Cutting Edge Computing

I Did Get Back October 4, 2021

About six weeks ago I wrote about the prospect of going to speak at a conference in Europe.  It seemed complicated to get there, and uncertain to get back.

Well, both worked, but it wasn’t fun.  It’s very difficult these days. I entered Schengen through Amsterdam, so was required to have paperwork for transiting the Netherlands, even though I was entirely airside. There was a quarantine declaration, a health certificate, and a letter of invitation saying that I was authorized to transit to my destination. Maybe one other thing; I lost track.

Switzerland required a vaccine certification and health document, which they never checked upon arrival (as I arrived early Saturday, I went to a lounge at the airport to kill some time, and had enough to drink so that it didn’t matter). Logan, I was required to show vaccine cards and the Netherlands quarantine certificate, even though I was not staying in the Netherlands. Immigration at Schiphol was very crowded, but they pushed people through quickly.

I wear KN95 masks, face shields, and vinyl gloves. uncomfortable, but I did okay. Everyone needs a negative Covid test to get back into the US (rapid antigen will do), but commercial services in other countries don’t know how to accommodate American requirements. I was supposed to use the Swiss Covid app on Google Play, but my phone couldn’t find it. The conference staff were extremely accommodating, and made it happen. I’m not sure I could have done it on my own.

The conference was what Switzerland calls a certificate event. If everyone is vaccinated or tested, no masks were required. That made me uncomfortable, and I masked the entire conference.

In addition to showing a negative Covid test (checked before boarding KLM in Zurich at 5 in the morning), the CDC requires a signed attestation (their word) that I in fact did have a negative Covid test. Not collected until Schiphol, and many passengers were not aware of it, which really caused chaos during boarding.

Fortunately, the flight to Logan was less than half full, and I had no one sitting near, so I could take off the face shield and gloves during the flight. But it was not fun at all.