The Euro Covid Travel "Catch 22"

Quarantines R US

UPDATES 1-11-22

Every day the world reconsiders its willingness to admit visitors from countries that have failed to address the Covid pandemic (the US scorecard now passes the mind boggling statistic that 1 of every 500 300 Americans has perished from Covid) and yet we still argue about minor measures to slow the spread. 

Currently in the EU some countries have opened their borders, some only admit vaxed and / or tested travelers, others are open to those that are vaccinated + quarantine, and still others have simply said stay away.

Conditions change frequently and it is hard to keep up. And all this uncertainty makes international travel planning a challenge. 

So how has the travel industry responded to all this chaos? I personally feel the airline industry responded pretty nimbly and fairly. When borders suddenly closed, most airlines stepped up and offered accommodations even on non-refundable / non-changeable tickets. 

And the reward for those airline efforts has been the emergence of dipshit passengers feeling entitled enough to physically assault flight crews who are just doing their job. 

The airlines have responded by placing these morons on "no-fly" lists. Frankly that is unacceptable to me. Anyone disrupting a flight and / or threatening airline staff should be escorted from aircraft in cuffs by Air Marshals and face fines equal to the costs of turning planes around and disrupting airport operations. A few well publicized cases and these cockroaches will crawl back into whatever mask-free, horse de-worming fantasy hole they emerged from.

Ahem, but....back to my blog post.

Along with airlines many hotels also stepped up. Most of the bookings I made directly through major hotel chains were adjusted with fees waived.

Conversely, bookings I made through third party travel services like Hotels.Com, TripAdvisor, Kayak, Expedia, Orbitz etc. resulted in a different story. With few exceptions those services just seemed to look at the ground, ignoring the pandemic. I also came to find out they have no customer service lines. I'll rarely use them again.

Last week I felt the chaos rise up again. I had a pre-pandemic hotel reservation in Rotterdam (I've been planning a visit to explore its amazing modern architecture). Then suddenly Holland imposed mandatory quarantines for fully vaccinated US visitors and Poof!, my vacation plans became worthless.

Yet, since the border is not "technically" closed, hotels contend that they need not offer any accommodation. So my $450 worth of Hotels.Com vouchers also became worthless.

So until the world gets back to "normal"(whatever that might look like) Roadboy says book only using refundable rates and stick to direct bookings from hotel chains.  

Update 9-16-21: After less that a week the Netherlands reversed itself leaving tens of thousands of travelers to (again) rework bookings. 

Update at Travel Time: When I actually traveled to Holland I entered on a flight within the EU (arrival from Spain). I landed and there was nothing; no customs, no check of my passport, I just got off my flight and walked to buy a ticket for a train into Amsterdam.  

When the music stops, sit down.

Roadboy's Travels © 2021 

Roadboy's Quick Summer Escape - Maine

Cool, Green, Surrounded by Water

And Home to Stephen King.......

Roadboy's final summer escape was spent with my friend from Austin. Our trips together are special as Ms. C and I have traveled somewhere annually in an on-going celebration of life, friendship and another anniversary of her being declared cancer-free. 

We go places that inspire us. And, at the end of each years trip, we select the destination for the following year. 

So, after last years trip to the pacific northwest, the "future destination dart" landed on Montreal for this year. 

But sealed borders made us reprogram our travel GPS for another great northern destination. 

We began by meeting up at Boston's Logan Airport. We boarded the Blue Line for State Street Station, checked the Club Quarters, found a spot for lobster rolls and called it a day. Slept like a pup. Traffic was light on Devonshire Street as a movie crew had the street all blocked off for a movie with Ryan Reynolds. Sadly, we never saw any stars....

We spent the next summer day walking through the Boston Commons, Boston Public Gardens on our way to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Boston is a compact and walkable city. This day we racked up over 18,000 steps according to my i-watch. 

  

The Boston Commons Wading Pool 

For those not familiar with it the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a Boston treasure that has become wildly popular, in part due to the recent Netflix documentary The Heist. 

  

El Jaleo "The Ruckus"

(John Singer Sargent 1882)

Isabella Stewart Gardner's dream museum, opened on New Years Day 1903 with champagne and doughnuts. It is a Renaissance Venetian palace specifically designed to showcase her incredible art acquisitions. The building is built around a sun dappled atrium space housing some very happy tropical flora.

The Gardner's Central Courtyard

We marveled at the spectacular art and furnishings in each gallery and imagined what used to fill the empty frames where the stolen Rembrandt's, Degas and Vermeer masterpieces once hung. The 1990 theft is considered the single largest property theft in the world with an estimated value in excess of $500,000,000. A $10,000,000 reward is still in force.

The Dutch Room 

(With the still empty frames)   

Ms. Gardner's attention to detail included strict instructions how the gallery would be maintained in perpetuity (nothing must change). Her love of the Boston Red Sox assures discounted tickets to anyone wearing the Red Sox logo. And, if you are named Isabella, or arrive on your birthday, your admission is always free. 

Isabella Stewart Gardner 

(John Singer Sargent 1888)

Although it would be considered downright prudish by today's standards, Jack Gardner felt Singer Sargent's portrait of Isabella featured too much flesh and requested it not be displayed until his after death.

Ms. Gardner not only acquired art, she inspired it. By maintaining friendships with such luminaries as John Singer Sargent (who used the Gothic Gallery as a personal studio) and James McNeil Whistler. 

Years of her correspondence is also preserved and displayed including letters from artists, religious leaders, entertainers and political figures of her era.

There is currently a special exhibit of the six Titian masterworks dating from the 1560's that have never before been reunited with The Rape of Europa (acquired by Gardner) since their delivery to Prince Phillip of Spain.

 

Lamentation of the Dead Christ

(Terra Cotta - Artist Unknown)

I found the the terra cotta altarpiece Lamentation interesting because as designed to serve at the altar it would clearly portray the agony of a mother to parishioners and a skull and cross bones (behind Mary) to the priests at the altar. I wonder if the artist was making a point to the priests?

Christ Carrying the Cross

(Giovanni Bellini 1505-1510)

I was also taken by Bellini's very small painting of Christ carrying his cross. His eyes are riveting. Anywhere in the room he seems to be staring directly at you and you cannot look away. Simple, and highly composed, it is only when you get very close to the painting that Christ's tear is evident.

Isabella Stewart Gardner in Venice

(Anders Zorn 1884)

Perhaps the most lovely painting of Ms. Gardner is Anders Zorn's painting above where she turns from a balcony in Venice to implore other party guests to come see fireworks. 

After visiting her incredible museum visitors feel a kinship to her and this portrait embodies a women full of the love of life.

After a walk back to the hotel we finished the day with a dinner at the Mast Sail Loft. I had a wonderful baked scrod.

The next morning we returned to the airport to collect a rental car. We programmed it and aimed it towards our AirBNB in Blue Hill Maine (via a side trip to the Atlantic Brewery in Bar Harbor for dinner).

Our cottage AirBNB turned out to be very special. And our host turned out to be very special too. She and her late husband restored and updated the circa 1860's cottage. He was an artist and she was a documentary film producer for the BBC and (W)GBH Boston. 

The cottage was an amalgamation of three sections and shared a large porch facing out over a rocky cove below. 

Our Cove Cottage in Blue Hill

The View from our Blue Hill Cottage

The next two days were spent sightseeing in Acadia National Park. Day one was spent on e-bikes riding its famous Carriage Trails.

Cycling Acadia At Eagle Lake

The Crystal Clear Waters of Jordan Pond

Outdoor Dining at the Jordan Pond House

(Home of the Famous Jordan Pond Popovers)

On Day two I purchased my Lifetime Senior National Park Pass and we circumnavigated the park in our rental car cruising the parks stunning coastline.

The View From Otter Cove Toward Little Cranberry Island 

The weather was cool and mostly dry. The lobster and blueberry pie was sweet and scenery was just wonderful. 

We finished up the trip with a drive to Bangor for our flight home. We stopped to see Stephen King's residence (my second time detouring past his home). This trip I admired the creepy sculpture he had created from the trunk from a huge tree.

 

 Stephen King's House in 2017 

(Note the old tree trunk)

 

 King's Tree Trunk Today

The trip was wonderful!

Carolyn and I have set our sights on Italy next year. Fingers crossed the world is able to reopen fully by then.

Roadboy's Travel © 2021