Husband, daughter and I just got back late Saturday night from Germany trip. I will attempt to post trip report in a few days or so. The trip was good. The guides (Nadine and Robyn) were fantastic.
Just a word of warning for those with upcoming trips. Germany was quite warm (for Germany)--around 88-90 plus degrees most days we were there. Only the hotels in Heidelberg and in Munich (first and last hotels) have air conditioning. We left our upper floor tower bedroom window open. The second night of our stay in Trendelburg (castle) and my husband awoke around 2 am to find we had a bat in the room. The bat exited on its own and, as far as we know, didn't bite or scratch us. However, we were pretty soundly asleep--this was the first night our internal clocks really let us rest.
Bats can carry rabies.
Possible exposure to rabies is not a medical emergency. You have several days (possibly to weeks) to decide about post-exposure vaccinations. So, I waited until we came back to the states to make my contacts. None of the health agencies that deal with this sort of thing were open until this a.m. I spoke with the CDC and our state rabies specialist this a.m. Since we were sleeping so heavily, they have recommended we all have the vaccinations. The vaccinations are quite expensive. I have spent the rest of this morning on the phone with our health insurance to make sure they are going to cover the vaccinations. It seems they will, but after our deductible and our co-pays, we will probably have a thousand dollars or more tied up in the post-exposure vaccinations
I called Adventures by Disney this a.m. to notify them of all this--they really need to make sure the next group of travellers keeps their windows shut. The person answering the call was very nice and stated she would send the info up the chain and that I should expect a follow-up call.
I'll post when I hear back from them.
Just a word of warning for those with upcoming trips. Germany was quite warm (for Germany)--around 88-90 plus degrees most days we were there. Only the hotels in Heidelberg and in Munich (first and last hotels) have air conditioning. We left our upper floor tower bedroom window open. The second night of our stay in Trendelburg (castle) and my husband awoke around 2 am to find we had a bat in the room. The bat exited on its own and, as far as we know, didn't bite or scratch us. However, we were pretty soundly asleep--this was the first night our internal clocks really let us rest.
Bats can carry rabies.
Possible exposure to rabies is not a medical emergency. You have several days (possibly to weeks) to decide about post-exposure vaccinations. So, I waited until we came back to the states to make my contacts. None of the health agencies that deal with this sort of thing were open until this a.m. I spoke with the CDC and our state rabies specialist this a.m. Since we were sleeping so heavily, they have recommended we all have the vaccinations. The vaccinations are quite expensive. I have spent the rest of this morning on the phone with our health insurance to make sure they are going to cover the vaccinations. It seems they will, but after our deductible and our co-pays, we will probably have a thousand dollars or more tied up in the post-exposure vaccinations
I called Adventures by Disney this a.m. to notify them of all this--they really need to make sure the next group of travellers keeps their windows shut. The person answering the call was very nice and stated she would send the info up the chain and that I should expect a follow-up call.
I'll post when I hear back from them.