Travel with Kevin and Ruth: Seven more sleeps

Friday, August 6, 2021

Seven more sleeps

One week from today, we arrive back in Canada. We aren't necessarily looking forward to actually being in Canada, but we're always excited about the travel itself and it's been ten months since we have seen family and friends located there.

Yesterday, I did more planning for the trip. Yes, the hotel in Dusseldorf is booked. The flights are booked. Our car rental when we arrive is booked. But one more thing needed to be looked after.

Before we can get on the flight, we need a PCR test that has been taken within 72 hours of the scheduled departure time of your flight.

Every country does things differently, so I researched the procedure here in Germany. It turns out that we could get tested at Dusseldorf Airport. The whole thing has become a real money grab by the testing companies and when the government doesn't put limits on things, the companies take advantage. At the airport itself, they have a sliding price scale depending on how quickly you want the results...

24 hours €59 ($87 CAD, $70 USD)
12 hours €89 ($131 CAD, $105 USD)
75 minutes €149 ($220 CAD, $176 USD)
35 minutes €249 ($368 CAD, $294 USD)

What a scam. We know from experience at the Warsaw and Tirana airports that PCR test results can easily be given within an hour.

The cheapest I could find outside the airport was €55 with results available "within 30 hours". But at that point, we might as well just get the 24 hour airport one done. For the two of us, it would cost €118 ($174 CAD, $140 USD).

But we remembered seeing a sign in Netherlands that advertised free PCR tests for travelers, so I did some more research. It turns out that the Dutch government has subsidised the tests for travelers, and PCR tests are totally free (including for foreign tourists) for the months of July and August.

There is a testing center in Winterswijk, less than 50 kms (30 miles) from where we will be storing Max. The cost of driving there will be far cheaper than paying for the tests at the airport! Appointments are scheduled online and we now have them booked for next Wednesday. Results are sent by email within 24 hours.

So there's that done.

Yesterday was a relaxing day. We hung around Max for the morning, and then went for a 5 km (3mile) walk.

I took this photo through Max's windshield where we are parked.

The town of Fürstenau.

The moat around the castle where we are parked.

We had a good stay in Fürstenau. But we are excited to move on today to the town of Teltge where we are meeting up with friends Dave and Bonnie who we last saw in Santa Fe, New Mexico in May of last year.

We met them originally at Acapulco Trailer Park in January of 2013 when they were traveling Mexico with "Dan the Van", their 1984 VW Camper Van and we were heading to Guatemala with the little blue car. We have kept in touch over the years and met up again in Seville, Spain in 2017.

They arrived here in Germany last week after a year and a half away from their European motorhome "Romy" due to Covid. They are the ones who recommended the dealer that we bought Max from.