Schengen

This is a bit of an update from our original post in 2018.

In visa language “Schengen” translates to travel math. Actually it is a name of a town where an agreement was reached between European countries to allow free travel between without going through border control. For the tourist, Schengen is an area, pretty much all of western Europe where you can stay for a total a total of 90 out of 180 days. It can get a little tricky calculating how many days you have left, a bunch of Schengen calculators online. If you overstay, you can be banned from coming back to any of the Schengen countries. Apparently, they are very strict.

In 2018, there were a few countries that were not part of the Schengen agreement so do not count towards your time in Europe- Great Britain, Ireland, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Romania. Most of the Balkans were also not included, nor was Cyprus.

In 2026, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus are now all Schengen. As a tourist, this may not seem great, but it is great for these countries as it represents free trade and travel for EU citizens and by welcoming new countries, it acknowledges improved governance. It does impact our plans, BUT if we did not have those Schengen restrictions, we probably would not have gone to the non-Schengen countries and those were some of our favorites. Because of Schengen, long term travelers, like us, look to various plans offered by different countries for longer stays, often called “golden visas”. Some countries you can purchase property, but these schemes are being changed as it has impacted housing affordability in attractive places (Hello, Portugal). But for old people like us, it actually is not hard to get a year visa- just show health insurance and an income. There are restrictions like you have to stay in that country 6 months of the year but we are not ready to do that et.

We are frugal. Always searching for the most economical lodging. Long term apartment stays, 4 nights in an Antwerp hostel (private room not dorms), 4 nights on an Amsterdam houseboat and nine nights on a futon in our daughter’s dining room. We rarely go out to eat, rather subsisting on yogurt, eggs, tuna, corn thins, mustard, cheese, nut butter, fruit and mixed nuts. We have been known to walk 5 miles and see a city, rather than take a bus.

So, when the opportunity arose to take a 12 hour red-eye bus from Amsterdam to London for 25 Euro, we jumped on it.  What a deal!  Transportation AND a place to sleep!  The journey started at the south Amsterdam train terminal, in the parking lot, waiting for our (late) bus at 7:30 pm.   (yes we know there are tons of cheap airlines, but when possible we try to take buses and trains, because we do try to be ethical).

Once we boarded, it was difficult to sleep, because there were stops in Utrecht, Antwerp and Brussels, plus our assigned seats in the third row gave us nearly front row seats to enjoy the surround sound  of the uninterrupted ’80’s  soft rock hits the bus driver was playing.  At 1:30 am we stopped just outside of Dunkirk for an illegal immigrant check. Luggage bins were searched, flashlights shone at our feet and under seats in an effort to find hiding migrants,  which would have explained the poor leg room.  Then to Calais where we de-bussed for interviews and passport checks with French and English customs.  We passed and got our cherished non Schengen English stamp.

This week’s photo of topless old man looking out window contemplating his life: looking to make lifelong friendships on the ferry ride.