I planned my Europe trip the very last minute. I realized I can go on a solo trip (read as afford) as soon as I got back my tax returns. Hence the planning began two weeks before the intended date of departure (I am very well known for my last minute antics).
I was under the assumption that obtaining Schengen visa will be easy, but my illusion was shattered soon enough. Since my point of entry to the EU was at Munich, I had to apply for a Schengen visa at a German consulate. I started looking through the German consulate websites for the various documents required to obtain a visa. There was no consistency as each consulate in the United states had listed different set of documents required in order to obtain a visa. For e.g SF german consulate needed W2 (tax filing form) for the last three years where as the consulate in LA did not mention anything about needing a W2.
The reason for this inconsistency is because people with american passports can fly to Germany (or 172 countries across the globe) visa free and consulates don't need to worry about having a streamlined visa process in the US much to my annoyance.
The list of documents I needed to obtain a visa seemed endless-- They needed a valid airline ticket, travel insurance (apparently my insurance in the US wont cover for up to $60k on international travel), pre- booked hotel/ hostel reservations, employment verification letter, bank statements for the last three months (to prove that I have sufficient funds), W2, my pay stubs for the last three months, copies of all the visas in my passport, my EAD card and I 20. By the time I got all these documents ready I was pissed off. Because if I did not get my visa on time I would lose a lot of money, thanks to my non refundable pre- bookings. All because of a passport. Sigh.!
The list of documents I needed to obtain a visa seemed endless-- They needed a valid airline ticket, travel insurance (apparently my insurance in the US wont cover for up to $60k on international travel), pre- booked hotel/ hostel reservations, employment verification letter, bank statements for the last three months (to prove that I have sufficient funds), W2, my pay stubs for the last three months, copies of all the visas in my passport, my EAD card and I 20. By the time I got all these documents ready I was pissed off. Because if I did not get my visa on time I would lose a lot of money, thanks to my non refundable pre- bookings. All because of a passport. Sigh.!
Some of the guys I know at my lab who have American passports went hitchhiking and couch- surfing all across Europe with probably 100$ in their pockets. I don't think they had insurance, and some of them worked part time at bars to make money for their onward travel. And here I am subjected to the torture of getting a visa every time I want to travel. By the time I finished taking printouts of the documents needed I was hatching a devious plan. To trap some American citizen guy and make him marry me. That way I can get an American passport in three years. Sounds preposterous I know. But hey-- I was frustrated and coming up with devious ideas kept me sane.
The visa interview went on smoothly. I bonded with the visa officer by talking about Tristan and Isolde and other Wagner's operas. She was impressed with my knowledge of Germany (as I went on talking about why I wanted to visit the places and how it was my childhood dream etc) and assured me that I would get my visa as she wanted help me fulfill my childhood dreams. Reading a lot pays off I guess.
On my way back home, from the consulate I began praying, for the patience needed to go through this process again--Unless I let my devious side take me over.
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