Fasnacht (carnival) was cancelled in Basel, the (much smaller) one in the Basel suburb of Weil-am-Rhein took place, which is Germany but reachable by tram from Basel.
Here: https://www.bazonline.ch/basel/gemeinden/die-fasnacht-findet-statt-an-der-endstation-des-8ertrams/story/26912642
In short, AFAIK no crowd size limit in Germany.
Should we reconsider any plans such as staying away from crowded places? Is there anything in the local news about the German government taking measures to limit crowd sizes in the next few weeks?
From today's perspective, I do not think there is a need to stay away from those crowded places. They will be less crowded than usual, anyway :-) The number of cases is still very low compared to the overall population. Washing your hands more frequently than usual and/or taking hand sanitizer might make sense though.
There are no reports of any nation wide crows size limits, though a lot of events have been cancelled.
The situation is developing very "dynamically". So check regularly for any updates. Also consider the risk back home: Who knows whether there will be quarantine measures when you return from Europe?
The truth is that no one can predict the situation in one or two weeks. Europe and Germany aren't as well prepared as many East Asian countries, where numbers stagnate at a very low level. Here they almost double every second day, just like in China at the beginning.
Excuse me, but the reason East Asian countries do better than more or less the whole West is: they learned their lesson during the SARS scare, and reacted differently this time. They screen aggressively, they cut their connections to places heavily affected by the virus and forced everyone coming from there into a quarantine, and most importantly: EVERYONE wears a mask. That's by far the most effective way to contain an outbreak. The population wears surgical masks to protect others, the medical stuff wears better masks to protect themselves. Singapore stocked up 4 for every household.
Universal mask-wearing as one of the reasons widespread outbreak didn't occur
The reaction in this country is a mix of arrogance and ignorance. We have the best healthcare system, our protocols are suitable, there is nothing to worry about. Nothing is true. They failed to contain the outbreak, and are afraid to deviate from the protocols. To this day it's possible to travel to Northern Italy, and when you return you neither get automatically registered nor tested nor quarantined. Did you notice how many people got the virus in South Tyrol? That's not even regarded as a hotspot yet, probably because they simply didn't test enough.
They also never promoted the use of masks, with the result that no one wears them. But right now it's not possible to get one anyway, since the market is emptied, the production is in China, the authorities never stocked up, and sent most of what they had to China 2 weeks ago. Great move. Now even the Charite, probably Germanys most prestigious hospital, can't keep up the security protocols because there isn't enough protective gear. Oh, and a truckload was stolen yesterday...
If you are super worried depending on your carrier you can rebook. My friend and I were slated to travel at the end of the month and we rebooked (supposed to be there from March 25-April 11) but with the situation being so fluid, and us going to North Rhine Westphalia (sp?) I think its for the best since we can't see what will happen. We moved the whole thing to October (though it was a fun 8 hours of calling Lufthansa fiasco)--- thankfully we didn't lose much $$ (maybe $250 pp in total with the one hotel that was non-refundable). I'm not really concerned about how the German people or government is handling the response, but whether or not things would begin to close while on vacation, or how dumb the American government is with quarantine procedures (or lack thereof) and GERMY people in general. I think there is just as much of a risk if not more of getting Covid19 here (aka SARS cov2--- as it IS a form of SARS)..but I feel like by October either 1) everyone will have caught it and recovered or 2) they will have some drugs to help the critically ill if you do catch it and have issues 3) the world hopefully will practice better hygiene (fingers crossed). Americans are germy and going to LAX right now sounds very annoying.
Frankly, that Germany has something like 950 coronavirus cases but no deaths sounds barely believeable. It may mean that deaths are classified under other causes (pneumonia, flu) but it does not sound good either.
Frankly, that Germany has something like 950 coronavirus cases but no deaths sounds barely believeable. It may mean that deaths are classified under other causes (pneumonia, flu) but it does not sound good either.
Well, what do you think would be the reasons for downplaying the epidemia? Political ones like (initially) in the US? Certainly not, since Covid-19 data are neither collected nor interpreted by the government but by the regional health authorities and the Robert Koch Institute. Both operate independently of the government and are not subject to any orders of it (unless the government declares a state of emergency). And both organizations have no interest in playing down the epidemic. On the contrary, after years of budget stagnation and even cutbacks, they can now prove how important their work is. And they are stating clearly that the epidemia is growing exponentially.
Sadly, the most dangerous part of the journey may be the flight over and back. The US Surgeon General has recommended that seniors avoid flying. If we must fly, it is recommended that we avoid using the flight's restroom as they are potential contact with a large percentage of the plane's passengers. I suppose one could make all sorts of jokes about Seniors crossing the Atlantic without using the restroom. Even without the coronavirus and flu, flights across the Atlantic can end with pretty discouraging toilets. We have tickets to depart in mid April but it keeps looking less likely.
Any estimate on how long this "greater than 1,000 person" ban in Bavaria will last? Does this apply to the Passion Play?
Or of more importance to some folks, Oktoberfest?
Any estimate on how long this "greater than 1,000 person" ban in Bavaria will last? Does this apply to the Passion Play?
It is supposed to last till Good Friday. No one knows for sure what will happen afterwards. According to the media, the Passion Play organizers are indeed worried they might have to cancel the events.
