Schengen is an intriguing concept. While I quite liked catching a cross border train from Bratislava to Vienna I think I’d have liked having my passport checked on a train even more. Unless it took more than five minutes. Then it would annoy the hell out of me.

I get the pros and cons of freedom of movement too. This isn’t a pro or anti Brexit musing. What I don’t really understand is that final passport check to leave the Schengen area before catching a plane home. After all, I’ve had my boarding card checked on at least two occasions. The airline is going to check my passport. And UK Border Force or whatever they’re called these days are going to check my passport before letting me back into Blighty.

There might be a perfectly good reason for checking my passport to leave the Schengen area. I just have absolutely no idea what it is.

Other than to make sure passengers on flights back to the UK have to walk a bit further to their departure gate and face a seemingly unnecessary delay of European officialdom.

Next Stop: Fish & Chips