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Germany in December

Brisketexan

By Brisketexan
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Shady Ray

Shady Ray 1633

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Talked to my mom this morning, sounds like it’s no longer just southern Bavaria. Nurnberg has 10 ICU beds open, Bamberg is full, Erlangen is full, all the smaller hospitals around them are full.  Shit sucks. 

Yeah. Shit is absolutely borked. I have responsibilities for a subsidiary site in Ulm, which is in halfway between Stuttgart and Munich, and we are basically shutting the entire thing down outside of essential operations effective Monday.

It’s gone from bad to worse over the past 10 days.

One of the issues is that we are essentially without a federal government. Merkel and her CDU is in caretaker mode while the SPD, Greens and FDP iron out their coalition agreement, so essentially the entire place is dependent on state and local authorities.

Perfect storm type shit.
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TXSG8R

TXSG8R 3325

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Yea, but from what I gather a lot of the shutdown decisions are made at the state level anyway, right? Sounds like Bavaria is at 2G and may shut down markets and other big gatherings entirely again. We were mulling a Christmas trip to see my grandmother but it’s not worth the headache traveling when shit is that restricted. 
 

Speaking of which, she and my mom got exposed to Covid on a visit to my great aunt, who is 93. She lives with her daughter, and her daughter tested positive at school last week. My mom and grandmother had coffee with her last week. Super shitty. 

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tx 3 putt

tx 3 putt 75959

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9 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Well, we're still gonna go, even if they start shutting some stuff down.  We have my son and friends to visit at the very least, and surely there will still be SOME stuff still going on (we hope).

Goddamn, we're just so damned tired of this COVID shit.


you better post a ton of pics !!!

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 104238

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13 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:


you better post a ton of pics !!!

Well, the son parted ways with the older Swedish girlfriend, so you may be disappointed.

Oh, wait, you were talking about tourist pics and whatnot.  I'm hoping to post many pictures of beer and hot boozy beverages at christmas markets.  I really am.

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tx 3 putt

tx 3 putt 75959

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21 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Well, the son parted ways with the older Swedish girlfriend, so you may be disappointed.

Oh, wait, you were talking about tourist pics and whatnot.  I'm hoping to post many pictures of beer and hot boozy beverages at christmas markets.  I really am.


holy fuck, just caught up / saw some euro news, they make it sound like Germany is getting really bad. Good luck man !

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 104238

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holy fuck, just caught up / saw some euro news, they make it sound like Germany is getting really bad. Good luck man !

Yep…just crossing our fingers, and we’ll make the best of whatever opportunities are there. I have to think that the locals won’t accept all the Christmas markets being shut for two years in a row. If they go the austria route and make don’t go further than a “shutdown for the unvaxxed,” we’ll be ok.
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TXSG8R

TXSG8R 3325

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I have a cousin who is a GP in Bamberg.  They had a Covid patient come in that needed hospitalization. She had to call 15 hospitals before they found an open bed. Bavaria is getting fucked at the moment, but they are still allowing stuff to operate for vaccinated/recovered people.  Cops are starting to hit restaurants to check for ze papers.  

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LosIllini

LosIllini 91

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Used to travel for work quite a bit- good times.  Worked on an automotive project in Koln in the early 2000s, right before Christmas.  They had a Great Christmas Market, right by the Cathedral.

Perfect City/ Weather/ Atmosphere--- remember having dinner at a restaurant-  eating roasted pork, and drinking a bunch of Kolsch (worth the trip by itself).  And, seems like they also had a special dark Christmas beer as well.  Then, more grilled brats/ sausage beer, and gluhwein at the Cathedral.  Fun trip.

I'm sure you can't go wrong in any German City around Christmas, but, in the footsteps of the Dom, Koln's Market seemed really special.

Really hope your trip works out, and you don't have any issues.  Enjoy!

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 104238

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Used to travel for work quite a bit- good times.  Worked on an automotive project in Koln in the early 2000s, right before Christmas.  They had a Great Christmas Market, right by the Cathedral.
Perfect City/ Weather/ Atmosphere--- remember having dinner at a restaurant-  eating roasted pork, and drinking a bunch of Kolsch (worth the trip by itself).  And, seems like they also had a special dark Christmas beer as well.  Then, more grilled brats/ sausage beer, and gluhwein at the Cathedral.  Fun trip.
I'm sure you can't go wrong in any German City around Christmas, but, in the footsteps of the Dom, Koln's Market seemed really special.
Really hope your trip works out, and you don't have any issues.  Enjoy!

Köln is on the agenda. We’re staying just south of the cathedral. And I love kolsch very, very much. So, Xmas market, pork knuckle, and kolsch are the plan.
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SimonBolivar

SimonBolivar 10890

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On 10/19/2021 at 9:30 AM, MissingInAction said:

Dresden will remind you of Collie station. It was a dystopian wasteland 20 years ago, but maybe they've planted trees or something.

The whole East German thing is really interesting in the same driving from Meridian MS to New Orleans is interesting. 

 

"How is this the same country?"

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Shady Ray

Shady Ray 1633

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1 minute ago, Shady Ray said:

They just cancelled the Christmas Market here in Munich for the year...so, uh, my optimism appears to have been unwarranted.

 

Good luck, Brisket...

Edit...looks like you beat me to it. Sucks man...I am sure you will be able to salvage something enjoyable, you just might have to search a little harder.

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The Ace of Aces

The Ace of Aces 5102

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7 hours ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

Austria went into lockdown, and a Germany is not ruling out a lockdown.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-11-19/germany-not-ruling-out-lockdown-even-for-the-vaccinated

 

It's going to happen I'm pretty sure. Netherlands locking down and Germany is becoming a huge shitshow. The markets are probably going to be all canceled early next week - Berlin and Munich led the charge there. 

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PenelopeWitherspoon

PenelopeWitherspoon 19025

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1 minute ago, The Ace of Aces said:

It's going to happen I'm pretty sure. Netherlands locking down and Germany is becoming a huge shitshow. The markets are probably going to be all canceled early next week - Berlin and Munich led the charge there. 

Yeah.  I cannot think that these lockdowns are going to be popular at all.

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PenelopeWitherspoon

PenelopeWitherspoon 19025

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Just now, The Ace of Aces said:

When ICUs are filling up, not much you can do. Delta is kicking their ass. It's horrible - we have family outside Munich and it's not pretty. 

See, that is what is missing from the reporting.  They only talk about case numbers.  They are not talking about hospitalizations or anything like that.  

See, that is different from the UK and France. Their cases are going up, but not seeing the hospital numbers skyrocket as well.  I wonder if that is because both of them (and Italy and Spain) had some massive Delta surges earlier. 

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 104238

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1 hour ago, The Ace of Aces said:

It's going to happen I'm pretty sure. Netherlands locking down and Germany is becoming a huge shitshow. The markets are probably going to be all canceled early next week - Berlin and Munich led the charge there. 

 

1 hour ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

Yeah.  I cannot think that these lockdowns are going to be popular at all.

Sigh.  Not happy.  I'm hoping that they find a way to go forward with some markets in states that aren't hit so hard.  We're bailing on Dresden, obviously (Saxony is shutting down completely to tourism).  Berlin has only closed the Charlottenburg market (because it's wide open and they can't control access and limit it to the vaccinated), hoping that's where it stays.

I mean, we still have lots of people to visit, including my son, but not being able to hit markets would sure put a big dent in our plans for fun stuff.

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The Ace of Aces

The Ace of Aces 5102

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14 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

 

Sigh.  Not happy.  I'm hoping that they find a way to go forward with some markets in states that aren't hit so hard.  We're bailing on Dresden, obviously (Saxony is shutting down completely to tourism).  Berlin has only closed the Charlottenburg market (because it's wide open and they can't control access and limit it to the vaccinated), hoping that's where it stays.

I mean, we still have lots of people to visit, including my son, but not being able to hit markets would sure put a big dent in our plans for fun stuff.

Yea it sucks. I’m sorry. I just hope you don’t get stuck there and can’t get back home. That just happened to friend who is in Amsterdam. They’re now having to quarantine for 7 days on their own dime. 

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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

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7 minutes ago, The Ace of Aces said:

Yea it sucks. I’m sorry. I just hope you don’t get stuck there and can’t get back home. That just happened to friend who is in Amsterdam. They’re now having to quarantine for 7 days on their own dime. 

Guess they didn't get trip insurance?  Or did it not cover Covid-related stuff?  

I'm going to Europe in August, hopefully it'll be safe (or at least in between waves!) but man in this day and age I wouldn't set foot out of the front door without a travel policy.. word to the wise.  Yes, definitely, absolutely, it's worth it.

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52-80

52-80 19047

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28 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

Guess they didn't get trip insurance?  Or did it not cover Covid-related stuff?  

I'm going to Europe in August, hopefully it'll be safe (or at least in between waves!) but man in this day and age I wouldn't set foot out of the front door without a travel policy.. word to the wise.  Yes, definitely, absolutely, it's worth it.

Covid is the great insurance denier

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The Ace of Aces

The Ace of Aces 5102

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1 hour ago, phdhorn said:

Guess they didn't get trip insurance?  Or did it not cover Covid-related stuff?  

I'm going to Europe in August, hopefully it'll be safe (or at least in between waves!) but man in this day and age I wouldn't set foot out of the front door without a travel policy.. word to the wise.  Yes, definitely, absolutely, it's worth it.

They probably do as they have an AmEx black but you still have to upfront a ton of money. Lots couldn’t do that. 

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 104238

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2 hours ago, phdhorn said:

Guess they didn't get trip insurance?  Or did it not cover Covid-related stuff?  

I'm going to Europe in August, hopefully it'll be safe (or at least in between waves!) but man in this day and age I wouldn't set foot out of the front door without a travel policy.. word to the wise.  Yes, definitely, absolutely, it's worth it.

Yeah, trip insurance won't cover COVID stuff, from what I've seen.  You can re-book things without penalty in most cases.  But if you have to stay extra time, you're on your own.  I can afford an extra hotel stay.  I mean, it would be over Christmas, which would suck.  We'll see where things are in a couple of weeks.

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Mo Horn

Mo Horn 8779

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19 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Yeah, trip insurance won't cover COVID stuff, from what I've seen.  You can re-book things without penalty in most cases.  But if you have to stay extra time, you're on your own.  I can afford an extra hotel stay.  I mean, it would be over Christmas, which would suck.  We'll see where things are in a couple of weeks.

When we went to Italy, I found trip interruption insurance that would have covered us if we tested positive and couldn't return. So it is available. 

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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

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51 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Yeah, trip insurance won't cover COVID stuff, from what I've seen.  You can re-book things without penalty in most cases.  But if you have to stay extra time, you're on your own.  I can afford an extra hotel stay.  I mean, it would be over Christmas, which would suck.  We'll see where things are in a couple of weeks.

That's interesting, because when I booked the bulk of my trip to Europe in September at least 90% of the trip insurance companies offered covid rebates, and I  looked at dozens of them (squaremouth.com comparison). I don't know if they started pulling it because of the surge or what. All I know is I have it.

My policy was by no means unique for the time and it covers all extra hotels/lodging and full refunds on most things due to covid delays or cancellations. Not everything is 100% refundable but most stuff is at least 75%. We have five people going I think I got a bulk deal, something like $750 for all of us, pretty much well within the norm.

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Mo Horn

Mo Horn 8779

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1 minute ago, phdhorn said:

That's interesting, because when I booked the bulk of my trip to Europe in September at least 90% of the trip insurance companies offered covid rebates, and I  looked at dozens of them (squaremouth.com comparison). I don't know if they started pulling it because of the surge or what. All I know is I have it.

My policy was by no means unique for the time and it covers all extra hotels/lodging and full refunds on most things due to covid delays or cancellations. Not everything is 100% refundable but most stuff is at least 75%. We have five people going I think I got a bulk deal, something like $750 for all of us, pretty much well within the norm.

We used squaremouth and I called and told them specifically what I was looking for. Wasn't worried about stuff during the trip because it all could be rescheduled. Staying extra time is all I was worried about. Cost us only $100.00 for both of us. Didn't need it, but felt it was money well spent. 

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 104238

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8 minutes ago, TXSG8R said:

Talked to my mom this morning, she said they are shutting everything down. No Christmas markets anywhere. Sorry man. 

Where's your mom?

I mean.....fuck.  I sure hope that's not the case.  But at this point, it wouldn't surprise me.  But then, several of the markets are already open and running -- I know there has to be a strong pushback against closing them all.  All the reporting thus far are a few hours old, and say that they are considering all options, but I haven't seen any updates yet.

I gotta be honest -- COVID is really beginning to piss me off.

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TXSG8R

TXSG8R 3325

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She’s near Bamberg, but she said they shut down all Christmas markets, country wide. Lots of people are losing their ass because they missed last year and many bought extra stuff this year trying to make up the gap and now they can’t sell it. They are about to go into a full lockdown and possibly mandate vaccines country wide like Austria. 

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 104238

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9 minutes ago, TXSG8R said:

She’s near Bamberg, but she said they shut down all Christmas markets, country wide. Lots of people are losing their ass because they missed last year and many bought extra stuff this year trying to make up the gap and now they can’t sell it. They are about to go into a full lockdown and possibly mandate vaccines country wide like Austria. 

I definitely see that the vaccine mandate may be coming......but I don't see anything about the markets yet.  Well, we'll just see what unfolds the next couple of days.

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 104238

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2 hours ago, TXSG8R said:

She’s near Bamberg, but she said they shut down all Christmas markets, country wide. Lots of people are losing their ass because they missed last year and many bought extra stuff this year trying to make up the gap and now they can’t sell it. They are about to go into a full lockdown and possibly mandate vaccines country wide like Austria. 

Per today's update from Reuters, not a lockdown. Not yet anyway.  Guess we need to think new chancellor Olaf Scholz for that:

 

Quote

Merkel, who met the leaders of the incoming coalition on Tuesday to discuss the pandemic, pushed for a two week lockdown, but they rejected the idea, Bild newspaper said on Wednesday.

 

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TXSG8R

TXSG8R 3325

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6 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Per today's update from Reuters, not a lockdown. Not yet anyway.  Guess we need to think new chancellor Olaf Scholz for that:

 

 

Yea, she might have been confusing a statewide lockdown with country wide. I know Bavaria is shut down. I also think she might be picking up some forecasting from the news since the new gov’t coalition has formed.  Im hoping it works out for you, but the numbers are still getting worse. 

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