Time Warp- 2020 edition: a tale of e-love in A New Chapter

I don’t think I had a chance to write about this rather intense moment that took place during COVID.

Background first, I met my wife through Instagram many years ago. We would talk about our hobbies and crafting. Even at a distance, I felt a connection almost immediately. We would talk constantly and then one day she just kinda vanished. She eventually returned a few days later (later on, I found out that she had gone to her country home with her parents and had limited phone signal.) Things picked up again. We had been talking nonstop, over text, clips, audio, video, etc. Until the elephant in the room finally came up: where is this going?

As a veteran of a few long-distance relationships, one question jumps up pretty quickly: who is going to move and how long will it take? She is from Sweden which isn’t particularly close to where I am. She wanted to come here to visit but her parents were pretty against it, she didn’t care. I said not to worry, that I would go see her (I was seeing a future here, I didn’t want to kickoff a bad relationship with the parents.)

I could explain a lot about how our relationship evolved but this is not what this is about. We can jump to 2020 instead. It’s February 20ish. I have been visiting Sweden for a bit longer than a month. We’re going out to eat downtown soon and we’re killing time by watching the news. They’re starting to speak about COVID and how its becoming a concerning thing pretty fast.
We don’t think much about it. I leave a couple of days later and she will come visit me in April or so.

When I return to the US, things are a bit tense with the topic. It’s Monday and my dad calls me to recommend that I buy whatever I need to buy. He has worked medical for 30+ years and he knows what’s coming. I go to the store and walk away with a huge fucking cart. It feels like everyone around me is rolling their eyes. A few days later, Trump would make his big announcement about COVID. The next day no one goes to the office and my boss says its ok.

We still spoke everyday and we understood the plans being postponed. Weeks go by and we start to get worried about how long this will last. I’m also getting frustrated. I’m not going to get into specifics but this was a very rough time for my partner. I couldn’t physically be there and it really hurt me. I start looking online and found out that an American woman was able to overcome the travel ban to see her fiance and reached Finland.

I contact her and find out about a FB group for couples having similar issues. We organize some campaigns, we e-mail politicians and share whatever travel information we can gather. Come June, Denmark released a travel exemption for long-distance couples. But my partner isn’t Danish. Me and a group start sending e-mails and contacting government officials. We get some sympathy and support but nothing concrete. I actually got a chance to speak to some Swedish representatives which was kinda cool. I tell them I will follow whatever procedure they want and quarantine if that is what they need.

Their travel guidelines were finally updated and became ambiguous. Their stance was something among the lines of “If you can make it here somehow, you’re welcome to stay.” There are no direct flights to Sweden tho, so it would have to be through another country. Iceland appeared to be sympathetic and not really checking documents too much. contacted the Icelandic embassy and they sent me a letter basically giving me permission to pass through their country.

I told my wife I wanted to let someone else try it before I do it but she didn’t seem too happy. I said fuck it and announced I would try it first. Another girl from Boston, Jenn, signs up and we both decide to make the journey together to meet our loved ones. The day comes and honestly..we were all shaking and nervous as hell. I left my home in the morning and I really didn’t know if I was going to be back or not, or when. Leaving the local airport was nerve-wrecking, ironically there was a bachelor party near me and they were having the time of their lives. When I get to Boston, things are surreal. The airport is basically empty, I manage to see a few sanitation workers here and there. But that’s it. I was so nervous so my mind is blurry now, but I think I bought a coffee from Dunkin.

I wait outside until my airline opens. My travel buddy , Jenn, is running late. I have a binder full of documents that serve as proof as every aspect of our relationship being real. My partner and the travel group are all rooting me on and giving me courage over messages. I finally reach the counter. The guy starts looking through my binder and finally sees the Icelandic letter, he says “ah that’s the one. you’re good to go.” He tells me that’s all I needed for boarding the plane but he has no idea what will happen once I reach Iceland.

When I finally get through security, I don’t even know how to describe how I felt. So many emotions. The travel group is going insane and I’m talking to my wife. I pass on what I learned to Jenn to help her with her journey and she makes it through. We reach the terminal and it felt like everyone there was only traveling to see family/lovers and nothing else. We share what little we know about the travel ban and board the plane.

The trip was a bit surreal, with the time changes it felt like I only saw a few hours of night. I have always wanted to see Iceland for historical reasons, but it was fascinating to see it from the plane, the nature mostly. When we get there, the nerves are building up again. Anything can happen. I have a binder full of documents. I finally get to my migration officer, a face I will never forget. A middle-aged lady with glasses. She is friendly but firm, basically asking “what makes you think you can be here?” and I show her my binder, including the Icelandic letter.
She said “ah there it is. Alrighty. You’re not Iceland’s problem anymore. Safe travels.”

I would later find out that Jenn actually had a pretty rough time with someone else. The agent ended up yelling at her but they let her through. She was crying but we made it. The final part of the trip, which was only about 2-3 hours was also exhausting. I tried watching “2001 A Space Odyssey” to calm my nerves but it didn’t work.

My partner had made arrangements to travel to Stockholm (my entry airport) and meet me at the terminal. If there was an immigration officer, we would be able to do it together. I’m sweating again, walking. Finally I see some taxis.

Me: Where is the immigration? did we skip it?

Her: oh we just passed the officer. It was that guy (she points at a man with a mustache just standing there.)

Since I was coming from an European country, I didn’t really need to do an immigration round there.

The airport main entrance was a sight I will never forget. Despite what the news said, everyone traveling was really traveling for personal reasons, not partying. I saw a mom cry her eyes out as she hugged her children, a lot of couples reuniting, etc. I texted everyone again and they lost their shit over the excitement. A day I will never forget. This entry is already pretty long so I’m going to cut it here. But I had one of the best days of my life right after. I will probably entry that at some point.

I made it a promise to one day take a long-ass trip to Iceland as a type of “thank you” to the country.

See you later space cowboy.