As currently reported in various Austrian media, travel restrictions for Croatia are to be lifted with effect from 16 June. This means quite obviously that anyone returning from Croatia after 16 June will no longer have to go into domestic quarantine in Austria. The news should probably also please visitors who are already planning to travel to Croatia via Corpus Christi and want to take advantage of the long weekend.
Wednesday further decisions expected
It is also reported that the Foreign Ministry intends to decide on further border openings next Wednesday, 10 June 2020, and that the issue of Italy is apparently also being put to the test again. Here, classic holiday destinations such as Lignano are urgently awaiting guests from the Alpine republic.
phone call of the heads of government
The decisive factor for the lifting of the quarantine regulations was apparently a telephone call from the Croatian head of government Andrej Plenković with his Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz from the ÖVP, in which Plenković again clarified the situation in Croatia. Afterwards, the Croatian side announced that on Wednesday Austria would also announce an end to the restrictions on passenger traffic between Austria and Croatia.
Fewer controls now already
Even now, travellers to Croatia on their way home from Croatia report that Austrian border guards only carry out sporadic checks when leaving Slovenia. Obviously, vans and lorries are already the target of the checks in order to prevent illegal immigration. Many returnees also report a general reduction in control measures.
criticism of Austrian politics
In the past, SeaHelp had repeatedly pointed out the false logic of Austrian politics, which boycotted such a popular holiday destination for Austrians as Croatia for virtually no reason. Although the infection rates in Croatia were significantly lower than in Austria’s neighboring countries, return trips from Slovenia were allowed, but not from Croatia. In the past, criticism for this was repeatedly voiced, also by the media and economic experts.
Discussions on Facebook & Co.
But obviously the Austrians seemed to have come to terms with the situation, as could be read several times in the social media. For example, one user recommended booking a Slovenian hotel on the Internet, having the confirmation sent to him and then cancelling it immediately. At the border, the booking confirmation is then sufficient to provide “proof” that one had allegedly spent the holiday in Slovenia.
Others recommended that you simply make up any excuse you want to make up for the fact that you came back from Slovenia and not from Croatia. Also the SeaHelp-Facebook page is peppered with interesting comments of individual users, which are definitely worth reading.
The Austrian Way of Life
However, one thing became more than clear during this time: the Austrians’ common sense seems to work. Whenever politicians make decisions that are incomprehensible, they obviously always find ways and means to circumvent them gallantly. One could almost call it the “austrian way of life”.
