Where Is Home for International Couples during Covid-19

In this blog post I want to share my story on behalf of all international couples during Covid-19. My Covid-19 story begins in Bolivia and ends in Denmark with me re-defining my understanding of home. So grab a cup of coffee because this is going to be a long one.

How to even begin this post? For the last 3 months, I’ve been so focused on sharing our amazing adventures on this travel blog. But travel is not all bliss and I’ve had a very hard time coping with Covid-19’s impact mine and Glenn’s life.

I never had the virus but Covid-19 still had a big influence on my relationship since Glenn and I are an international couple. I’m from Denmark and he’s from Belgium, you can go to about us to read our story.

In this blog post I want to get real. I want to share my story during this pandemic and tell you how it affected me from March – June 2020. I also want to share my story on behalf of other international couples who have suffered separation during Covid-19. So buckle up cause you’re in for a ride!

Also, I apologize for all the drama that’s coming up…

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We almost got stuck in South America during Covid-19

Let’s start from the beginning!

Glenn and I left for a round-the-world-trip in July 2019, and by March 2020, we had made our way to Bolivia in South America.

Our initial plan was to work our way into Peru, but since I got altitude sickness in Uyuni, we decided not to continue our trail into high altitudes. At this point in our journey, I was also feeling very homesick since we had been traveling for 9 months. So instead of exploring more of South America, we made a completely different plan.

My dad had booked tickets to Thailand in late March and asked if we wanted to join him, his wife and my sisters. This was an amazing opportunity for me to keep on traveling while being with my family. So Glenn and I accepted his offer and booked the following flight tickets: Bolivia –> Brazil –> Turkey –> Thailand. I was so excited to finally see some family and go back to Thailand!

And then…

Two weeks later the Danish government issued a warning that said, “All Danish citizens are to return home to Denmark, immediately!”.

I just broke down.

This warning was issued while I was in Cochabamba, 10 hours away from Santa Cruz which is where you find one of the big international airports in Bolivia. So I wasn’t able to return to Denmark immediately. And what about Glenn? He is from Belgium, and we’re an international couple, so would he be able to enter Denmark during the Covid-19 outbreak?

The answer was no.

Denmark directly closed their borders and it was impossible for me to make it back to Denmark with Glenn. So what should we do? Split up and return to our home countries separately, or stay together somewhere else?

We had our scheduled flight tickets out of Bolivia to Thailand in 5 days, so we decided to hop on the first plane from our Thailand-flight-itinerary to Brazil and then take it from there.

In those 5 days I didn’t sleep and I didn’t eat. I was so nervous that we wouldn’t make it out of Bolivia since they already cancelled all flights to and from Europe. Would they also cancel the flight to Brazil? Will they close their borders? Can we get out? How long would we have to stay here? Will we be safe? Many questions filled my mind.

Glenn was my rock during this stressful time. He was much more relaxed than me, and he helped me to ease my mind as much as he could. Thanks love – I know you’re reading this.

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Flying out of Bolivia just in time and buying a last-minute flight out of South America

We made it to Santa Cruz Airport in Bolivia and we were pleased to see that our flight to São Paulo was still on time.

I wouldn’t use the word “chaos” to describe what I saw in the airport but something odd was definitely happening. A lot of young backpackers were crying and I assume that they didn’t get a ticket out (we were told this was supposed to be one of the last flights out of Bolivia). I felt so bad being one of the “lucky” ones, just because we luckily had booked our tickets 2 weeks in advance with a plan to head to Thailand.

I actually never followed up on Bolivia and their border closings but I have a friend who got stuck there for a long time, so I assume they eventually cancelled all flights in and out.

Anyways, we made it out of Bolivia and into Brazil, and we found ourselves in the big São Paulo airport. This was relieving since there was still flights leaving towards Europe. However, there was also many cancellations, so we had to act quick.

We looked online and saw how the ticket prices had sky rocketed. What should we do? We didn’t want to miss our window of leaving South America… So we made a quick decision to just pay the money and book the first flight to Europe.

2,5 hours later we were sitting on a plane towards Lisbon in Portugal. Who would have known? And for the first time in a week, I felt the anxiety lift knowing that we would soon be back in Europe. I never slept better on a plane before.

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Living in Lisbon for 3 months during Covid-19

We arrived in Lisbon a few days before Portugal’s big Covid-19 lockdown. This meant we experienced no restrictions at all when entering Portugal, so we could both get in!

When we arrived in Lisbon Airport, we looked for an airbnb and just sat down for a moment. Being back in Europe felt great! We’re both European citizens and knowing that we weren’t far from our home countries during a pandemic was very comforting.

We put ourselves in a 14-days self isolation in our new apartment in Alfama, and found that our lockdown life in Lisbon wasn’t too bad. On the contrary, it actually felt great to have a base for the first time in 9 months! We had our own kitchen, bathroom and bed?! What a luxury for two full-time travelers.

Related blog post: The Best Things to do in Alfama

When we arrived that day in Lisbon, we never expected to stay for 3 whole months. We were practically living in Portugal!

Glenn and I also witnessed the lockdown lift and the re-opening of Lisbon, and we were happy to go out and support the restaurants and cafés.

Glenn and I will always be thankful to Portugal. In Lisbon, we had the opportunity to be together during Covid-19 since our own countries had closed their borders. So thank you so much for having us Portugal!

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Saying Goodbye to Glenn and Travel

When almost 3 months had passed and Denmark still hadn’t opened their borders to European partners, we realized that we had to separate. For many international couples, covid-19 turned out to be a nightmare for their relationship… Soon Glenn had to be back at work, and we couldn’t stay in Lisbon forever.

I was crying for days. I didn’t want to split up.

Glenn and I have been together for four years, three of those in a long-distance relationship and one of those full-time traveling together. The thought of not being with Glenn was very painful. Especially since we didn’t know when we would see each other again.

Together we flew out of Lisbon to Frankfurt in Germany. We had a 12 hours layover, so we spent some time in the airport together. But none of us didn’t really know what to say. We were both just sad. We were sad that we had to split up and that our round-the-world-trip was officially over.

I will never forget that awful goodbye in Frankfurt’s gate A13. I cried like a little baby and my mask became full of tears and snot. Sorry for that super delicious picture I just painted. Just a tip, don’t cry while wearing a mask!

I was still crying hard while entering the plane, and the stewardesses saw it. A few seconds later they announced over the intercom, “We realize it’s been a very hard time for a lot of people, but we are so happy that you are with us here today…”. I couldn’t help but laugh a little. I guess they just tried to make me feel better.

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Home is where the heart is

My mom and dad picked me up in the airport and we were all crying a little. It felt great to hug them again after a year away from my Danish family. I really missed them, a lot!

A few days later it was my birthday. My friends made a little surprise party and I was so happy to see them all again.

I’m very grateful that I have such amazing people in my life who cares about me.

However, if I have to be honest, I still have a hard time being completely happy and present. Everyone keeps saying, “Welcome home” and every time I heard that sentence, I feel like something’s off… I’ve finally realized why I don’t like hearing that sentence.

I’ve spend 1 year traveling with Glenn, which means I’ve been with him every second of every day. It’s now clear to me that he is my home. He is the only consistency I’ve had during that year of travel and being without him really hurts.

“Home is where the heart is”, my apologies for sounding super cheesy, but my heart is with Glenn and I will never feel 100% home anywhere without him. I’m not afraid to admit that I’ve become dependent on him.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my friends and family and I’m so happy to spend time with them, but Denmark will never completely feel like home as long as Glenn is not here.

The good news is that Europe is finally opening their internal borders, meaning that Glenn and I are now allowed free access to each others countries. I know there are many international couples around the world who had troubles during covid-19, and I know that many are struggling. In fact many international couples that have been separated due to border closings and partners being put in the same category as tourists. I sincerely hope that these couples can be reunited soon!

But for now, I will try to enjoy the time I have with my family and friends before I will return to Glenn who is my little home on earth.

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My apologies for all the drama and cheesiness in this blog post, but this is how I feel! Do you know any international couples who had trouble being together during covid-19, then I would love to hear your/their story in the comments!

Thank you for reading and happy travels!