Remark at the beginning: The original post is in
German under “Almuts Anekdoten” and I did my best to make it understandable to
non-Germans here 😊.
Now
contact restrictions with shutdown of restaurants, barbershops, hairdressers
have been introduced in Germany since March23, 2020, schools, universities and
kindergardens already closed a week before. You are allowed to go outside but
only with one person or your family you live with. You have to practice social distancing.
Many friends, acquaintances and relatives are responding to my previous blog
"And the world stands still", by phone, WhatsApp and mail. The
comments are so highly interesting and diverse that I would like to share them
with you, they speak for themselves.
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| THE WORLD IS UPSIDE DOWN |
-M.
from Frankfurt: we don't let anyone go into the pharmacy anymore.
-A.
from Messel: We are delighted that the funeral can take place in the closest
circle.
-N.
from Bensheim-Auerbach: Madness.
-S.
from Cologne: Because of the fair in May we are all waiting for a decision if
it can take place. At the beginning of this beautiful week nobody in Cologne
had understood. Because the sun was shining here, the parks and cafés were full
of people, just stupid. The only thing that helps is to restrict the number of
people allowed. (This became true two days after this mail)
V.
from Griesheim: I'm pregnant and I'm glad that I will be in hospital probably in
July. At the moment I don't know whether my husband can come to the clinic or
not.
 |
| All churches in Germany are closed |
-D.
from the dance course: Hopefully things will calm down soon, I have already
forgotten all the steps.
-M.
from Mannheim: We have to be in the slowest contact with the virus as possible
in some form to build antibodies, the only question is how we can do it with
the least restrictions and deads, without vaccine.
-O.
from Langen: Yes, it looks spooky everywhere. Even the supermarkets with the
empty shelves. Our vacation to Bavaria was cancelled. We have cleared out our
study. From Monday I will be online at home. Hope you are doing well and the
ceiling doesn't fall on your head!
-S.
from Wixhausen: at the butcher you can buy toilet paper now! And the people
wait disciplined with 2 meters distance until the other one has finished his
order.
 |
| Machines are still running, March 2020, Darmstadt, Germany |
-P.
from Heppenheim: I have the feeling as if nature strikes back.
-C.
from Arheilgen: My wife and I now both work in the home office. Because of the
small children she has one day off and I have one day off, so we take turns
taking care of the children. Somehow I have the impression that I do not have
more time.
-J.
from La Gomera: I'm glad that you are doing well so far. I had a dream hiking
week on Gomera from March 9. Since
Sunday everything has changed abruptly with the draconian emergency decree in
Spain and with the curfew I am now waiting for a message from Foreign Minister
Heiko Maas whether and when I can fly back. If I go shopping and am checked, I
have to show the receipt.
-A.
from Griesheim: At the moment it is difficult to find any end dates at all. I'm
afraid that this will take at least until the end of May. We have been sitting
in our homeoffice since Monday and are in conference calls from morning to
night. Fortunately, the children can organize themselves with their schoolwork.
Come healthy through this unreal time.
 |
| View from bridge North Station Darmstadt |
-K.
from Otzberg: Christina von Dreien requests the participation of each
individual in worldwide simultaneous meditation on April 5th at 4:45 a.m.
German time for the final eradication of the corona virus.
-G.
from Heidelberg: A great restaurant here, which had to close, now offers
sushi-to-go with delivery service. I will probably order it and support the
restaurant with it, otherwise they will all go bankrupt.
-M. from Arheilgen: This is a completely
different job at the daycare center. We are now cleaning up and sorting things
out. Only one emergency child came by, but the mother took it away again when
she saw that there are no other children. She does not want to let him
completely alone here. The other mothers organized the care differently.
-J.
from Marburg: thank you very much for sharing! With or without Corona, I am
writing my exam paper in math in seclusion. There is simply no end to it.
-R.
from Darmstadt: Very nicely written and unfortunately reality.
-S.
near Milan, Italy: Everyone here hopes to have ridden through the valley of
tears soon.
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| Sign announcing, that in the drugstore there is no toilet paper at the moment available |
-M. from Griesheim: Yes, I'm fine, of course I'm in my home office and there's no group cuddling, only my mother we've ordered house arrest for the most part (she's over 80 years old), except for going for a walk and we visit her with her shopping. We did Qi Gong via Skype, cheers for the technology.
-B.
from Dreieich-Buchschlag: I am torn inside, on the one hand these terrible
pictures, on the other hand nature is blooming, it is here now such a wonderful
silence, because there are hardly any planes left. Only 5% of Lufthansa planes
are still flying.
-M.
from Darmstadt: My daughter got married and sent me a photo with her hands with
rings over Whatsapp. My daughter could only marry in Berlin in threes. She, her
husband and her little daughter. The mariage witnesses from Bavaria weren't
allowed to come. When it was announced that the registry office in Berlin would
close on April 3, they spontaneously brought forward their wedding, which was
planned for mid-April. Let's see how it goes on.
-P.
from Urberach, party service and lunch, sale of regional meat and sausage
products: "We are open Tuesdays to Fridays, 10:00 to 1:30 p.m. with
information on Corona protection: When shopping in our shop, please keep at
least 1.5m distance to staff and other customers/Please order by telephone in
advance to shorten waiting time/Our lunch and goods delivery service runs as
usual, please order by telephone by 10am/ Please also use our new drive-in
through our yard, after ordering by telephone. BR and stay healthy.
 |
| Drugstores have limited shopping carts in order to guarantee distance inside the shop. If the shopping carts are empty outside you have to wait. |
-M.
from a holiday in a motorhome in Spain: All very scary. We are on our way back
through Spain, but will not go to Celles (=residence in Alsace), because the
numbers there are so alarming. Take care of yourself!
-T.
from Heidelberg: Since Saturday it is also spookily quiet here. I'm curious
what the next weeks will bring...apart from that I'm fine, I was only banned
from the factory premises, but I'm in top shape. Stay healthy!
-K.
from Griesheim: The food wholesaler now offers the following: "Due to the
corona crisis we are now opening our doors for private customers. Drive-in with
stock sale.
A.
from Mörlenbach: We are all healthy and at home. The graphic design school is
well organized, A. works almost the same way as me in the home office with
online tools etc. H. will start her dual studies on April 1st. Lessons on
remote, operation until then still open? Many greetings.
K.
from Habitzheim: As a self-employed person the massages are breaking away, at
the moment he is still working alternatively at the biogas plants, because
there is a lack of manpower.
-A.
from Darmstadt: The craftsmen are at home in Slovakia and are not working at
the construction site at the moment.
-J.
from Darmstadt: In Italy they are already taking goats for a walk, because it
is said that you can take pets for a walk. It is said that some even have dragged
a stuffed animal dog behind in order to be able to go for a walk outside.
-G.
with photo of the Parisian entitlement to go outside: (Attestation de
Déplacement dérogatoire). In addition to the points "On the way to work,
shopping, walking, caring for the needy", the following reason is added
handwritten underneath: "Ma femme me fait chien"= My wife gets on my
nerves.
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| French document to go outside added with a further reason of an individual |
P.
from Otzberg, works for a supplier of spare parts: Work pressure is increasing.
Orders from Italy have completely broken down. Now he could soon close his
shop, says the boss. You have to be able to afford short-time work.
R.
from Darmstadt, psychotherapist: I myself try to get many clients and patients
on the phone and Skype in the acute situation until I finally have respirators.
At the moment I get nothing. But I am not alone.......We hope for an early
relaxation of the situation.
Translated
with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
