none on foot

After I finished writing part 1, I overheard a conversation in the hostel between the owner and some other people. It was about the fact that starting tomorrow, only life-sustaining businesses are to stay open. Otherwise, the quarantine is imposed and everyone should stay at home

I quickly made the decision not to continue the pilgrimage and to return to Germany as soon as possible. Markus had already heard about the news and joined me. Together with another German we took a cab to Burgos and from there a bus to Bilbao, where the nearest international airport is. Since I couldn’t reach Lufthansa to rebook my flight, I booked another flight through TAP Portugal. Arriving at the airport, everything seemed unexpectedly quiet. The last flights for the evening were still flying. No one could really tell us what the situation would be like the next day. Markus booked us a hotel. Just before we were about to leave, I noticed that the lights were still on in the Air Iberia office. It looked like they were partners with Lufthansa, who don’t have a counter at the airport themselves. The friendly lady promptly helped me out and was able to rebook my original flight for the next morning at 7am, free of charge. Everything continued to work out great from here. We slept for a few hours and then got to our flights on time. My flight was almost empty to my surprise. I arrived back in Mannheim within 4 hours including the train. I hope that TAP will reimburse me for my extra flight. (they didn’t)

As it turned out, since today the Spaniards are only allowed on the street to buy food, go to the doctor/pharmacy and walk the dog before it bursts. I am curious when the state of emergency is proclaimed in our country and I am glad to be back with my loved ones for the time being. However, I am also sad not to be able to go further, but will make up for it as soon as possible. Neither in Spain nor in Germany were controls on Corona.