No More Passport Stamp Collecting
If you haven't heard, physical passport stamps in the EU's Schengen Area are being phased out by an automated Entry/Exit System (EES), which uses biometric data like fingerprints and facial scans to replace manual stamps for non-EU travelers starting October 12, 2025.
This new system electronically records entry and exit dates, and though it begins in October 2025, full implementation across all 29 countries is expected by April 10, 2026. Travelers will use kiosks or counters for processing, and a biometric passport is recommended for a smoother experience.
At the same time, the US Federal Government has gone into shutdown mode in October 2025 and furloughed many government employees. Taken together, today's an auspicious day to end this blog.
It's been a learning experience running it, but so much has changed since I started two decades ago. I don't even know if half of the content is still relevant. While I did enjoy writing and drafting about life in the Foreign Service, circumstances have changed over the last five years or so, resulting in a large number of drafts that never got published. My backlog is like 100+ since Kenya in 2022. With several tone shifts and changes in focus, keeping the blog has now become more work to fix than to serve as a creative outlet.
So, thank you, readers, for joining me on this trip. But the taxi's here, and it's time to part ways.
If you're interested, my next online campaign will be found under the banner of "Muddy Wingtips".
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