In March, the pandemic effectively grounded international travel as countries closed borders and implemented restrictions in a bid to control the spread of coronavirus.

It resulted in many people having their holidays cancelled or facing uncertainty on future trips.  Although the health of everyone is much more important than vacations during a crisis like this, lots of readers were still left disappointed at their plans being interrupted or sad that they couldn't see family or friends.

When we reached out to ask how your plans were affected and when you think you'll visit Germany again, we were inundated with replies. Here are some of your stories.

READ ALSO: Germany lifts travel warning for 27 European countries

Over half of readers cancel Germany trip

Around 100 people replied to our call-out from all over the world – and of those, 53.5 percent said they had cancelled their trip to Germany due to the pandemic.

Meanwhile, 24 percent said they were still unsure whether their trip would go ahead.

And many of those who had booked travel are currently out-of-pocket, or still waiting for a refund or credit to rebook tickets.

Current EU rules give travellers the right to request a refund from travel companies over the cost of their tickets.

Honeymoon on hold

Whether it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the hills of Bavaria, a short holiday to see friends at the Baltic Sea or a city break to Hamburg, lots of people had to forget about travelling to Germany when the crisis hit.

Although most of the respondents to our survey said they accepted the situation (it's not every day that a pandemic comes along), it still caused some sadness and disappointment.

Sameer Kawthale, 28, from Bengaluru in India, said: “I planned to come for my honeymoon and booked everything but in the end I have to cancel. Kawthale said he lost half of his money “as the airlines have not refunded me fully”.

Chris K Patterson-Duebner, 59, from the US said he feels “empty and sad” after having to cancel a 60th birthday trip to Oktoberfest in Munich (which is cancelled this year), a resort in the Garmisch area and hiking in South Tyrol.

Patterson-Duebner managed to get credit from the airline to use on future flights.

A passenger at Hanover airport on June 15th. Photo: DPA

Arthur Dochterman, 59, from Florida in the US had planned to spend nine weeks in Berlin from the end of July. He was able to move the dates for accommodation to 2021, and got his flights refunded.

Meanwhile, Ken Kuhn, 69, from New Jersey in the US was gutted that his trip to Germany had to be shelved. He said: “We had a lot of special plans arranged since it has been 50 years since I studied in Heidelberg.”

Meanwhile, Abhijit Choudhry, 41, hoped to come to Bavaria from Sydney, Australia.

Jason Elsome, 47, from Texas in the US, is unsure when he will be able to reschedule his visit. He said: “We were planning on spending the last of November, and early December in Berlin. We've cancelled all plans for 2020. We are keeping an eye on Easter 2021 but I think we may delay all the way to 2022.”

Family visits affected

Lots of readers got in touch to tell us how they no longer had family reunions to look forward to, at least for the time being.

Raj Kumar Saini, from Moradabad, India was planning to visit his sons in Germany but had to cancel.

“I lost my visa application fees and trip to visa application centre in Dehli,” said the 60-year-old.

Mary Cassol, 65, said she felt “devastated” because she had been planning to take her two grandchildren and husband to Frankfurt, and visit other parts of the country.

“All hotels I could cancel, but lost money on flights,” she said.

Jeffrey Lazar, 72, from Austin, Texas visits his family in Heidelberg every year in summer but this year has been put on hold.

“I am cautiously optimistic about a visit at Christmas, but still think it will be in 2021,” he said.

Christopher Scott Burr, 54, said he was “very sad” after his July trip had to be cancelled. “My wife grew up in Germany and we were looking forward to revisiting many of the places she remembers during her childhood,” he said.

Hosiy Azami, in Stockholm, Sweden, had planned to visit his fiance and relatives in Hamburg but had to put plans on hold after borders were shut.

Rowena Tucker, 66, wanted to visit her son and young grandsons for a week – and hasn't received a refund on her tickets yet.

Lars Kroll, 31, in Sweden said: “I was planning a trip to visit some friends and family in Germany. It was end of March and the flights ended up getting cancelled. With Germany about to head into full lockdown, finding another route seemed like a bad (and probably futile) idea.” He received vouchers for the plane tickets.

Moving to Germany postponed

Susan Philipson, 64, from Whitby in England said she was set to “collect the keys to our new apartment” near her son's family.

“They have 18-month-old twins who we love to babysit,” she said. “Our son is now the key holder. Once we can visit Germany we will need to install a kitchen, furnish the apartment and make lots of time for family.”

Philipson said the family was “very disappointed albeit accepting the situation”.

Michael Richardson, 49, in Canada said he was going to travel to Berlin in May to organise for his move to Berlin.

“I had planned to return to Canada to “pack” my things. But, I am now still in Canada, and I have no idea for how long, he said, adding that there's been a lot of .

Bianca Karilene Kukla De Stefano, 27, said she is planning to move to Germany once its possible.

“My boyfriend is German and his family lives there, we quit our jobs in Brazil to move to Germany,” she said.

Lizzie Lines, 68, from Yorkshire in the UK was waiting for restrictions to lift before she starts looking for places to stay.

Photo: DPA

“I was planning to retire to Germany post-Brexit and knew that I needed to get there before the end of the transition period,” she said.

“I had planned to leave the UK in March and visit two or three cities of Germany for a month, then decide which area I wanted to live in, then rent a house or flat prior to buying a house.”

Cancelled events

Lots of people who contacted us said they were coming for events, but hoped they could reschedule the trip in future.

Andrew Cude, 46, said he was “extremely disappointed” as he planned to be in Berlin and Rostock in June. “I still may try to go in September,” he said.

Girts Krastins, 26, from Latvia wanted to go to Dua Lipa concert in Munich, “but of course it was cancelled” she said. 

“I had plans after the concert to take a tour around Bavaria, but as the airlines were shut I had to cancel everything and stay at home.”

Michael Mackenzie was supposed to travel from South Africa for an event in Leipzig in May.

The pandemic also hit work plans for people planning to come to the Bundesrepublik.

Om Prakash Vyas, 58, from India said he was disappointed that he was unable to take up his post as a visiting professor in Germany.

Dibin Baby from India got admitted into a phD programme in Heinrich Hein University, in Düsseldorf. But due to the pandemic, it couldn't go ahead.

“Cancelling my trip plan is unfortunate but this global crisis is inevitable,” the 24-year-old said. “We need to face it.”

READ ALSO: What are the rules for travelling abroad from Germany this summer?

Unsure if trip will go ahead

The German government says the worldwide tourist travel warning is in place until the end of August.

READ ALSO: Germany extends travel warning to non-EU countries until end of August

Andrew, 31, in the US said: “Our trip is in September and we're not sure the travel restrictions will have lifted.”

Savitri, 59, in Jakarta said: “I had planned to visit Germany at the end of this year, but it seems that is not a good idea now, at least until we have the vaccine. I don't want to travel anywhere but stay safe at home.”

No visits

Of course, the crisis has stopped people in Germany from receiving visitors.

Ashley Griffiths, 31, in Kindsbach, had hoped her parents would visit in May but they had to cancel.

Now she hopes her mum will be able to travel from the US in September to help look after her two-year-old son when she goes into labour “but now we are unsure if she will be able to be here for that, either”.

Griffiths said it was “heartbreaking”.

“There really are no other words. You can replace a vacation, but you can't replace the birth of a baby. It is hard not knowing when our parents will be able to come meet their new grandson,” she said.