Phewf! GB, here we come

Maddie and I navigated our way through the Visa process for entering the UK. Skip already got his passport back and it was mine and Maddie's turn. So Skip made us appointments so that he could ride the train down with us and show us where the office was. He went to wait for us at the Hotel Nikko up the road. Only people with appointments are allowed in the office.

Maddie and I made it to the first check point and found out that, despite the mountain of paperwork Skip had assembled, we needed Maddie's birth certificate, our marriage license, Skip's work permit and a copy of Skip's passport. We had to show all of that since Maddie and I would be allowed to enter the country because we are related to Skip, the permit holder.

So we all took the train back to Kaiserswerth and Skip was able to locate all the documents with the exception of our marriage certificate. I went on the web site of the Pulaski County Clerk's office and was able to pull up a copy. Skip and I decided that would be good enough and Maddie and I headed back downtown. This time we made it past the first checkpoint and were given a number. Maddie and I looked very blonde in a room where everyone else who was waiting was Indian, African or Turkish. After waiting about a half-hour, we made it to a counter where the information was processed by a woman who was born in Arlington, MA. The web version of our marriage license passed muster. I was totally holding my breath on that one.

After about 15 minutes, we got through that part and then went back to the initial table where we given another number to wait our turn to be fingerprinted. We're all in some master system now. No crimes for us! This was done with a fancy electronic scanner, so we have no ink stains, but apparently it's hard to get kid's prints to register and it took about 10 minutes just to get Maddie's prints to come up right. When we were finally done, they kept all of the paperwork, including our passports and gave me a receipt. We should be able to pick it up about the time we get back from our vacation to Ulm. Basically, the whole adventure took from about 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (including a trip to McDonald's as a reward for Maddie's cooperation through the process!)

We are very happy to have that behind us.

Tomorrow, we are off to Ulm where we will be staying in the Schiefes Haus, the most tilted hotel in the world