- by Jitka Kranz
My way back to my hometown Graz, Austria
As the situation got progressively worse and country regulations stricter, I have been struggling with the thought of going home. The university campus felt like a ticking time bomb. Everyone was scared of a corona case on campus as we all knew that it would spread quite fast and the perspective of being locked up in one’s room did not seem very pleasant. Nonetheless, I wanted to stay on campus as long as possible in order to finish some projects that required some face to face discussions and work.
On Sunday the 15th of March at 4:15 pm a friend of mine called me on the phone to inform me about the fact that the German - Austrian border would close the next day at 8 am. Only a day ago I have been telling another friend that if I were given 24 hours to go home it would be manageable. And now here I was with only 16 hours left and the trip taking 12 hours. Amazingly only minutes after my friends call two other friends called me to inform me on the same matter, one of them being in the United States. I was amazed at how this machinery of information sharing can work at times of emergency and uncertainty.
Looking up my possible train connections I realized that there is only one train that would bring me across the border in time. I went to my room and tried to focus on what to pack. Usually I am very organized and I know what I want and need. This time however everything seemed uncertain. I didn’t know how much clothes to pack. What about my things for the summer, what about my books, my backpack and all those things that I might need but cannot take with me right now. I left campus less than two hours later with a backpack and a little bottle of disinfection. Walking to the train station, locals looked at me with a funny look on their face. A look of empathy, sadness but also worry. Arriving at Bremen the lady at the information desk informed me and another student, who was coincidently attempting to catch the same train, that all trains to Austria have been cancelled. Astonished, I called my dad asking for advice and help. My idea was to take a train to Passau and then perhaps a bus or a car but no train would get us there in time before the borders closed.
As we were already standing outside, the lady from the information centre ran after us to tell us that she found one last train that crosses the border at 6:45 am. It was the train that I originally attempted to take in the first place, but for whatever reason it was renamed in the system.
Catching the right train in Hannover felt like a huge relief. Finally, we were on the train that would take us to Graz and we would not be stuck on the border. Arriving in Graz my dad was waiting for me at the station. It was weird cause we didn’t hug each other as we would usually do. Only after I arrived at home, washed my face and hands with lots of soap and disinfection and threw my clothes to the washing machine, only then we said hello properly. It was hard to believe that I made it. The stress was over.
I hope all of you who are reading this are at home, happy and sound; or perhaps with friends, but most importantly in a placy they feel comfortable and happy.