Anyone else miss....
Apr 13th, 2005, 10:22 PM
#1
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Anyone else miss....
Passport stamps? My passport is a treasured memory book, but now when traveling to Europe it's only stamped at the first country I enter. Which, being from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, means the Amsterdam airport -- because you can't get anywhere else from here, thanks to the Northwest Airlines near-monopoly. My faithful little passport is chock-full of Schipol stamps these days, but, alas, none from Italy or France or...
This sounds really stupid, but does anyone know if you can get a passport stamped at the immigration desks at the airports at your final destination without looking like a complete idiot -- or worse, a criminal?
This sounds really stupid, but does anyone know if you can get a passport stamped at the immigration desks at the airports at your final destination without looking like a complete idiot -- or worse, a criminal?
Apr 13th, 2005, 11:54 PM
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No problem getting them. But since thereŽs not a real control point when arriving from another Schengen country (has to do with the treaty signed in a small town called Schengen, that abolished passport controls from between the Schengen coutries) youŽll have to go find someone to get your stamp.
Apr 13th, 2005, 11:57 PM
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worktowander,
If you ask nicely at the immigration counters they will normally happily stamp your passport for each port of entry.
I took my 4 kids for three months around Europe and the US last year and wanted them to have a memento via their passport stamps so asked each time we entered a new country, and the officials were normally very happy to stamp it for me, and when they saw the kids looking on expectantly, they would make sure they inked the stamp, found a new page and placed a nice clear impression on the passport. Four times (one for each kid). They actually enjoyed doing it (as far as I could tell), which led me to think that they miss the days of stamping passports too!
If you ask nicely at the immigration counters they will normally happily stamp your passport for each port of entry.
I took my 4 kids for three months around Europe and the US last year and wanted them to have a memento via their passport stamps so asked each time we entered a new country, and the officials were normally very happy to stamp it for me, and when they saw the kids looking on expectantly, they would make sure they inked the stamp, found a new page and placed a nice clear impression on the passport. Four times (one for each kid). They actually enjoyed doing it (as far as I could tell), which led me to think that they miss the days of stamping passports too!
Apr 14th, 2005, 05:46 AM
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> ...but now when traveling to Europe it's only stamped at the first country I enter.<
Like you, I love getting passport stamps. It's all part of the memories. I've had my passport stamped at both Schipol and Heathrow, but for some reason the French never stamp it when I enter at CDG. I've landed there six times in the last several years without an entry stamp. Oddly, though, I was given an exit stamp last year when leaving.
Anselm
Like you, I love getting passport stamps. It's all part of the memories. I've had my passport stamped at both Schipol and Heathrow, but for some reason the French never stamp it when I enter at CDG. I've landed there six times in the last several years without an entry stamp. Oddly, though, I was given an exit stamp last year when leaving.
Anselm
Apr 14th, 2005, 06:02 AM
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I agree with you. Getting passports stamped is almost like some kind of "badge of honor." We drove from Portugal to Spain in 2001 and cruised slowly through the border at some little Spanish town. There were some uniformed men around the border, but no one even acknowledged that we drove through! We wanted our passports stamped so we stopped and went into their small office and requested they please "stamp" us. After a few confusing minutes of THEM telling us it was not necessary and US trying to explain that we understood that fact but STILL wanted the stamp, they finally gave in and popped their stamp onto our passports. I think they were quite amused at us silly tourists! That's OK--we had what we wanted. 
Apr 14th, 2005, 06:38 AM
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I'm part of the "love the stamps" group! When we had to get new passports we were worried about not getting our old ones back, but they were returned intact (except for the hole punched in them).
We ask to have our passports stamped and so far have been obliged. We even got stamped while on the train in 2003, passing from the Czech Republic into Austria and then from Austria to Hungary.
We even sought out a customs office at Gare du Nord when we arrived from London on Eurostar to get a stamp. So if that makes us "idiots" so be it!
We ask to have our passports stamped and so far have been obliged. We even got stamped while on the train in 2003, passing from the Czech Republic into Austria and then from Austria to Hungary.
We even sought out a customs office at Gare du Nord when we arrived from London on Eurostar to get a stamp. So if that makes us "idiots" so be it!
Apr 14th, 2005, 08:32 AM
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I'm another one who loves getting stamps. The first time coming into CDG in Paris, I didn't even realize we were through Immigration and didn't get a stamp. So on the way out, I asked the guy at CDG to stamp my passport. He gave me sort of a disdainful look but did stamp it for me.
One of my favorites is the one we got when taking the Eurostar from London to Paris. We went through Immigration in London before leaving, and the stamp has a picture of a train on it.
Plus I got another Paris one when flying out of CDG that trip as well.
One of my favorites is the one we got when taking the Eurostar from London to Paris. We went through Immigration in London before leaving, and the stamp has a picture of a train on it.
Plus I got another Paris one when flying out of CDG that trip as well.
