2020-2021
How it all started during the pandemic: Going from mass international border closures in 2020, to gradual reopening towards the end of 2021
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Locations:
England, Scotland, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland, Romania, Bulgaria, USA
Sep 2020
Cotswolds, England
+ Oxford > Stonehenge > Bath
To overcome long-distance in the time of COVID-19, we decided to leave Singapore and the USA respectively after being apart for 6 months – by meeting up in the ONE country in Europe that still had its borders open: the United Kingdom. And into the English countryside we went!
Oct 2020
Lake District, England
We could stay 6 months in the United Kingdom, so we slowly made our way up north to explore a scenic part of England, as recommended by a friend. We went on hikes every weekend and the views were glorious!
Nov 2020
Edinburgh, Scotland
As we were close to the border of Scotland, we figured it'd make sense to head further up to explore a different part of the UK. It also helped that we found an amazing airbnb at an incredible price. Safe to say Edinburgh certainly did not fall short of expectations – it was dreamy and incredibly enchanting!
Dec 2020
London, England
How could we be in the UK and not spend any time in London, right? This also made it easier for Eric (the free American) to return to the US for the holidays, while I stayed put for a Mutant Virus Christmas (as Trump had banned all foreigners from entering from Europe, and returning to Singapore during the pandemic proved to be costly and difficult).
Jan & Feb 2021
Tallinn, Estonia
Estonia had announced in June that they were launching the "Digital Nomad Visa", the first of its kind on the European continent. The 6-month mark in the UK was looming closer, and with the deteriorating situation of the mutant virus in the UK, we knew we had to GTFO – and into Estonia.
Mar 2021
Tartu, Estonia
+ Peipus Villages
With our 12-month Estonian digital nomad approved, we looked into making our way across the country and picked Tartu, Estonia's 2nd largest city, as our next stop. This was also when Estonia became the worst hit country in Europe, with the highest cases of COVID-19. There's no escaping the virus!
Apr 2021
Parnu, Estonia
+ Soomaa National Park
After a month of being locked down in Tartu, we headed westwards to the "Summer Capital of Estonia", even though it wasn't summer quite yet. The beaches were literally still frozen, which was quite the sight! We still managed to cycle and go on walks in our puffy jackets.
May 2021
Zagreb, Croatia
+ Zadar
Eric REALLY wanted to be somewhere warmer after 4 months in Estonia, and so we decided on Croatia as it had fewer border restrictions than other countries in the region (according to the Internet). TBH I think we were just taking stabs in the dark, after all it was clearly still pandemic season~ Our flights even got cancelled last minute and we had to rebook on a different airline!
Jun 2021
Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania
Tallinn > Rummu > Narva > Riga > Kaunas > Vilnius
I returned to Estonia by myself to get vaccinated, while Eric – yet again – flew back to the USA to see family (and to get the jab as well). This time, I got to experience it in the summer, and even visited the other two Baltic states that finally opened their borders: Latvia and Lithuania!
Jul 2021
Northern Italy
Rome > Orvieto > Sienna > Florence > Venice > Verona > Cinque Terre
Europe was slowly opening up its borders and Italy was the first to welcome vaccinated travellers from America, where Eric was making his return from. This made it the best place for us to meet up – my first foray into Western Europe, and also our first fast-paced trip in a long while.
Aug 2021
Southern France
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur > Monaco
Eric had heard great things about south of France, and so we made plans to venture into Nice, Monaco, Aix-en-Provence and their surrounding regions. This was also when Lori, Eric's mom, joined us on our travels for the first time!
Sep 2021
Vienna, Austria
After an intense two months of constant moving around, we were VERY ready to slow down and just ~chill~ at our next destination. Vienna proved to be truly one of the most liveable places in Europe! My mum (Mummy Sim) also followed in Eric's mom's footsteps, and flew over to visit me after one year of being apart.
Oct 2021
Switzerland
Lausanne > Bern > Wengen > Zermatt > Lucerne > Zurich
Eric and his brother Craig had made plans to ride motorcycles across Switzerland – and that turned out to be the perfect timing/plan for me to take Mummy Sim to her "dream country" (I quote verbatim). Switzerland was truly stunning to our eyes – and my pockets.
Nov 2021
Brasov, Romania
+ Rupea >Viscri > SighiÈ™oara > Târgu MureÈ™ > Salina Turda > Cluj-Napoca > Sibiu > Transfagarasan > Bucharest
Romania was so high on my bucket list and when we made it there, it was like a dream come true! We had already spent almost 90 days in the Schengen Zone, and entering Romania was our way of remaining in Europe legally. Fun fact: The cost of a month in Romania = 4 days in Switzerland.
Dec 2021
Sofia, Bulgaria
+ Rila > Plovdiv > Veliko Tarnovo
Picked Bulgaria due to its close proximity to Romania, but a part of us wishes that we picked Ukraine instead (this was before the Russian War broke out). By this point restrictions had lifted and it was possible for me to join Eric for Christmas in the US again :)