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14 May to 13 October 2022
After a very long wait, we were finally confident to work through the risks of travelling following COVID.
I trawled through travel insurance offerings to ensure any tickets we bought would be refunded in the event of a further COVID outbreak.
The world was tired and weary – we needed our lives back again. For us that meant meeting our eldest granddaughter. We wanted to stay a few months so we could travel and return to Berlin to watch milestones.
So in November 2021 we bought tickets to Berlin and back. The timing was to coincide with a wedding that had already been postponed twice. It was in Treviagno, Italy just 50 km north of Rome. The family was invited. What a wonderful opportunity for us all to be together with two little girls.
Evan and Steph were also anxious to return to USA for unfinished business. They had scrambled home in the middle of the COVID crisis, without a proper farewell to friends and colleagues. They also wanted to visit friends in France then join us in Portugal.
Hayden and Andrea were planning summer in Granada with Andrea’s family, returning to Berlin after the wedding.
We waited and watched, until May finally arrived and we were off. Our plans were now finalised:
- 3 weeks in Berlin, getting to know their routine and exploring parks and ice cream shops
- 2+ weeks in Portugal, travelling with Evan and family
- 5 days in Granada to celebrate a 3rd birthday
- 3 days in Barcelona to enjoy the old times there
- a week in Italy for the wedding and some touring
- From there it got fuzzy. We certainly had to spend more than 20 days out of the Schengen countries and we rather liked the idea of exploring Scotland and Ireland.
- Return to Berlin for the final two weeks, home in mid-October.
The journey changed. In Granada I was suffering from an indescribable weakness. To climb 8 steps took a massive effort with a rest half way. My head was fuzzy – I couldn’t think straight. I managed to survive the very special birthday celebration and we flew to Barcelona a couple of days later.
We were both concerned, so called a doctor. She sent me to a hospital emergency department. Tests showed I had developed haemolytic anaemia and my red blood cell count was dangerously low. I was hospitalised in Barcelona with blood transfusions. It all came as a complete surprise with no previous history and no obvious causes. “That’s just the type of anaemia you have”, they told me. Often there is no warning signs and no known causes. Was it a post COVID condition?
We missed the wedding. I recuperated in Switzerland, before returning to Berlin, as doctors assured me I could continue the journey, with strong medication.
We then flew to England – Bristol offered an easy flight but a long way from Scotland. With a hired car we reached the Orkney Islands just north of Scotland’s northern coast. We meandered through Scotland then to Cumbria and Liverpool and caught a very slow ferry to Dublin.
An anticlockwise drive through Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland was fascinating. Ireland is green because it rains a lot!
We returned to UK and Manchester, our home for two years after we were married in 1973, then a short drive along the Welsh coast. Certainly places we had barely seen in our past travels.
We returned to Berlin for a final visit. It had been wonderful, watching a little person develop over 5 months.
At home, I went through further tests. Nothing explained the anaemia. Am I brave enough to take off again?
P.S. In 2025 I’m very behind with stories and photos, so this journey will slowly evolve.
IV26 2SX, Highland, Scotland, United Kingdom
