GREG Cullen from Letterkenny is a Golf Professional who lives in Feldafing, a village of about 2,000 people on the west side of Starnberg lake between Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany.
Each year Greg organises golf trips back home to Ireland, Scotland and Spain but in 2020 it looks increasingly likely that this summer will be spent in Germany with his wife Claudia who owns one of the hairdressing salons in the village.
“All that is open at the moment is the supermarket, the doctors practice and the petrol station for the foreseeable future.
“Common sense is prevailing in that most people do realize that this is probably going to turn into something horrendous,” he explains.
Shopping for food and doctor appointments are allowed – with appointment – while going for walks isn’t forbidden yet but everyone is practising distance. Emergency travel at your own discretion is permitted though foreign travel is forbidden and Lufthansa have cancelled the majority of their flights.
“Every hour there is a radio update and the latest news on the virus. Trains are running but on a reduced time-table.
“It is a situation comparable with an emergency but not yet a curfew which I think will happen in the coming days because of all the corona events, quarantines, required isolation measures and deaths in other countries.
“However it gives people space to see and understand just how fragile the human race is. I just hope the required patience for its duration becomes a priority for everybody as I can imagine it will take a year or so for a certain amount of normality in life to return,” he said.
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