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Germany
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2022-06-03
First Student Trip After COVID-19 Pandemic Began
I have led a student global travel trip for the last 10 years at my school. Because of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, our trip to Australia and New Zealand was delayed/cancelled until 2021 in hopes of COVID being over by then. I had 27 students have to postpone traveling on this trip. In 2021, we came across the same restrictions, and our trip was cancelled again. As we we were planning our 2022 trip, New Zealand still had quarantine rules that would have kept us in the hotel for a week before we would get to go anywhere or do anything. Due to this, we changed our trip to one to France, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. My students wanted to travel again, but did not know what to expect. There were still masking rules in place in a lot of the places we visited, and everyone had to take a mandatory COVID-19 test to be able to leave Europe at the end of the trip and get back into the United States. This was the scariest part because if your test revealed you were positive for COVID, you were required to stay in the country until you were negative. Everyone on the trip dreaded the day of the test because we had heard so many stories about other schools on different trips that had students who had failed the test. The trip was extremely important to me because it represented these students being able to fully restart their lives and finally be able to be kids again. This is a picture of me from the Louvre waiting my turn to see the Mona Lisa. It was taken immediately after I took a picture of all my students in front of the painting. I can see the happiness in my eyes again, getting to see students do something they love to do. -
2022-06-20
Mask in Germany
I found this mask on the ground outside of a subway in Germany. At the time, masks were still mandatory on transportation, which was surprising since most of the world didn’t make masks mandatory. They even had someone walking around to either give people masks or to remind them of the mask mandate. -
2022-04-29
My Timewarp
It started for me when I returned from a business trip in Europe in March 2020. I had to fly through Germany to get home. Early in the pandemic a new country got added to the no-fly list. When I got back home, I went to work for a few days and then was told from my manager that Germany just got put on the list that if you have been there, you had to quarantine, so I couldn't come to work even though I had already been there for 3 days. So, I worked from home the rest of the week. The next week was spring break and I had it off anyway. We had plans to go to Disneyland. We decided to go and had a two-day pass. We went to the park Thursday and were resting Friday and planned to use our second pass the next day when we got notified through the Disney App that the next day would be the last day the park would be open. Almost 10 minutes later our church sent an email that services would be cancelled for the foreseeable future. My husband and I decided it was best to go home even though we still had a day at Disney. It was sinking in that this wasn’t just a few days of inconvenience. It was serious and we should head home. The next few months were hectic, scary, annoying and lonely. My son was in kindergarten and had to miss a lot of first milestones. School at home for a Kindergartner was a joke, but the time we got to spend time together as a family was nice. My work was accommodating and provided everything I needed at home. Two years later I am still working from home. I gained 15 pounds but I am back to what I was when this all started. Things are getting back to normal now, but inflation is insane and the supply chain is a nightmare. I spent some of the evening today searching for formula for my sister-in-law in Utah. A formula shortage. Something as vital as feeding babies is hard to find. Additionally, Russia invaded Ukraine just over a month ago, so even though the pandemic has settled down, the world hasn’t. God bless us. -
2020-03-12
The emails
It's March 2020, a young freshmen college student is packed and ready to head to the airport for her one and only shot at study abroad for the next 4 years. As she lugs her suitcase down the stairs of her dorm she gets an email that she will never forget, the study abroad trip has been cancelled do to an outbreak of new viral disease in Berlin Germany. Disappointed she headed back upstairs to call her parents and let them know. She unpacks, and repacks from her home in Texas instead. Once home she receives another email from her school, classes will be online for 2 weeks after spring break due to this new viral disease going around. She's upset but settles in to doing class at home. Then comes another email. School will be online for the rest of her semester, move out from the dorms will be staggered over the next couple of weeks and return date to campus is unknown. She is upset and sad over the loss over the end of her freshmen year, but hopeful that this new disease will settle down and that life will be able to return to normal in the fall. Alas this was not true and the series of unfortunate emails just keep coming, email after email. She kept being disappointed and heart-broken over all the loss of memories and chances do to a virus. 2 year later, she now wonders will the emails ever stop? -
2022-04-03
Man in Germany gets 90 COVID-19 shots to sell forged passes
This is a story by The Hill about a German man from Magdeburg getting the COVID vaccines a copious amount of times in order to make forged vaccine cards. The man in question is 60 years old and was caught in Eilenburg in Saxony. The article states that we do not know what effects will happen after getting the vaccine 90 times. The German government has been trying to crack down on forgeries of vaccine cards. This probably speaks of a bigger nationwide issue, where people will want forgeries if forced to get the vaccines that they see as against their will. With that, brings people like this man who will get the vaccine many times in order to make money off of selling forged vaccine cards. -
2020-12-31
No More Travel
One of the main benefits of being in the military is the opportunity to travel overseas and experience other places, cultures, and people. I was stationed in Germany and had lost of ideas of where I was going to travel all across Europe during the summer and winter months, unfortunately, Europe locked down hard in the spring of 2020. I wanted to travel during the summer months and go to the beaches across the Mediterranean and see England when it wasn’t raining. During winter I had looked forward to seeing the famous German Christmas Markets and traveling to Switzerland to see the Alps covered in snow. Due to lockdowns none of this happened. For many the pandemic made if feel as if our lives were on hold. Not only were we missing out on small events here and there but also large chunks of our lifetime. I feel as if I was stuck waiting to live life, not able to really enjoy what was around me. -
2020-05
Silence in the Morning
At the beginning of the pandemic, I was working at a hotel on a US Military base in Stuttgart Germany where I typically worked the overnight shift. As such, my commute home in the mornings was usually the noisiest part of my day. I would often pass by the local bakery on my way home, one of the busiest places in town in the morning. I would hear the sounds of the shuffling of feet of the people in line, the clink of coins on the counter, the crinkle of paper bags filled with the daily bread the Germans would buy or the pastries they would eat for lunch, and the whine of the coffee machine for their morning coffee. In the background was the constant droning of the morning rush hour traffic. After the lockdown, when the German government shut down businesses, I had to continue working as the military converted the hotel I worked at into a quarantine facility. I continued with my overnight shifts and my commute home in the mornings while everyone else stayed home. What struck me the most about my new commute home was the silence. The utter lack of noise was practically oppressive. I could close my eyes and the only difference with the dead of night was the warmth of the sun beating on my skin. What was once the noisiest part of my day was now the quietest. -
2020-08-02
Sensory Overload in Brussels
I was living in Germany when the COVID lockdown began in 2020. One of the big perks of living in Europe is the ease of travel and close proximity of many cultures to experience. Germany, and Europe as a whole, were strictly locked down from March to August 2020, they were not allowing border crossing and all tourist locations were shut down. In August of 2020, Europe opened back up for tourism. Three of my friends and I jumped in our car and drove six hours to Brussels, Belgium. Our goal for the trip was to do a city walking tour that included chocolate and beer tasting, the chocolate was in the early afternoon and the beer was in the evening. After being stuck in our homes in Germany for five months, experiencing the taste of fresh Belgian chocolate was almost a sensory overload. We walked up and down the main “candy shop” road, sampling every kind of chocolate and even world-famous macaroons. The smells of chocolate and bakeries almost punching our noses. Later in the evening we went to the Delirium Brewery and sampled seasonal beers that were only available on site. We all enjoyed the experience of fresh crisp taste of Belgian beer right from the keg that you cannot get from drinking out of a bottle or can. I never thought that the COVID lockdown would numb my taste and smell in a way that wasn't a symptom of the virus. Being stuck in one place eating and drinking the same things day in and day out really makes you long for something different. We were very lucky to be able to have the opportunity to venture out to such a historic and important city of Europe to experience fresh tastes and smells. -
04/06/2021
Rachel Bryan Oral History, 2021/04/26
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05/07/2021
Kathy Volkmann Oral History, 2021/05/07
Kathy Volkmann works at a credit union in the center of Wisconsin. She also volunteers at a museum through the Marathon County Historical Society. In the interview, she discusses the ways that Covid has changed the way she works and communicates with people around her. She also considers how museums in the present and future could be shaped by the virus. Additionally, she contemplates the ways that Covid has changed the way she looks at her community based on people who have not been cooperating with mask mandates and CDC guidelines. -
2020
International Discussion
This conversation was interesting to me because it is an example of how the internet has been able to give people an idea of what the pandemic has been like in other parts of the world. It also presents a strategy some leadership enacted to control the spread of the virus. -
2021-09-19
Berlin Travel
In September my family and I were able to travel to Berlin via the Deutchbahn (German Train). Our weekend in Berlin was fun, but from the picture, you can see we had to mask up. Many places in Europe still require face masks in public places. It is interesting to experience this as most places in America do not require masks. -
2021-08-01
Germany Travel Quarantine Guide
Germany would update its travel policy multiple times a month, depending on the number of COVID-19 cases in the country. As the rules would change so often, our command would release simple-to-follow articles that clearly explained what we had to do. This photo is a snapshot from an article that explains quarantine requirements when traveling into Germany from other countries. -
2021-05-20
US to German Vaccine Memorandum
The attached is a letter from the Rheinland-Pfalz state secretary that explains and validates the COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card that the CDC gives out with vaccinations. Many US military members in Germany received the vaccine, but our vaccine cards were not recognized by local German establishments as German and other European vaccine cards looked very different. In Germany, people were not allowed to eat inside restaurants if they were not vaccinated. By carrying the attached letter with our CDC-issued vaccine cards, we were able to visit local establishments. -
2021-01-19
Meme about the Pandemic in Austria
I saw this meme in January 2021. It was created by an Austrian online news platform called "k.at" and was posted on their Instagram channel. The first picture on the left shows a hamster who is hoarding (or rather "hamstering") toilet paper. This showcases a phenomenon which occurred in Austria as well as in Germany: some people bought as much toilet paper as they could in the beginning of the pandemic out of fear of a lockdown (also other things as e.g. noodles, rice etc.). The result was that most people couldn't buy any toilet paper because it was sold out at most places and the manufacturers of toilet paper couldn't keep up with the production. It was kind of absurd. The second picture on the right also shows a hamster who seems to have a great time skiing. This should represent the third Austrian lockdown. At this time (around January 2021) many Austrian tourists went skiing even though the numbers of Corona cases were rising. It was quite a controversy at the time because a lot of other activities (like social gatherings) were regulated by the state for health precautions, but the skiing resorts weren't affected (and the Corona cases were also rising in these places). A little sidenote: The Coronavirus allegedly came to Germany in 2020 because of German tourists who came back from said Austrian ski travels... -
2020-04-01
Finishing my Undergraduate Degree during the Pandemic
I was starting the last semester of my undergraduate degree when the pandemic hit the globe. At this time (around March 2020) I was planing to work on my senior honors thesis and happy to start my master's degree in October 2020. But in order to finish my thesis, I had to do some intensive research first: my plan was to visit a big German archive in Berlin and also to do some research in a couple of libraries. But just before I could do so, all German institutions went into lockdown and closed for months due to health precautions. As somebody who studied History and had to visit an archive for my thesis, I felt like I was totally stuck in my academic studies. I felt like it was impossible to finish my studies in the scheduled time, and for months I didn't know how to continue my academic work. Luckily, my university was considerate enough to extend the submission date for my thesis. After a couple of months of not knowing if I could start my master's degree in time (and in general not knowing how my academic and financial future would look like if I didn't finish my undergraduate degree in time) the archives and libraries opened up again, and I could continue my research and finish my thesis. -
2021-03-27
hermit HERALD, ISSUE 106
Biden $3 trillion Build Back Better plan -
2020-05-15
German cafe tells customers to wear pool noodles to enforce social distancing
I love that this German café found a way to inject some humor into social distancing. It is absolutely hysterical and provides much needed levity during this stressful time for so many. Of course, my brain immediately went to wondering if the café re-uses those hats. Although customers may not catch COVID-19, they could catch lice. Eeeek! -
2020-08-07
2020: The Masked Madness
This photo reminds me of a story when my mom and I went to the grocery store during the pandemic. We were in an aisle by ourselves, so we pulled our masks down. Then all of a sudden, a lady came up to us who didn't even work in the store, and she said that the store should kick my mom and I out for not wearing our masks. No one was even in the aisle! She also told us that we should be thrown in jail for not wearing masks, and then she started cussing at us. -
2020-12-05
Reflections on working at a US Military Hotel/Quarantine Facility and Getting Tested for COVID
In this story I would like to share some of my experiences working at a Hotel that was converted into a quarantine facility for the US Military. I am a civilian employee of a US Army Lodging facility on a US Army base overseas. As a part of my job, I assist soldiers in finding temporary lodging during their permanent change of station (PCS) moves, as well as finding lodging during temporary deployments in our area. In many ways, our facility works as a hotel with an emphasis on long term stays for guests. By early February we had begun to take measures of tracking where people were traveling from and if they had any contact with people who had be sick or were sick themselves. In March, as the pandemic was heating up in Europe, many local hotels were forced to close, yet to support the military mission, we remained open and even converted a portion of our facility into a quarantine facility for US Military personnel. Establishing the new standard operating procedure for handling quarantine was difficult since we needed to coordinate it with local German Laws, Garrison policy and the policies being set by the local combatant commands. This often led to confusion and frequent changes in daily routine and standard operating procedure. When coming to work, things would change almost daily. While the Garrison went to partial manning as those who could work at home did, I was working double shifts to help in the conversion of our facility and the writing of the new SOP’s to deal with our changing circumstances. Large plexiglass windows were added to the Front Desk and all our office spaces. Per garrison orders mask wearing became mandatory throughout the facility except for guests inside guest rooms. Wearing masks for hours on end, and frequent sanitation runs to wipe down the stairways and elevators and lobby became the norm. Given the importance of maintain health and readiness, the Military took the situation vary seriously in terms of sanitation and protection measures. When One of my colleagues had tested positive for COVID, the others she had direct contact with were placed in Quarantine and sent to be tested as well. They were required to have two negative tests 5 days apart before they could leave quarantine. When I became sick with flu-like symptoms, I was sent to be tested for COVID. The Garrison established a drive through testing area. The test consisted of a nasal swab, which could be done either as the less invasive swab just inside the nose, or the more invasive same day test which required the swab to be taken deeper in the nose for 10 seconds. After filling out a questionnaire, they determined that I needed the more invasive test. After reaching the end of the line, I leaned out of the window of my car they tested me. It was a rather painful experience. Within 8 hours of the test, I was able to access my test results online. Luckily, I tested negative. As it turns out I had only a regular seasonal flu. If I had tested positive, I would have been contacted by a training team on the same day of my test, and the colleagues that I worked with would have had to enter quarantine as well. Since I tested negative, I only had to remain at home away from work until 48 hours after my last symptoms. Attached is a copy of the COVID testing information sheet provided to me after my test. -
2020
Weihnachten steht vor der Tür
In Germany and many other countries apparently, there is a Santa alternative known as the Christkind or Christkindlr, thought it was interesting to think about this upcoming pandemic holiday season. Translation, Literal: [ Fuck the ChristmasMan, with all my home-is comes the Christ Child ] Translation, Nonliteral: [ Fuck Santa, all my homies are with the Christkind ] -
2020-11-12
NYC Schools May Shut Down
The school system, the nation’s largest, has had strikingly few coronavirus cases. Even so, the mayor may end in-person classes because the city’s overall rate is surging. -
2020-11-06
イタリアとドイツで新規コロナ感染が過去最多(2020年11月6日)- Highest number of new corona infections in Italy and Germany (November 6, 2020)
イタリアやドイツでは5日、新型コロナウイルスの1日の新たな感染者が過去最多を更新しました。 新型コロナウイルスの感染の第2波がヨーロッパで深刻化しています。 イタリア政府は5日、新型コロナウイルスの感染者が前の日に比べ、3万4,505人増え、累計で82万人を超えたと発表しました。感染拡大を受けて、イタリアでは6日から午後10時以降の外出の原則禁止など、感染拡大防止のための制限が強化されます。 また、ドイツメディアは5日、1日の新たな感染者が2万594人となり、初めて、2万人を超えたと伝えるなど、ヨーロッパで感染の第2波が深刻となっています。 In Italy and Germany, the number of new infections of the new coronavirus in one day reached a record high on the 5th. The second wave of infection with the new coronavirus is becoming more serious in Europe. The Italian government announced on the 5th that the number of people infected with the new coronavirus has increased by 34,505 compared to the previous day, and the cumulative total has exceeded 820,000. In response to the spread of the infection, restrictions to prevent the spread of the infection will be tightened in Italy, such as the principle prohibition of going out after 10 pm from the 6th. In addition, the second wave of infection is becoming more serious in Europe, the German media reporting that the number of newly infected people on the 5th was 20,594, exceeding 20,000 for the first time. Video translated by Youngbin Noh -
2020-04-20
Military Stop Movement
Beginning in mid-March I began working a minimum hour schedule in order to ensure that as few people as possible were in the office. We assumed the pandemic would blow over soon and that like with most other things the Department of Defense was just overreacting and rolling out guidance that would expire quickly. On April 20 it became apparent that this was not the case. The PDF seen here shows that this was not something that was done with a lack of care or critical thinking because stopping all DoD movement is not done lightly or easily. This order also began my additional two more months working from home or in my workplace with a severely cut back schedule. This stop movement also impacted my life by forcing me to stay in Germany for months longer than expected, as well as numerous friends and coworkers who were suddenly left with no way to leave the country after shipping all of their household goods or their vehicles. Essentially it through thousands of people into a state of instability that could only be rectified by the passing of time until the stop movement expired. -
2020-08-20
Working from Home and Preparing for College During a Pandemic
Everyone had to adjust their way of living during this pandemic. COVID brought a lot of challenges with it, for me like for example with preparing for college while also working from home. -
2020-04-10
German police attacked with stones, iron bars while enforcing coronavirus social distance measures 4/10/2020
Police in Germany were attacked with stones and iron bars while enforcing coronavirus social distance to a large group that had gathered outside in Frankfurt late Friday in violation of lockdown orders meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus. -
2020-04-17
Life In Isolation: The Coronavirus... Romy Marisa Schwaiger
A virtual exhibition by the Evansville Museum of Art, History and Science -
2020-03-24
Filipinos Coping With Covid - Series
I am doing a series, Filipinos Coping With Covid, published in my blogs and some in Positively Filipino -
2020-06-25
Daily life changes due to Covid
Here we have a tweet discussing one of the may daily life changes that have taken place since covid and lockdown began. In this case, the user talks about how bus travel has changed since lockdown in Berlin. Bus divers in Berlin are now behind plastic sheets and the front doors of buses are no longer used in order to protect drivers. Many bus drivers have gotten sick and died due to the large public interaction their job has. I wanted to put this into the archive because it is a simple example of how covid has altered society and daily life. Here we have an example of public transportation being altered, likely permanently, in Berlin due to the virus. Between all the headlines and stats are the real life changes everyone sees, and this is one example. I also took note of the fact that Europe is still in their first lockdown, while we here in America are wondering if there will be a second lockdown since the first one has essentially over for weeks. -
2020-05-29
Extra legroom and no interval: Germany plans for post-lockdown theatre
“As Germany continues to relax social distancing restrictions imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19, playhouses in most cities are still waiting for an official date when they can reopen their doors to the public. The Berlin senate announced on Friday that open-air cultural events will be allowed from 2 June, but theatres are likely to remain shut until September. Venues such as the German capital’s Berliner Ensemble, however, are already providing a glimpse of what drama could look like in a world of social distancing.”