Chronicle of a trip to Covidie

When it comes to planning a trip, travellers today have two major concerns. The borders Could they close suddenly during the stay? Visit ticket could it finally be cancelledWhat about the lack of passengers? Fortunately, the Paris Orly-Berlin Tegel flight proposed by easyJet on 11 August will not be one of them. As early as 23 July, the British low-cost airline confirmed in an initial message that the flight would be maintained; then, two days before departure, in a second e-mail, it reconfirmed the flight, with the addition of health recommendations. Finally, in a last message, the company indicated that it had been temporarily transferred to Orly 3.

Arriving at the airport on the Orlyval shuttle, the route to the terminal is complex. Orly 4 is closed, and access to concourse 3 is via the outside, on a route that looks like a treasure hunt. The terminal is only accessible to ticketed passengers. This does not prevent crowds in the terminal where Air France, easyJet, Transavia and Vueling flights are handled. In fact, you can hardly speak of respecting distances between passengers crowding the check-in desks. But, in the end, is it much worse than in the underground or at supermarket checkouts?

To speed up formalities, the "Hands Free has been booked prior to departure. It allows you to leave your hand luggage at the easyJet Plus counter and to cross the border. safety filters practically with your hands in your pockets. This is an excellent option, as it only takes a few minutes for the hand baggage to be removed before being treated as hold baggage. The security filters in the terminal have been reorganised. There is a limited number of people in the queue, and passengers are directed to around ten security checkpoints. This formality is completed in ten minutes.

L'boarding is just as fast. Passengers now board in rows, starting with the seats at the rear of the cabin, to avoid contact between passengers. This is to avoid passengers coming into contact with each other, which they do once they are seated next to their neighbours. The idea of leaving the middle seat in the row was a long shot. The staff are masked, as are the passengers, and dialogue is impossible. A perfect atmosphere for reading or dozing off!

At thearrival At Tegel airport, the transfer from the plane to Terminal C is by bus. Although the Berlin authorities limit the number of passengers per vehicle, the crowding continues until you arrive in a sluggish terminal, with most shops closed.

On exiting, the taxi quickly makes its way to the NH Berlin Kurfürstendamm, a four-star hotel located in what was once the heart of Berlin. Berlin West Germany. Health measures in the German capital are less stringent than in Paris, with fewer cases of Covid-19 in mid-August than in France.

It's a strange feeling when you arrive at the hotel, that of a lifeless place. In fact, there is hardly anyone to be seen here, both guests and staff. The latter are rare because of the very low occupancy rates. A single employee stands at reception, entrenched behind his Plexiglas window. Breakfast times have been extended, reducing the crowding with other travellers. The NH Berlin Kurfürstendamm has kept a self-service offer. So you follow a route and wait in front of the buns, with a maximum capacity of three people at the buffet.

In the streets of Berlin, restaurants and cafés are full, as if the pandemic were an illusion. My Berlin contact gave me an appointment to work in a café in Berlin's largest park, the Tiergarten. It's summer in Berlin and over 30 degrees! No one is wearing a mask, but my contact registers our names and its telephone number on a list. The health authorities will contact them in the event of contamination.

Departure on 13 August for Erfurt, a two-hour journey from Berlin. A journey made by ICE, the German high-speed train. As in France, masks must be worn on public transport and in stations. DB application shows whether trains are full or notThis will allow us to favour times when passenger density is lower.

The food service in the bar car has been withdrawn, but an employee passes through the corridors offering hot drinks. The ticket inspectors do their job, masks over their faces. To avoid any manipulation, the company's app, like SNCF, integrates tickets and season tickets. A trouble-free journey.
Health measures to deal with Covid-19 can vary from one Land to another in Germany. Since Thuringia is relatively unaffected, masked people are rare in the streets of Erfurt. At the Radisson Blu hotel, one of the city's four-star hotels, masks must be worn and hydro-alcoholic gel is ubiquitous. As in Berlin, there are few staff around, and breakfast has been moved to the conference centre areas, where it is permissible to ensure a certain distance between tables. To help yourself at the buffet, gloves are provided by the hotel.

Return to Paris by ICE from Erfurt via FrankfurtA second ICE is on its way to France in just under four hours. The carriage is full. The journey is animated only by ticket checks and the catering staff offering drinks.
On arrival at the Gare de l'Est in Paris, the spread of the epidemic instilled a bit of discipline in the taxi queue. At last, a positive point about the coronavirus! Behind its PlexiglasThe driver was masked and did not get out of the car to place the luggage in the boot. The car then sped off into the Parisian night...