Remember pre-9/11 air travel? (This is a Senior tennis blog after all.) It was easy..shoes stayed on, liquids were allowed through security, as were Swiss Army knives. Then we all got used to taking off shoes, emptying water bottles and pre-slicing apples (ok, the last one might just be me). But we could travel internationally with with just a passport to most countries. And no masks were required!

Now, entry requirements seem to change weekly..sometimes daily. There are forms to fill out. QR codes to find. Vaccination records or Covid test results to upload ( but not too far in advance). United texted me that my documents were fine..then they weren’t. Then they were. (So far so good). Lufthansa says they aren’t but United gave me a boarding pass.

Cloth masks are ok on United..but not on Lufthansa where N95 or KN 95 are required. Confusing!

So plan ahead, get vaccinated (last shot must be 2 weeks before flight), or get a rapid test (no more than 48 hours before arrival.. unless it’s a PCR test..then 72 hours max. Or possibly 48 hours…depends on the country.

Flight 1 to Houston: passport and vaccination card or negative covid test and Spain entry card glanced at

Flight 2: Everyone has to show passport and vaccination card or negative covid test AND has his/her picture taken (for tracing I assume). United vouches that every passenger has the correct documentation. The real yeast will be in Germany when I am jet lagged!