School is coming to a close and many kids are looking forward to traveling this upcoming summer! But, did you know that a student is traveling to Europe for over a month this summer?

     Sophomore Timothy Morrow is traveling to five countries throughout the summer. He will be heading to Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, and Ireland. Many individuals might spend months organizing long travels like this, especially because a German passport is involved. But this extensive vacation to various countries, “only took a few weeks” to organize according to Morrow.

     Morrow is going to depart June 20 and return from his trip on July 31. That’s a month and 11 days! He doesn’t have a precise plan he is going to follow, but is instead just going to go and “have fun” and “visit family.” Morrow says the major reason for this vacation is that he has, “been waiting to see [his] family since last year and it’s for fun.” Many families have been unable to visit one another via traveling due to the epidemic, but Morrow is finally able to see his.

     It’s been hard for people throughout the world to travel ever since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Morrow applied for a German passport but has struggled to get it. It has been quite tough for people to gain citizenships due to Covid and even Morrow says “it takes a long time and it’s been delayed due to covid.” Morrow has been, “in the middle of applying for a German passport, but appointments are hard to get.”

      To obtain a German passport through descent, you must go to the German embassy in the country you live in currently or the Federal Office of Administration (BVA) in Germany. They are the two places where you may submit an application for German citizenship based on your ancestry. Before you can submit your application, you are expected to have all of the necessary documentation regarding your paternity and family history, such as birth certificates and family books. Morrow says he has family in Germany that could help him with this.

     For most individuals, this would be a very expensive vacation which would take a lot of time to arrange and plan, but since Morrow has family in Europe, he will be able to accomplish this without any preparation. Morrow, “will be staying with various family members” while traveling so this will assist with the budget.