Yes, I’m still just as surprised as you that I was able to study abroad in fall of 2020, right smack dab in the middle of the pandemic. I was one of the brave 22 students who decided to forge ahead and take a gamble on studying abroad in Luxembourg during the fall semester of my junior year.

You might think I’m irresponsible, or dumb, or annoying for studying abroad in the fall of 2020 but I can promise that we were safe, and I got tested over seven times when I was over there (+ I never even ended up getting the ‘rona!) The months leading up to our departure in August I was convinced that the program would be canceled because covid craziness had ruined everything else. Yet, somehow, my university was able to secure Schengen visas for us to travel to Lux. The Schengen zone is 26 European countries who abolished passport or other border control, giving us (mostly) free reign over all of Europe.

My experience as an American living in Europe during the pandemic was one only a handful of people in the world was able to have. I must have been asked over 100 times by confused Europeans how I was able to study in Europe during corona. Every time I would shrug and say “I got lucky.”

Luck is an understatement. My experience traveling across Europe during covid was stressful, yes, but also incredibly unique. In cultural capitals like Paris and Berlin, the streets were empty of tourists. I have photos of me at the Eiffel tower, the Louvre, and in front of the Mona Lisa in which no one else is in them! At the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin no one was pushing me out of the way to get their time in the front. It was surreal.

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So the setup was that we studied and lived with host families in Luxembourg Monday-Thursday, and were able to travel on the weekends. The rates of covid were extremely low in Luxembourg compared to the United State’s numbers, but because Europe was stricter in their handling of covid, this meant that Luxembourg was on the list of ‘no travel’ countries for places like France, Germany, and Switzerland. The confusing part was that this list would fluctuate weekly, so every single trip we had was planned last minute. We weren’t sure if we would be questioned at the borders (spoiler alert: we were not) so every week was a toss up. Though this was stressful, it also opened me up to travel to countries that I never would have visited had it been a normal semester abroad. Because Switzerland was closed (though it eventually opened back up and we visited last minute), we took an overnight train to Austria and paragliding in the Tirol mountains. Because Spain was closed I went to Sweden and kayaked in the Baltic Sea. I had no time to think; only act. Every time I would safely reach my destination I would let out a huge exhale of relief that nothing went wrong.

Although we flew a few times, we mostly used the amazing European train system to travel everywhere. We were not questioned one time during a train ride, and we must have taken over 50 of them during my time abroad. Since lots of travel was canceled because of covid, we had to get creative when traveling and find obscure routes to get to the destination we wanted. It was exhausting and exhilarating. Every weekend I lived in the moment and went big because I never knew if I would be sent home.

A big concern for us when deciding to come was whether or not the cities would be open. Though all nightclubs and some museums were closed due to covid, a lot were still open. We tried to do lots of outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking, biking, and even surfing in Portugal! Though covid limited us somewhat, it wasn’t too big a deal, but became worse as the second wave of covid hit Europe around November.

Most Luxembourg citizens were vigilant about staying safe, and would get tested for free weekly. Masks were mandated and enforced, and as the second wave hit there was a curfew at 11 pm for a while. All public transportation is free in Lux and we had to go in through the side door to limit contact. My host family never had covid (though my host sister had a scare once when someone at her school got it) and although my program had one scare, no one else got it the entire semester we were there.

Through all of it, I was blessed enough to visit many cities in France, many cities in Germany, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, Belgium, and Switzerland. The bond I formed with the other 21 students was amazing. You really learn a lot about people when traveling during a pandemic, and our shared unique experience made for lasting friendships and hilarious memories.

One crazy (now funny) storytime is the day I spent 12 hours detained in the Amsterdam airport due to a covid miscommunication. We were traveling to Berlin with my professor, and all had negative covid tests instead of one student who hadn’t received his test yet. My professor made the decision for him to still come, and ON the plane to Amsterdam he received his inconclusive test. The airport attendants freaked out and since there was no protocol for something like this, armed guards kept us from eating or going to the bathroom for 12 hours while we waited on the ground floor of the airport for further instructions. Thankfully we escaped the airport and finished the rest of the leg from Amsterdam –> Berlin on a train (he took another test and it came back negative, so all of that nuttiness was for nothing but a good story).

So in the end, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times (but mostly the best of times!) I am still absorbing how amazing this experience was three months later. I know people have mixed feelings about traveling during covid, but I can’t seem to regret the time I spent in Europe.

xx Gracie

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