Many people don’t care about how many stamps they have in their passport. Well, I still get exhilarated on the collection of a new entry stamp. And that proved to be useful on my trip returning to Schengen zone, namely Helsinki.
“Mom, I didn’t get an entry stamp!”, while we were marveling the architecture of Temppeliaukio Church I announced this unfortunate discovery.
“You probably just overlooked. We’ll check for you later.”
Earlier that morning, we arrived Helsinki via St. Peterline cruise. My parents, my baby brother (who was already 18!) and I just spent three wonderful days in the mysterious and romantic city, Saint Petersburg. That means we were leaving Russia and entering Europe again. Before the trip, I read on the Internet that the queue for Russia immigration is exhaustingly long. And to avoid the long queue, it’s advised to wait at the ship’s gate before arrival time. What I didn’t know was this was also the case for going through European immigration! Why didn’t I know?
On our way back to Europe, we really took our time. So by the time we left the ship, we were already the last passengers. Oops. And in front of us there were 7 long queues. All the people from the cruise ship were still there. And it looked like we would have to wait for a long time.
The good thing was that Helsinki city provides free Wi-Fi in ferry terminal too. So that helped a lot.
But there were at least 30 people in each line. And the turnover wasn’t fast. We still waited for about 30 minutes and fortunately my line moved faster than other ones. And my strategy was presenting all 4 passports together so that the immigration officer would only need to ask questions once.
It was a young man at the immigration desk, he was probably about my age. He looked at our deck of passports, and opened the first one. It was mine.
He asked, “How long do you intend to stay?”
I said, “Here? One day. We are going to Estonia tonight,”
He asked, “And Europe?”
“After 3 weeks. We will leave on the 5th of July, from Oslo. We are touring Europe as family. (with action pointing at my parents and brother)”
“Oh, you are a family!” He exclaimed.
“Yes.”
I have no idea why it isn’t obvious to western people the relationships of Asian people. But he started to stamp on passports. That’s a good sign.
“Where do you plan to go?” he started another conversation.
“The Baltics. Copenhagen. Iceland and Oslo.”
“And which place do you look forward to the most?” he asked. And that was a tough question. I had to think, but I guess it didn’t matter anyways and I gave him the first thought on my mind.
“Maybe Copenhagen. It seems to be a happy place.”
“Copenhagen? Okay.” He raised one eyebrow. And so I immediately say..
“Have you been there before?”
“Yes. But I think you will like Tallinn the most.” Tallinn is Helsinki’s sister city across the Baltic sea. And I was actually surprised that he said this.
“Why is that?”
“It’s medieval. You’ll like the atmosphere very much.”
I nodded. And I didn’t say anything else. And he was almost done with stamping passports.
Finally he handed our passports back.
“Thank you. Have a nice day!” I said. And we left.
I didn’t have time to check my new trophy as we were busy finding a locker and then buying bus ticket. I have to say the vendor machine outside the ferry terminal was tourist unfriendly, and plus there was only one machine! I waited for another 5 minutes for a bunch of tourists and then when it was my turn, I understood why it took them so long. The machine could only process one ticket at a time!
After the church of rock, we went to Suomenlinna. After we walked around the island (which was cold and windy that day) it started to rain. So we stayed in the museum’s souvenir shop/café to wait for the rain to stop. Although it was unlike the rain was going to stop.
So my passport became the interest again. And after close inspection of my dad and brother, they announced that I did not have an entry stamp in my passport.
“What would happen to me if I don’t have an entry stamp?” I asked. And I answered myself, “Probably not good. And plus I want an entry stamp. I’ll try to talk to the immigration when we go back to the terminal later.”
(Some people had this problem too. So basically they would have a hard time leaving Europe. http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/passport-not-stamped-on-entry-into-rome-hassle-exiting-frankfurt.cfm)
“But will the same immigration officer be there?” my mom asked. “And will they believe that it was their mistake for not giving you a stamp?”
“I don’t know. But I have to try.”
It occurred to me that it might not be easy to find the same immigration officer. And the place of arrival might not be accessible to passengers who did not have a ticket.
God, can you help?
I prayed, and then I continued to be in my tourist mode. I think, God hears our prayer and is kind for those who love Him and obeys His command.
One small prayer can change a lot of things. (Although on certain matters perseverance is also important).
I did not worry about it, although it was possible that many other things in Helsinki attracted my attention. But that possibility is not entirely the only reason why I didn’t even worry when I returned the ferry terminal in the late afternoon.
God is my support and strength. God is God wherever including Helsinki. I believe God can help.
And it was like a miracle. I thought I would have to sneak to the arrival area, but that place had turned out to serve as another ferry’s departure area. And the immigration was in charge of exit stamps. I went there without anyone stopping me or asking why I was there.
This would have been impossible had it been in an airport. Or not even possible with Saint Petersburg’s ferry terminal. Everything was working in my favor!
I went to the desk I chose this morning. It was the same man! I remember his face, and I almost couldn’t believe I was that lucky.
“Hello! I didn’t get an entry stamp in my passport this morning.” And I handed my passport, of course, with other 3 passports in my hands. I rehearsed this in my head, and I figured these were the best words to say.
He flipped through every page, and he said, “That’s right, no entry stamp. Wait.”
And then he turned to his colleague and exchanged some words in Finnish. Then he left his seat and went to another office.
I stood there; my family went to the bathroom and to get our luggage from the locker. I was alone. But oddly I did not worry. It seemed like I wasn’t alone. I was comfortable with the situation, and I felt living in victory.
Two minutes later the man came back.
“There you go. Your passport is stamped.” He handed my passport.
And that was it.
I soon found my family in the lobby. They were trying to fix a broken wheel of our suitcase.
“You are back already? Wasn’t he there?” My mom asked.
“Oh! It’s done! I got my stamp!”
“Already? That was quick!”
Yes, that was quick. At that time I was merely happy that a problem was solved. But now as I’m writing this, I feel that this was God’s teaching for me. He didn’t choose the airport to be my classroom. He chose this tiny ferry terminal in Finland where I could have access to come back. And the lesson could be the power of prayer and leaving burden to God. It’s nice when you live without burden.
Thank you God. For You are good. You are always good.
And if this is not God’s grace, what is?
Here’s a beautiful scripture to end this experience in my life. (Matthew 6:34)
Traveling Mega
