Goodbye, Passport Stamps

While we’ve encountered the lack of stamps on and off for the past few years, I just learned that the EU is phasing out passport stamps for travelers on November 10. This is a bummer because of the two ways I used my stamps.

One, trying to remember the dates we had been somewhere. This seems the most obvious use: Open the book, look at the stamp, and check the date.

Two, there is a point on every trip — usually early on — when I silently freak out and think I cannot possibly be this far away from home. When that happens, I usually flip through the passport book and note all of the other times I’ve freaked out but made it through this stage of the trip and been fine. From now on, especially once my passport renews, I’ll flip through blank pages and think… nothing. Because I will not see a visible reminder of where I was the last time I freaked out.

I’m sad they’re going away. Not everywhere, of course, but in many places, and I fear it’s the path forward for the future.