Leaving Prague (Almost Three Months Early)

Update: We’ve left Prague! And almost three months earlier than we had planned to.

In my last coronavirus update, I shared our journey racing back from Croatia to Prague. And not even a week later, we were involved in a whole new scramble. This time? From Prague to Canada, and with less than 24 hours’ notice!

Should we stay or should we go?

When we arrived back in Prague, we knew we had made the right decision to cut our Croatia/Slovenia trip short and return home. Our original intention was to wait everything out in Prague, and still return home to Canada in June as we had planned.

But every day, we received more information as the coronavirus situation changed all around the world. In Prague, restrictions were tightening. Not only was a State of Emergency declared, but restaurants and shops were closed, then a country-wide quarantine was enforced, and finally, on our last day, masks were made mandatory when leaving the house.

After every news report or worried message from a family member back home, Colin and I found ourselves going over our decision. Should we stay put in Prague or head home to Canada? We debated both sides, even writing up a pros and cons list.

As of March 16, we had decided to stay. We reasoned that we were safer in Prague. In Prague, we both worked from home, meaning we only needed to go outside for groceries and Ellie walks. Whereas in Vancouver, Colin works at a hospital, which is very risky in these times. (But because Colin is such a good person, he actually pointed out that as a hospital worker, he should get back home where he can help out during this crisis.)

We also don’t have a large social circle in Prague, so it’s pretty easy to self-isolate. Conversely, not only do we have friends and family in Vancouver, but they are friends and family we haven’t seen since last June. It’s pretty hard to socially isolate from a parent you haven’t seen for months!

We also felt that the strict regulations Prague was implementing meant that the Czech Republic would be a safer place to stay. And we knew staying would be the more affordable option. We wouldn’t have to book expensive new flights or lose out on rent money by breaking our lease early.

And lastly, we thought we had time. Our original flight home wasn’t until June 9. Surely, things would be better by then!

Decision time

And then things changed, as they seem to do almost hourly in this new environment. On Monday March 16, we watched Justin Trudeau announce that Canada would be closing its borders to non-citizens and limiting international flights to just four airports. He looked straight into the camera and said, “Canadians abroad, it’s time to come home.” (Colin’s mom also texted us this quote about a minute later.)

Yet still, we weren’t sure. We knew Trudeau’s announcement was serious. And we weren’t ignoring it because we thought we were above it. This wasn’t about us wanting to travel through Europe, ignoring the consequences of coronavirus. We weren’t in Prague on a two week vacation. We were living in Prague, with almost 10 months under our belts. It wasn’t a matter of cutting a holiday short; it was a matter of packing up our whole lives.

The timing was also tough for us. We were nearing the tail end of our Youth Mobility Visas, which expire in June. If we were right at the beginning of our expat year, we would have definitely waited things out. And if we were right at the end, we would have headed straight home. But we were in this weird limbo point with almost three months still to go.

Monday night, we went to bed with plans to wait it out. Tuesday morning, we learned that WestJet, the airline we had booked tickets with to fly home in June, was suspending all international flights for 30 days starting March 22. And that’s when we got worried. Sure, we could wait 30 days, but what happens if they extend another 30? Or what if the airline goes bankrupt? Could we actually get stuck here?

And so, with the support (and urging) of our families, we booked a flight home.

I’m still not sure we made the best decision, to be honest. But we made it. And as my mom says, if you made the decision, then it was the right one. We may have been overreacting. Maybe it would have been better to stay in Prague. Maybe we would have had no problem waiting it out for a month or so and still travelling home in June as we had planned. Maybe we would have even been able to go on some of our cancelled trips around Europe.

But we don’t know. And sitting with that feeling of uncertainty, even for just a few days, was torture. The decision to stay in Prague was one we had to make every day, if not more frequently, in a response to the latest news or messages from home. It wasn’t a one-time decision; it was a decision we constantly had to make.

In the days leading up to our flight home, I, like many others around the world, was enraptured by the news. I had a Prague news report, Canadian news report and Twitter feed all up on my laptop and I was refreshing constantly. I was obsessed with learning more, seeing what the next update was, and figuring out what it meant for us. I was distracted from my work, sleeping poorly and in a near-constant state of anxiety.

While our decision to leave may not have been the best decision, it was at least a final decision. With the flights booked, there was no going back. I don’t know if I could have handled another two to three months in Prague of constantly thinking about whether we should stay or go. Even just a few days of that was mentally and emotionally draining. We may never know if it was the “best” decision, but I think we made the right decision for us in the moment.

Booking flights & packing up

Once we decided to go, our plan was to call WestJet and get moved up to one of their remaining international flights, before they shut things down on March 22. But with limited options available and impossible-to-get-through phone lines, we had to move onto Plan B. We ended up booking the only Paris to Vancouver direct flight we could find that wasn’t thousands of dollars, leaving on Friday, March 20. And since this was Tuesday, that gave us a few days to get our stuff in order. Or so we thought!

We figured we’d be able to book a quick flight from Prague to Paris early Friday morning or, at worst, Thursday night. But the only Prague to Paris flight that wasn’t incredibly expensive was for Wednesday afternoon, the very next day!

We had no choice but to book it. And all of a sudden, we had less than 24 hours before we needed to leave Prague!

For months now we’ve been thinking about what leaving Prague would look like. We had planned different routes home, strategized about how to best move four giant suitcases and one pup, and even planned a mini Alberta road trip for when we landed back in Canada. But never did I think our leaving would involve a mad dash of packing and cleaning in less than 24 hours!

Right away, Colin started pouring our drawer contents onto our bed. At the same time, I was booking us a hotel in Paris for two nights and calling the airlines to add Ellie to our booking (why you can’t add a pet online is beyond me!). For the next 24 hours, we were full on packing, cleaning and organizing our lives to get out of Prague.

Honestly, I was impressed by how fast we pulled it all off! We even found ourselves with some spare time – Colin made a shrimp pasta (trying to use up all of the groceries we had just bought), we watched some Survivor Australia and we even spent our final hours reading in the hallway (because we had vacuumed and closed off all of the other rooms).

Trying to get to Paris

On Wednesday morning, we finished our final packing and cleaning tasks, and headed to the airport. Because of the new rules in Prague, public transit was our only option, as Uber/taxi were no longer running. We were also mandated to wear masks or something to cover our mouth and nose, so had to wrap scarves around our faces since masks had been sold out for weeks.

We left our apartment with four giant suitcases (50 lbs each), two backpacks, Ellie’s carrier, a purse and Ellie on her leash. We trekked all of that, while wearing winter scarves around our faces in 17 degree weather, down a few blocks, onto the metro, onto a bus, and into the airport. Just that was exhausting enough, and we hadn’t even left Prague yet!

Sadly, more bad news awaited us at the airport. When we went to check into our Prague to Paris flight, we were informed that we would not be able to board. Because France had closed its borders, non-citizens were only permitted to enter for a connecting flight leaving within the next 24 hours. This was Wednesday and our flight to Vancouver wasn’t until Friday, so we were over the 24 hour limit.

The worry about getting into Paris had been gnawing at Colin all day and night. We were both restless the night before, worried about one of a million things we could choose to worry about, but Colin was particularly nervous about us being allowed into France. Turns out, he had reason to worry.

The desk agents tried so hard to get us onto another flight. They were on the phone for a very long time, trying different numbers and flight combinations. In the end, they couldn’t do anything for us. They gave us a number to call and a new flight suggestion (leaving Thursday from Prague to Amsterdam and then Amsterdam to Vancouver). So, almost too overwhelmed to panic, we headed over to some chairs and started making our calls.

After a couple of hours of stress, everything was sorted. We were able to get moved onto the next day’s Prague to Paris flight, meaning we’d be allowed to take our original Paris to Vancouver flight on Friday. We scrambled to book ourselves a hotel by the Prague airport, as we had already turned in the keys to our apartment. There was only one airport hotel still open (we learned later it was one of three hotels in all of Prague that hadn’t been closed thanks to the State of Emergency) so we booked it and hopped in the shuttle. Our Paris hotel was, of course, non-refundable, so we gave up a night there and let them know we’d be checking in the next day.

After a night at the Prague airport hotel (where we were forced to order expensive room service since restaurants in Prague were all closed and we were outside of any delivery regions), we headed back to the airport the next day, finally, on our way to Paris.

The next day went a lot smoother. We were able to check in without any problems, except a minor hiccup where the payment we had already made for our luggage and pet in cabin didn’t transfer over to our new reservation. Luckily, the agent at the check in counter believed us when we showed her the receipts.

The Prague Airport was a total ghost town. Almost no one was there, all of the shops and restaurants were closed, and everyone was wearing a mask. We were all set to board except for a final hurdle. As we went to scan our boarding passes, we were asked to step to the side. The gate agents were again concerned that we wouldn’t be allowed into France due to their closed borders. They got on the phones and spoke to each other in Czech, examining our passports and boarding passes, as we stood there, nervous we’d be stranded again. By that point, the entire plane had boarded except for us and one other Canadian girl in the same boat.

Finally (thankfully), the gate agents felt confident we’d be allowed into France and permitted us to board the plane. Funny enough, absolutely no one in Paris checked our passports or boarding passes when we landed to see if we were allowed in!

Coming home

We spent Thursday night at an airport hotel in Paris, once again ordering expensive room service, and then loaded up early Friday morning to head back to the airport. We gave ourselves lots of time to get there before our flight, which was great as we needed the time to pay for our bags and Ellie, go through enhanced security, and take a shuttle to our gate. Charles De Gaulle is a huge airport!

Luckily, no hiccups this time! We were permitted to board and made our way onto the plane with all of our bags and Ellie. We were even able to spread out on the plane a bit, so I didn’t have to spend 10 hours in a middle seat with a dog at my feet.

10 hours later, we arrived in Vancouver. Airport screening, while enhanced, was still minimal and we made it through customs pretty easily. We did have to make a detour to the agricultural counter to show proof of Ellie’s rabies shot and pay $30 to “import” her into the country (because we didn’t pay enough to fly her?). But all in all, it was a very smooth journey!

It felt odd to be coming home. As we taxied back into the city, we were looking out the windows. It was strange, seeing mountains again. Colin pointed out a building that had just began construction when we left and was now a few storeys high. And we noticed how busy the Seawall was (let’s work on our social distancing, Vancouver!).

It was a weird mix of feelings. We were both so relieved to have made it home and to no longer have the stress of deciding what to do, packing, planning and being on hold with airlines. It was also disappointing, to know our year in Europe was over. And it was just strange, to finally be home with family and friends but not be able to see them or hug them hello.

As we walked Ellie along the water, I did feel a sense of calm come over me. For days I had oscillated between being mad we had decided to leave and being glad we did. But coming home to Vancouver on a bright sunny day, walking along the water with the mountains in the distance – that’s a pretty awesome homecoming. While I’m sure the regrets and disappointment will linger for a while, it’s already starting to feel a lot better being back home.

Saying goodbye

As we were packing up in Prague, I kept stumbling onto things that we’d never get to do or never managed to finish. There was our Prague bucket list, with a large number of restaurants, parks and museums still left uncrossed. There was our map of Europe, with places like Poland and the UK, where we hadn’t had a chance to put pins in yet. And then there were all the lasts: our last night sleeping in that bed, our last breakfast trying to use up as many eggs as possible, our last walk to the park.

On our final night walk with Ellie, Colin and I went to Riegrovy Sady, one of our favourite parks in Prague. We walked up the hill to take in the view and it was beautiful. The entire park was dark, and there was hardly anyone there, except a few other dogs and their owners. We stood there, admiring the Prague Castle all lit up in the distance. We took a moment and just looked around, trying to paint the view into our memories and soak up every last moment of Prague. We let out long sighs, signalling our stress, our relief, and our disbelief that this was all ending so soon.

I don’t think we had the words, and still don’t have them now, to sum up our Prague experience. Even if we had left in June, I think it would be hard to wrap up our entire year in Prague. But it’s impossible now, having left on such short notice, and with no time to process, since we needed to focus on packing up, vacuuming, booking flights, calling airlines, cancelling internet, etc.

So, all that to say, I didn’t have a chance to say a proper goodbye to Prague. I know it’s not a permanent goodbye, as I’m sure we’ll be back to visit Prague sometime in the future. But it is a goodbye to this chapter of our lives.

I’m not sure if I ever would have felt complete closure, even if we had left Prague in June as planned. But by leaving this way, I’m sure it’s something I’ll be processing for a while now. Good thing I have lots of self-isolation days to do so!