Stranded on holiday in Greece by the pandemic

Sandra and Eike Stehr are on Elaia beach in the southwestern Peloponnese on what would have been an idyllic holiday under different circumstances. With blossoming wildflowers, empty beaches and a relaxed pace of life before the tourism season kicks into gear, spring is a particularly beautiful time in the region of Messinia and regarded by many tourists as the best time to experience Greece.

This is what the German couple were looking forward to when they planned their road trip in their converted camper van to Thessaloniki, Athens, Evia and then on to the Peloponnese, where they would board a ferryboat to Italy and drive back to their native Hamburg. Only now, the vehicle that had given them the freedom to go where they wanted when they wanted has become a prison.

"We came to Greece in November and planned to be back in Hamburg by Easter for my father's 70th birthday...