Au Revoir, Passport Stamps :(

One of the small things I miss about travel is getting a passport stamp. I always liked flipping through my passport after a trip to see where the new stamp ended up. Somehow it was usually squeezed next to an old one, even when there were plenty of blank pages.

These days, there are fewer chances to get one. Singapore switched to emailing visitors an electronic pass in 2022. In April 2026, countries in the Schengen Area, including Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Greece and Switzerland, finished switching to digital border records in place of routine passport stamps for short-stay visitors from places like the United States.

It makes sense, and after an overnight flight I am happy to get through the airport and on my way. Still, it was fun to get home with a little souvenir I had not planned on. I rarely go looking for an old boarding pass in my inbox, but if I come across an expired passport, I always flip through it. Half the time I am trying to remember which trip went with which stamp.

Travel was also what got me started with Prunies. I wanted an easy snack to throw in my carry-on for trips when my usual routine went out the window. I still think a lot about what goes in my bag, but the little things I come home with are often the most fun to find later.

Do you have a favorite stamp in an old passport?

Photo by Kit (formerly ConvertKit) on Unsplash