It’s two weeks until Christmas! With no plans solidified for the holidays here in Dublin, I decided to book a trip to visit my friend O. in Strasbourg, France over New Year’s, Dec 28 – Jan 3. The last time I was in Strasbourg was in 2018 for my 45th birthday. Strasbourg is known for its famous Christmas markets, but unfortunately those aren’t happening this year due to COVID.
Of course, later today after I booked my trip, France announces that it will be imposing a curfew from 8pm-6am starting Dec 15, which will last through New Year’s Eve. We weren’t planning anything crazy, but the curfew means it will be a much smaller group celebrating together, probably just at O’s place. It should be good company nevertheless.
I’ll be flying Lufthansa business class (which wasn’t that much more than economy) from Dublin to Frankfurt with connecting bus service to Strasbourg. I originally thought of flying to Paris and taking the high speed train, but the connection would have been a little tricky and Air France has suspended its combined air + rail bookings. I’ve been through the Frankfurt airport many times but have never taken the bus to Strasbourg. My friend O. has done it several times and explained where I need to go to catch the bus, so hopefully it will all go smoothly.
COVID travel restrictions vary by EU country. I researched the requirements before booking my trip to make sure there weren’t any show-stoppers, although I’m still not 100% of everything and of course restrictions could change. The good news is that borders have remained open within the EU, so that’s not an issue (if I were flying from the U.S. it would be trickier if not impossible). Germany requires travelers arriving from other countries to quarantine for 10 days, although there’s an exception for passengers in transit (like in my case) who are just passing through and not overnighting. Meanwhile, France requires travelers to fill out two forms (a travel certificate stating a reason for traveling to France and a declaration saying you don’t have any symptoms) and to obtain a negative COVID test result no more than 72 hours before their arrival or to get tested upon arrival (airports have testing centers, but it’s unclear if bus stations would?). Quarantine is only required if a test performed upon arrival comes back positive. OK, this sounds do-able. However, I found the information on the French government’s websites somewhat confusing or even contradictory… on one hand, it says EU citizens “can enter metropolitan France without any COVID-19 restrictions”, but it also says the travel certificate, declaration form and COVID test are required for everybody. So maybe I don’t have to get tested or fill out the forms?! Based on the best information I could find, it seems getting a COVID test before traveling to France would be a good idea, even if it might not be required. Plus, it would also give me (and my friend O.) peace of mind that I am not spreading the virus to others.
There are COVID travel test centres at the Dublin airport run by private companies, and even though they do offer same day express results, I decided it would be better to get tested 1-2 days before my departure just so that there are no last minute surprises. The tests are expensive — €149 for the regular test (results within a day) and €199 for the express test (results within 2-3 hours). You have to reserve an appointment time and pay in advance, and there appear to be lots of appointment times still available, even during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I decided to pick an afternoon time on Saturday December 26, two days before my flight to Frankfurt.
It’s only after booking the appointment and paying the non-refundable fee that I see the directions to the “Roc Doc” testing centre indicate it’s drive-thru only. I start wondering how I’ll manage that… could I hire a taxi or Uber to drive me to the airport and take me through the testing line, then back? Renting a car for such a short trip seems like too much of a hassle, so then I start looking into GoCar, one of those new generation car-by-the-hour services like Zipcar, that operates in Dublin. I download GoCar’s app, sign up for an account, and upload front/back photos of my U.S. driver’s license; I’m still waiting on final confirmation and activation of GoCar account. Apparently, I’m permitted to drive in Ireland up to 12 months before I have to get an Irish license (which I’ll do if/when I ever get my PPS number). I should mention that I don’t have any experience driving on the left side of the road… on previous trips to Ireland, either someone else drove or I didn’t need a car because I was just staying in Dublin. I figure that beyond using it for the drive-thru COVID test, GoCar might be a good way of practising driving here and would enable me to do short trips away from Dublin city centre.
While I’m pondering solutions to this challenge, I also send an email to the “Roc Doc” testing centre’s general inbox explaining that I didn’t realise it was drive-thru only. Then I discover that another company, “Randox,” is running a walk-up testing facility at the airport. (Did the names of the two testing centres have to be so similar?! How confusing!) A response from Roc Doc arrived this evening saying that “There is now a walk-in facility in Dublin Airport”, but it’s unclear if that means *Roc Doc* also runs a walk-in facility and I can go there for the appointment I booked with them, or if they are referring to *Randox* that presumably would require a separate booking and fee. I email Roc Doc back asking for a clarification, so we’ll see what they say. At this point, I’m sold on the drive-thru test… it will be more of an adventure!
I stayed inside again most of the day working on these travel arrangements, which actually worked out well because another package/parcel was scheduled to be delivered today. It’s a consolidated shipment of various items I purchased from U.S. retailers and then had sent to ReShip, the forwarding service I’ve been using (and the one that wouldn’t ship my prescription meds). In addition to the cost of shipping from the U.S. to Ireland, I was notified by text and email from DHL this morning that tariffs and fees of €75 were being assessed on the package. I’m not sure what in it would have triggered this… it’s mostly clothes and a couple of low-value tech accessories like an iPhone charger and laptop sleeve. It’s a good lesson that I should only use the forwarding service for things that are truly worth shipping from the U.S. The package arrives in the afternoon, no hassles. DHL seems to be the best shipping service so far.
In late afternoon, my friend J texts to ask if I’d want to hang out this evening. I say sure! We end up grabbing an early dinner at Zaytoons, a really good kebab place in Temple Bar. We opt to dine-in since there is plenty of space between tables, and it’s not very crowded.
A few quick pics during my brief outing today… another view of Dublin City Hall:
Love Lane is a small alleyway in Temple Bar with an art project made of tiles adorning the wall:
It’s raining out, so after eating we decide just to go back to the apartment and watch some TV. J has been binge-watching past seasons of RuPaul’s drag race, so we pick a season he hasn’t seen yet and enjoy some light entertainment that takes our minds off COVID and everything else that has happened in 2020.
Until next time…
