Originally Posted by magexpect
Be happy as an American to be treated differently than, say, an African or Middle East national....Once inside the Schengen area, there is no passport control, but surveillance is still there. Freedom of movement, however, is most important and does not endanger my life.
Despite all the unnecessary checks in the US, I can tell you that I still feel much safer while traveling in Europe than in in US.
I can tell you that there is no difference in the treatment I am given when using my American passport as opposed to my Israeli.
What I do consider absolutely ridiculous is the situation on the Swiss borders. I can drive from Germany to Holland, for example, without ever seeing a policeman but on the Swiss borders there are always a minimum of two Swiss cops and an equal number from the European country.
These people do absolutely nothing. They just stand there and wave their hands telling you to continue driving. What is the point of paying their salaries for this?
(Exception: When entering Switzerland on the
autostrada they look to see if the car has a valid autostrada sticker for that year. If not, they waive you over to pay 40 francs to buy one.)