I\u2019ve been travelling again, in a limited way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This last week, I was in Germany. I flew to Frankfurt, took\na train to Wiesbaden, and tasted some of Germany\u2019s finest wines for three days.\nThen I got a lift to Oberhaus in the Nahe, where I spent two days at Gut\nHermannsberg, a remarkable wine estate that is making some of the country\u2019s\nbest Rieslings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prior to this, I spent a long weekend in the Languedoc\nvisiting Gerard Bertrand\u2019s collection of Languedoc estates, as well as\nattending the jazz festival \u2013 this was the 17th year that he has hosted this. So\ngood to see biodynamic farming on this scale (850 hectares overall), as well as\ninitiatives like the 3 million bottles of no-added-sulfites wines he makes with\npartner wineries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I also visited UK winery Tillingham for a weekend,\nexploring the UK natural wine scene. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
By normal standards, this is pretty modest travel. And it\nhas been quite a difficult adjustment to make \u2013 first of all, to not travel for\nmonths, and then to travel under very different conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How was flying? The airports are quiet, and in some ways\nnicer places to hang out. The planes are just as busy (which may be a concern\nfor some). There\u2019s also inconsistency in terms of the contact tracer form you\nhave to fill out online: returning through Heathrow from France, the border\ncontrol officers checked that everyone had filled out the form electronically,\nwhile this week there was no check. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is a lot of uncertainty at the moment. It was so\nlovely to be back doing the job that I love, and which I think I am good at.\nYet, it was a taste of the past: things will probably never be back to what we\nthink of as \u2018normal\u2019 for a very long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Long haul travel is out for perhaps a year, maybe more.\nShort haul travel plans are made with a sense of trepidation. There\u2019s a good\nchance that they may be cancelled at short notice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m also rethinking my business model. Travelling 300 days a\nyear is brilliant for collecting new material, meeting people, and learning.\nBut it isn\u2019t sustainable on a personal level, and the carbon footprint is\nshocking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I can do what I do well with less time on the road. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a big psychological side to the whole Covid\npandemic. It\u2019s probably affecting us all in different ways, some of which we\naren\u2019t aware of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A perspective though: we may be living with uncertainty; we\nmay have suffered financial loss; we may have even lost friends or family. This\nis terrible. But for many around the world, this has been a reality for many\nyears. Being human is not straightforward, and challenges and difficulties will\ncome calling. We can\u2019t stop them. But we can decide how we respond to them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, back in the saddle? Tentatively. Not really, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n