Pep's reflections on using the carnet in Germany highlight a sticky situation that some users may encounter occasionally. Future posts will address the solution to awkward moments like the one Pep discusses. Leslie, Blog Editor
"Anyway, everything has gone well so far except for German customs on my way to Macedonia. They allowed me to exit the airport with my items and Carnet but they would not stamp/sign it. They told me it was not neccesary. I explained it to them that I needed it stamped since I was entering the country but the official was not a friendly guy. I asked to see his supervisor but he kept giving me the runaround. So basically, I have no stamps from German customs. It was like I never was in Germany. I did take some nice pictures of us in the city though."
I would not characterize the German customs inspector as "uncooperative". Quite the contrary, it appears he did not feel there was a possible loss of customs revenue by allowing Pep to visit Frankfurt for a few hours without making a carnet entry. As it turned out he was correct.
Posted by: KaptainKernow | July 26, 2006 at 09:17 AM
KaptainKernow,
I agree that perhaps "uncooperative" was the wrong choice of words but he was not very friendly. I don't know if he was having a bad day or that was just how he was. I would have expected this behavior from Macedonian customs because that has been my previous experience with them, but not from Germany. Either way, I had fun on my short stay in Germany.
Posted by: Pep Zulbeari | July 26, 2006 at 12:51 PM