The UK border police at Calais noticed that I a printout of the form ready on the passenger seat, then told me "We're not checking it here but they will do at Folkestone". I was wondering how they would do this, given that you don't go through any kind of passport control area when you leave the shuttle... sure enough, there was no check.

Hi,
What is the situation now? Is it free to cross the border to France?

yes, but not from 8pm to 7am, from 15th.

Any changes to border crossing to France?

You can drive over the French border to shop... at the moment

I have made the journey to Spain twice during December, both times by train passing through Geneva , Lyon and Barcelona . Apart from the French in Geneva doing cursory checks of people’s IDs there were no checks whatsoever . French train timetables are radically thinned out compared to the normal levels and the booking system has a few glitches which is why I finally went to the SBB ticket office - so much for doing everything possible to prevent unnecessary exposure. But the French trains I was on were very well filled which is I why I was very happy I had opted for first class . Lyon station was also extremely crowded with lots of people camping out because they had not been informed their train was not running and there was a very long queue at the booking office with only two desks occupied and lots of people trying to change or cancel bookings . Nevertheless people were taking it in their stride and the overall atmosphere was one of humour and solidarity. No police to be seen anywhere .

In Spain on the other hand the full timetable was still in operation but with very few people on board and all catering suspended .

Train catering suspended in CH as well, plus trains are back to shorter length. Probably for desinfection reason and staffing.

Hi all,
Does anyone know if shopping in Germany is still doable?
Last news I heard was Baden Württemberg to allow daily trips for border kantons, is it still the case?!

Mhh...I found my answer...there’s an update from December 22nd saying that more restrictions apply...so, unless you tell at the border you’re going to meet a friend or relative (which accidentally works at edeka...), you’re not supposed to go shopping cross border

You are not supposed to go there at all, visiting friends, at edeka or where ever, is not allowed.

That's right. We found out on the 23rd. At the checkout of Aldi... We went quite early so got back into Switzerland without being arrested. Ours was definitely not the only Swiss registered car in the car park.

Here's the information from German Embassy in Switzerland.
https://bern.diplo.de/ch-de/aktuelles/-/2311624
This says that Switzerland is considered a high-risk area.


Here is the German information about entering Germany.
https://www.bundesgesundheitsministe...de.html#c18588 (in German)
https://www.bundesgesundheitsministe...rs.html#c18686 (in English)
This says that persons entering Germany from a high-risk area must go into quarantine for 10 days.


Here are the rules for Baden Württemberg.
https://www.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de...rueckreisende/
This says that there are some more lenient exceptions for some categories of travellers who are allowed to enter Germany under special conditions, but that these exceptions do not apply to trips that are "überwiegend aus touristischen Gründen oder zu Zwecken des Einkaufs" (= primarily for reasons of tourism, or for the purpose of shopping).

A large number of the Departments in Eastern France have now introduced a curfew from 6pm - rather than 8pm as of yesterday. We crossed the Swiss/French border yesterday from seeing family over New Year and there were zero checks/personnel.

Perhaps the staff are all under curfew as well.

I feel they mainly try to scare people away from even trying to cross the border. When I crossed the highway border at Basel going into Germany before Christmas, there wasn't even a single border guard. It was on a Sunday, so it seems they are just interested in stopping border shoppers.

I definitely agree there are scare tactics involved all the way as well as a certain degree of exaggeration of the risks and an appeal to the gullibility of honest citizens.

Which doesn't mean one should feel free to do as one pleases just because the police isn't looking.

Well around here, according to the local press, they beefed up checks over the weekend trying to catch the skiers who came over the border. If no PCR negative text in 72hrs, they are now quarantined for 7 days. Some 48 people caught at one border crossing reportedly.

Update for those who wish to know what it was like crossing France/Switzerland Geneva border this last weekend. (Bardonnex crossing)

We entered France on 22nd December, driving a car with Zurich plates, about 11am. No customs officers visible on Swiss side. On French side, the guy in front of us got stopped - but he was on Monaco plates, driving what looked to me like a classic drug baron's motor. Other than that, 2 lanes of cars moving at the usual crawl, no routine checking of passports, permits or travel attestations.

After spending Christmas isolating at our house in France, we returned on Saturday 9th January around midday. I expected this crossing to be more complicated, what with increased Covid regulations etc.

Yet this time, there was no one stopping people at the French side. On the Swiss side, there was one customs officer visible, checking a car that was piled high with boxes of foodstuffs all on the back seat. Again, 2 lines of traffic, mostly Swiss plated cars, crawled through as normal without permit or passport checks.

YMMV, but for us there were no restrictions.


Kind regards




Ian

I've just received an email from my PO Box company in Rheinfelden, Germany informing me that they have an exemption for parcel collection, negotiated with the State of Baden Württemberg. If you print and flash this letter you should be allowed in for that expressed purpose without the necessity for quarantine.

P.S Only applies to those border cantons listed below

I guess it applies also to collecting stuff from LAS burg..?