Duh! Duh! Duh! Sometimes I amaze myself over what I DON'T notice.
Remember when I said we had to go through passport control in St. Petersburg, Russia, the minute we stepped off our ship? We got stamped the first time and then again when we came back from our shore excursion. At some point in between, since we had to admire the stamp (!), Donica and I both noticed the ship icon.
So then we looked back at our other stamps and sure enough! See the airplane and the trains?!
AHA! Duh! So, putting two and two together, it appears that some countries indicate your mode of transportaion upon arriving. We rode the train from Germany into the Czech Republic last year when we visited Prague. And yes, I noticed the trains (for both countries) but still didn't put two and two together.
All our stamps coming back into the USA do NOT have a mode of transportation. Nor do our stamps into the UK. But France and Germany have the plane icons.
So, here's the question: if you DRIVE into the Czech Republic or another "icon country," does the stamp have a car? And if you WALK across the border, does it have a person? Ok, some of you who travel a lot, please get out your passport and check.
Inquiring minds want to know!
AHA! Duh! So, putting two and two together, it appears that some countries indicate your mode of transportaion upon arriving. We rode the train from Germany into the Czech Republic last year when we visited Prague. And yes, I noticed the trains (for both countries) but still didn't put two and two together.
All our stamps coming back into the USA do NOT have a mode of transportation. Nor do our stamps into the UK. But France and Germany have the plane icons.
So, here's the question: if you DRIVE into the Czech Republic or another "icon country," does the stamp have a car? And if you WALK across the border, does it have a person? Ok, some of you who travel a lot, please get out your passport and check.
Inquiring minds want to know!
My passport has nothing in it. When I drove and walked into France or Switzerland or Germany, they simply did not care. But then again, I seemed to fit right in...
ReplyDeleteYou won't get stamped from one EU country to the next, so I don't have anything more. In Prague, I got nothing.
That is a great pondering question which I find so funny!
Yes, very funny! Great question. Man, something new to notice!
ReplyDeleteET: I wonder if 9/11 has changed everything!
ReplyDeleteRuth: Please pay attention when you and Don go to Ireland. But then again, we were just in London and the UK seems to have no icons.
You probably already know this, but the arrows at the bottom indicate if you're entering or leaving the country.
ReplyDeleteNo, J, I DIDN'T already know that! So I'm really getting my education, I see :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't had my passport stamped in so many years I've forgotten what those stamps look like!
ReplyDeleteI have an old passport, in 1987, I went to France. Have beautiful real stamps, but nothing like this. Maybe on my next passport... ;O)
ReplyDeleteDixie: I think you need to go home again and then come back into Germany! No, wait. Aren't you going to Australia this year? That would be a stamp I'd like to have!!
ReplyDeleteClo: Yup. You just need to go somewhere again! How about coming to see me in Germany!
Ginnie - all travels I was talking about were post 9/11.
ReplyDeleteAnd I didn't realize that either for the arrows of going and coming.
My passport only has stamps from South Africa, Malaysia and New Zealand - none of which give any indication as to mode of travel. Nor arrows indicating arrival and departure, just a rather boring stamp, Perhaps its a European thing. and a rather nice idea I think.
ReplyDeleteI haven't gotten my passport stamped in years, either. If you come to Switzerland, I doubt that they will stamp it, but I would ask them to if you're "collecting" them. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, I love all those little airplanes and trains etc. The only stamp in my (old) passport is from Montreal. They never really bothered at the airports we've been going through all these years. I've got a shiny new passport now so maybe I'll get lucky on our next trip.
ReplyDeleteET: I have a sense that some places are getting even stricter as time goes by. Or maybe it has to do with big events. We almost never go thru passport control in Hannover but when we came back from England just before the first football game, we ALL went thru passport control!
ReplyDeleteDW: Hmm. So we're all getting educated, I see. I was hoping I'd find out about your countries :) Thanks.
CS: HA. Good idea. Sometimes there's no one there to ask, however, as most of the time in Hannover. BTW, not "if," but when!
Christina: Lots of pages begging for stamps! "Stamp me; please stamp me!" :)
I couldn't answer your questions but your other readers have provided some neat facts, I see. The only opportunity I had to get stamped was when I landed in France, and like ET they didn't bother just waved me on through. Very nonchalant about the whole process. I've had this passport since '98 and I don't have a stamp one in it. Before now I couldn't tell you what a stamp looked like. Thanks for showing these. Everyday I learn something new. :)
ReplyDeleteHmm, Elle. If those passport control people knew these stamps were a collectible item, maybe they'd be more serious about it! Try to out-do each other!
ReplyDeleteHello again! First I'd like to say that if I had the time and the money, I surely go either in Germany or in Georgia to have a meeting! But I'm sure some day...
ReplyDeleteYou made me realize that I never had any old passport in my bookshop. I have plenty of sort of old papers, but I don't remember ever having a passport. So now, I'm going to pay more attention about those, and maybe I will find something interresting some day. :O)
Maybe I'll get to visit Quebec City again, Clo, but this time, stop in your store and not just walk by! I sure hope they let us keep our old passports when we have to renew them (for me, 2008) because they really are keepsakes if you travel a lot.
ReplyDeleteWell.... I guess I am a real passport gourmet seeing that I'm on my 3rd one in 11 years! And would you believe it-- I never noticed those icons. I just spent a few minutes looking through the one I have with me know and there are funny looking cars for the border controls we drove across between the Czech and Slovak Republics. I have one for a place called Petrzalka (I have no idea where that was!) and the car looks like a model T Ford! The airplanes change models even in the same country so I guess there is a bit of aviation history there for free. So Ginnie you've started us all on a fascinating new hobby!
ReplyDeleteYES, YES, YES!!! I was really hoping you'd come through with exactly this "revelation," TO. BTW, do you get to keep your old passports when you have to renew them? I sure hope so. YOURS would be a real Gold Mine!
ReplyDelete