Today the postman bought my new Dutch passport that is valid for 10 years. I can now make some plans on getting visas. I was lucky I did not have to go to London to get my passport renewed as there was a Dutch consulate in Southampton at Hythe. If your Dutch and live in the Southeast of England then renew it in Southampton it is so much easier than London. The consulate is open in the afternoon unlike the London embassy where it closes at high noon so you can avoid high train travel costs going up to London. Below is a link on the consulate with its opening hours
http://unitedkingdom.nlembassy.org/appendices/consulates/southampton.html
I took the train from Hove and then a short bus ride to the ferry terminal, across the water to Hythe and then a short walk to the consulate. Did not realise that the pier has a train on it and the pier was one of the oldest in England. Interestingly, the history of the pier mentioned how many of the troops for D-Day stayed in the New Forest nearby before embarking to France. The consulate is located in some lovely grounds, no waiting, friendly staff and it took only two weeks for the new one to wing back to me.
Do you have any interesting stories about getting your passport renewed?
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- Hythe Pier and its history
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- Cute train you take to get to the end of the pier
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- Beginning of the pier
Not so much of getting the passport, but having it stolen in Greece, on a Friday evening when the UK consulate was closing! Possibly another blog topic – getting mugged abroad!