I received notice last week that they changed the routing so that we now fly Ottawa to Toronto, then connect to London. And I'm not surprised. There probably wasn't enough demand for the flight from Halifax to London.
The problem is that England still has a 14 day quarantine for anybody arriving from Canada. (Despite the fact that Canada has a much lower rate of infection.) So, that would be a problem for us if that restriction is not lifted by October 13th when we arrive at London's Gatwick airport.
I have found out though, that we do not have to quarantine if we don't leave the airport terminal. Which means that we can take a connecting flight from there to anywhere in Germany where we are currently welcome without restrictions. Keeping in mind that too could change over the next five weeks!
However, if we need to buy last minute flights from Gatwick to Germany, they will be relatively expensive. If we buy them now, they are quite cheap. But due to the Covid situation, they also have fairly flexible terms. I can cancel and reschedule within 14 days of the flight without extra charge. And, I can still cancel and reschedule within the 14 days right up to the flight time by paying a £32 ($56 CAD, $43 USD) fee.
So yesterday we weighed all the options and decided to purchase flights from London to Berlin, Germany for £25 ($44 CAD, $33 USD) per person, The flights are scheduled for 3 hours after we land, so it's a bit of a tight connection time, but there were no other direct flights that day. All you can do is cross your fingers. With the reduced number of planes flying, you would have to assume that most flights are departing on schedule.
This way, we figure that if the England quarantine is still in place we will simply carry on to Germany and the flights were pretty cheap. If the quarantine is removed, we will reschedule our Germany flights for two weeks later.
Berlin wasn't really the city we wanted to go to. We wanted to go to Dusseldorf, but there were no direct flights from Gatwick and we would have had to change airports, which we can't do if the quarantine is still in place. But, we've never been there before, so if we do end up there, we'll explore for a couple of days before taking the train back to Dusseldorf area.
It sure is a circus trying to figure this stuff out in today's world! But, if you want to travel, that's what you have to do.
Yesterday, we went into the city (again!) and visited Ruth's dad Tony. They have reduced the restrictions at the care home now and we are able to take him out for a drive. We ended up down at Andrew Haydon Park by the Ottawa River.
Ruth and Tony.
There are too many Canada Geese.
It looked like it was going to rain but it never did. We got a short stroll in, and it's good for Tony to get out and get some fresh air. We stopped at Tom Horton's on the way back to "the home" to get him a "medium double double"... that's Canadian for a medium coffee with two cream and two sugar!
Tony loves his Tim Horton's coffee.
Back to Galetta for 5:15pm or so, and then we did our 45 minute power walk.
Overcast with some showers today. Maybe I'll actually get my taxes filed! Due to Covid, the Canadian government keeps putting off the deadline. It was originally April 30th, now it's September 30th. I don't mind putting it off. We owe, but the money looks better in my account than theirs!
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I use flightradar24.com (the free service) to tell me how on-time flights have been at particular airports.
ReplyDeleteThanks Doug, we will have a look at that site, although as Kevin mentioned with COVID around and not many flights coming in or leaving we don't think there will be a big problem with delays unless they are technical/mechanical.
DeleteTrying to plan trips anywhere with all the restrictions is enough to make your head spin. Glad you got it all figured out, but then you always rise to a challenge! :c)
ReplyDeleteYou are so totally right! It does make our heads spin for sure.
DeleteI wouldn't say that we have it all figured out because something could through a wretch into it and mess it all up! We just have to remain flexible and have a Plan "B" or even "C" should things change between now and then. Kevin always loves a challenge! :-)
Wondering, what does Tony think about all this? I'm sure he's experienced a lot in his lifetime, how does this measure up?
ReplyDeleteI don't think he really understands the whole mess that the world is in at the moment. He knows that I can't hug him or be too close. It is very hard for him when we have to say goodbye at the end of our visit because he wants to give me a kiss goodbye and I have to say that he can't and that I have to wear the mask. He has lost all concept of time so maybe that isn't a bad thing for him in that regard. So I guess to answer you question he just goes through his day much the way he has been for the last six months to a year or so as his Alzheimer's worsens. :-(
DeleteI'm curious...will you still travel without travel insurance? We will go back to Mazatlan in November but have bought travel insurance with Covid coverage.
ReplyDeleteNo, we will be purchasing travel insurance with the highest deductible available. Besides which, in order to get the German resident permit, one of the requirements is that you have to have medical insurance.
DeleteOur grand daughter Holly and boyfriend Chris are going to his home in Glasgow in December to stay for??? She is applying for a work visa and the NHA health requires the medical to be prepaid. Good idea. We take a $1000. deductible now and as we age we'll just keep raising it.
DeleteYep, that is definitely the way to do it!
DeleteMy late father loved to be sprung from the "home" to get out for a double double, and watch the ducks by the river.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad definitely enjoyed his afternoon. We are looking forward to taking him out again soon. :-)
DeleteWhat a beautiful park! Nice to see the leaves of the tress still green.They are turning yellow quite quickly here in Edmonton.
ReplyDeleteIt is a pretty park. Most of the leaves are still green but we have seen a few trees already slowly changing colours. It won't be long before they all will start. I bet they are changing up in Edmonton, it is quite a bit further north. I like seeing the trees changing but then it also means the cold weather won't be far behind.
DeleteI have had to schedule our flight from Chicago to London three times, twice because of COVID 19.Actually, I should be flying into London today to catch a Trafalgar 3 week tour around the British Isles. Trafalgar cancelled all tours for 2020. So we re-booked for June 2021. but the airfare doubled for that round trip flight. If we went in May, it would not have cost us double, but we do not trust that the restrictions, or the virus, will be under control. I wanted my money back, but American Airlines said that they did not cancel the flight so not an option for a nonrefundable ticket, but we can re-book for free, just pay any difference in price. And I found out that we could not re-ticket for a economy seat since we already were ticketed for a main cabin seat. (So you can pay to move up in class, but not get a discount to a lower class seat.) It is what it is.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is too bad! This whole travel thing is messed up, we hope that you will be able to come up with a solution that will work for you without it costing you and arm and a leg more than what you have already had to pay. :-(
DeleteHalifax doesnt have any international flights now with Covid, which is why I suspect you were changed to Toronto. If we wish to leave NS by air internationally we have to now go via Toronto.
ReplyDeleteHope your trips go as planned
Yes, I knew that when I originally bought the tickets to London, but I assumed that since they were for sale, they must be the route. I figured that maybe they were allowed to take off for an international flight, but just had to arrive back in Canada to one of the stipulated airports.
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