Cutting Edge Computing

I Can Get to Europe Next Month; Can I Get Back Again? August 4, 2021

I am speaking at Swiss Testing Day in Zurich on September 14^th.  They seem to be bound and determined to hold an in-person conference, even with the rise of the Delta variant and the next wave of Covid.

I haven’t made any reservations yet.  But I have been researching requirements for travel.  First, the good news.  Because I am fully vaccinated, it appears Switzerland will accept me.  But I’m a little leery of that; because of the strange attitude in the US toward vaccine passports, my proof is my vaccine cards (I have two, one for each shot), which are hardly positive identification.

It’s also a little problematic because Switzerland is not part of the EU, but is a member of Schengen, the larger aviation consortium.  But it looks like I can transit Amsterdam Schiphol (the Netherlands itself is not accepting Americans), as long as I stay airside.

Getting back is another story.  Even with vaccination, anyone coming into the US (only on an airplane) is required to have a negative Covid test within three days of departure.  Not 72 hours, but three days (don’t ask).

My problem here was that I had no idea where to get tested in Zurich.  Some research informed me that the Swiss, efficient people that they are, are offering testing at the airport, before you leave.  I am a little hesitant about getting a test shortly before I get on the airplane; what happens if it comes up positive?

But what kind of test do I need?  The explanation is dense, but I think (emphasis on think) a rapid antigen test will suffice.  The airport clinic says that the turnaround time for this type of test is about 20 minutes, which means that it can be done just prior to departure.  The more comprehensive PCR test returns in about five hours.

And, of course, everything or anything can change in the next six weeks.

And then I get to do the same thing two weeks later to go to Serbia.