Auntie Helen

Of course - I found a rich, handsome German who has affection for this British lady and doesn’t mind the Union Jack cushions on our sofa…

I just wanted to update everyone.   I did indeed resign (as mentioned above) and got the doctor to complete a form for me that I had needed to resign for health grounds. I wasn't sure if the Agentur für Arbeit would agree with this but they did and I got Arbeitslosigkeitgeld from the first month.   My Zeugnis was written by my colleague who resigned three days after me and is a super-glowing one - well, I was a good employee!    I did about 10 job applications and had two interviews. After the first interview I was invited for a Probetag but felt before I went that this wouldn't be a good move for me - which was confirmed at the Probetag. I politely told them that I didn't think I would fit that role and we parted on good terms.   The second job was something I had randomly seen in the local paper (which I don't usually read) and I thought it was exactly my thing. I was invited for interview which went really well, and then I was called back for a second interview which was just to meet the company boss. After 10 minutes he said the job was mine.   I started working there a month later (they had a start date mid-August due to holidays of the people training me before that) and so I have now been there 5 weeks, but with a day off after two weeks for my wedding! It's going really well and it was so definitely the right move. It's so refreshing to not have that heavy feeling of responsibility the whole time when working - and they seem very happy with my performance. The job is currently 4 hours per day but will increase to 5 hours in due course; I was working 5 hours before. The pay is not quite as good but will be reviewed after a year. I received 6 weeks of Arbeitslosigkeitgeld which tided me over.   So it's such a relief to have made the move. I work in a company where 8 of the 9 office workers are part time (so they have a good part-time culture) and we are all over 45 years old, which suggests they like maturity. So I fit in as a 50 year old. One difference is German is spoken the whole time - at my last company people liked me speaking English so they could practice their comprehension. Old company was a food production facility, new one makes candles so it's different terminology but the same underlying structures.   So happy days - plus recent newlywed of course!

No, the day you arrive is day 0.   so if you arrive on Tuesday you do the test on Thursday.

I didn’t notice this but I was one of the first in the queue and have a German passport so sailed through.

Yes, I couldn’t find it again. Weird. But I am sure I read something about it as it made us change our plans and consider Gibraltar, then Gretna Green, before our local Standesamt decided to be friendly and accept my UK divorce certificate. But I can’t find it now and all the Danish wedding sites are up and running so it must be OK.

Sorry, badly written.   I mean, Germany doesn’t automatically recognise them now.   of course I can’t find the website where I read that, I will keep looking…

I don’t think Danish weddings work in Germany now. When I was researching for our wedding we planned for Denmark but then saw that it would cause problems in DE. We ended up managing to jump through the hoops and were married here in NRW two weeks ago:   https://www.auntiehelen.co.uk/reader-i-married-him/

If you add your vaccination certificates to the Corona Warn App (not CovPass App) and your App is in English, then it gives your details in English.   Be aware, if you have had 2 different vaccinations as I have (AZ and then BioNTech) the UK will require quarantine.

I had a similar one when visiting the Uk and it was fine. They only glanced at it.   however, this one does not give specificity and sensitivity, nor the test producer. That might be an issue, but I would be surprised.   my test certificate was 2 pages, and the second page had the small print.

Thank you!

Of course it could all change any minute!   But I am hoping it will stay the same or get easier in the next 3 weeks before my relatives come.   I am doing all the paperwork for my Mum and my sister is printing out all the documents. It is much too much for a 76 year old woman who only uses her mobile phone for WhatsApp and The Archers. If she didn’t have us to do it I guess it would be beyond her.

I wrote this massively long document for my Mum and sister so they know what to do when they come. It is specific to Stansted/Köln airport and with them coming from the UK to Germany and then returning to the UK, but the information might be helpful to some here the other way round!   Preparations to arrive in Germany Before you arrive in Germany you will need to arrange the following: 1. Order from Eurofins a Day 2 Corona Test for when you return to the UK. You have to order this before you do the Passenger Locator Form to return to the UK. Best to arrange it before you leave for Germany. They deliver in 2-5 days. 2. Two days before you travel you should complete the German Einreiseanmeldung. This is a shorter version of the UK Passenger Locator Form. You will need either a printout of this or have it as a PDF on your phones. I suggest a printout, much safer.  You will not be able to enter Germany without this document, and it links to your Passport Number.  Once you create this form you also need to upload your proof of vaccination, a scan or a screenshot of the phone. The uploads are all done with one-time phone codes. 3. Print out of the boarding cards after your online check-in, or have them on the app on your phone.
   At Stansted Airport - leaving You need just your boarding pass for security - it is scanned at the automatic gates. No general passport control at Stansted - you walk straight to the gate and your passport is checked there as you are boarding. At the Ryanair gate you need to show: Boarding Card Passport Vaccination proof German Einreiseanmeldung (blue and white form) The Ryanair employees were walking along the queue checking the documents and then giving you a small slip of paper with a signature so the gate staff knew your documents had been checked. To get on the plane you don’t need to show anything, just to know your seat number.   Arriving in Germany - Cologne Airport At the passport control, which is very soon after you come off the plane, you need to show: Passport Einreiseanmeldung (blue and white form) They did not ask to see my vaccination proof but that might be as I was a German citizen.   Preparations to return to the UK 48 hours or less before returning to Germany you will need to complete the UK Government Passenger Locator Form. You need the Eurofins Covid Test Booking Number so must have ordered the test beforehand.   You will also each need a negative COVID test to be done in Germany which must have the results in both German and English.   Returning from Cologne Airport to Stansted It took about 15-20 minutes for me to get through security. Security X-rays etc were followed immediately by passport control. They were only interested in my passport, not the other documentation. At the gate they will check the following before/as you board: Passport Boarding Card Proof of negative COVID test Proof of vaccination UK Passenger Locator Form   Arriving at Stansted after flying home When you get back to Stansted you will go to the general Passport Control for all travellers. It is automatic gates and you need to go to the LEFT HAND SIDE when you get out of the Transit. You only need to show your passport, they did not look at any of the other documents for me. Once you are through the passport gates (took a long time for me, it couldn't read my passport properly) then you can make your way out.

Hi there Colin.   The test in Germany was easy - just went to the local testing station as I know their results are in English as well as German, although I have to say the Ryanair people just glanced at it.   The Day 2 test in the UK I administered myself as Mum lives in the wilds of East Sussex.   I was faced with the impossibly long list of UK providers on the Government website with vast numbers of unrealistic prices (28 pounds, but only one at that price per day, perhaps!). I looked at some comparison sites and found one or two that were meant to be good and reliable (although usually price-wise around 50 pounds or more) but they were all sold out when I tried to book one 6 days before I would be due to take it.   In the end I went with Eurofins and I have to say they were pretty good. I ordered the kit on Saturday and it arrived at the English address on Tuesday. Everything was inside with clear instructions, all required packaging materials etc. They have to be dropped off at a Royal Mail Priority Postbox and there were a fair few near Ipswich but not many to the north so if Mum lived around Debenham/Eye we would have had quite a long drive. We posted the completed test at 4pm in the Postbox near Ipswich and I was very impressed to get my result by about 6pm English time the next day - so they must have processed it in just a few hours. Test was negative.   My Mum and Sister are coming over to visit in 3 weeks (for my wedding!!!!) and they will also go with Eurofins when they return as I was happy with their service, although their website was a bit counter-intuitive. 

It was interesting as things were checked very vaguely.   airport did normal passport check/boarding card at security. Security queue was normal, maybe 15 minutes.   i arrived at the boarding gate 3.5 hours early as I had factored in loads of spare time.   Just before boarding began, one of the two women at the boarding gate started to look at people’s documents. She basically went up the queue of people waiting to board.   i always wait to the end to board and all she did was check I had three things - passenger locator form, test and Corona vaccination certificate on my phone. I showed her all three but I doubt she actually read any of it, she just saw the document or quick code on phone existed. I had printed out the first two documents which made this a bit easier as I wasn’t fiddling with my phone.   Arriving at Stansted it was just the passport at the electronic gate. However, my Passenger Locator Form is linked to my passport number. I assume if I hadn’t done a passenger locator form it would not let me through the gates.   My Day 2 test has arrived at my UK address and I will do this on Thursday, I then have to put it in a special post box (a 5km drive from here) and they will test it once I am back in Germany.   Social distancing in airport queues is bad as they have you queuing up and down taped-off routes. In the UK people swapped to community masks in the airport (presumably allowed) and that made me feel a bit nervous.   Mum and I stopped for scones on the way back from the airport. I kept wearing my FFP2 mask until seated, everyone else in the tea room was maskless. I am keeping my mask on in all public areas in the UK while I am here, and have brought a fresh mask for each day.

I am off to England tomorrow and got a Schnelltest in town this morning. The results have English in the important places and include my birthdate. Sensitivity and specificity are as required in the post above. I also filled in the Passenger Locator Form which is a huge thing and arranged for my Day 2 test in the UK. I will be back in Germany before the test arrives at the lab but hey ho, those are the rules.