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Comment by jonp888 | Hacker News Reader

In London (state owned) museums are free for everyone. Maybe they should offer them a Eurostar ticket as an alternative.

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As much as I love London's museums, I wouldn't wish someone undergoing therapy to have to deal with the hassle, stress, and rudeness that is customs by whichever party the French hired to do juxtaposed border control at St Pancras on the way back to the continent.

And does the British Museum still have that security line outside where your bags are thoroughly checked¹ for bombs by some underpaid person who takes out his frustrations on visitors? Yeah, that's good for your sanity, that is.

1: Glossed over while being berated for not following mumbled orders fast enough.

I was in the British Museum a few months ago and just walked straight in.

Glad to hear that pointless bit of security theatre is gone then.

I second the hassle and stress part. Going through customs while leaving from Amsterdam to London is no fun. Going to Berlin by train from Amsterdam, in comparison, is utopia.

You get in the train, laptop open, have a workday, get some food or whatever you need if needed. Boom! Arrival.

Can't say the same for Ams-Lon or Lon-Ams.

Perhaps it's because I've never had to deal with US customs and being Dutch being spoiled with Schengen¹ that my perspectives are skewed, but all my experiences with British customs and security to date have left a bad taste. I've been to South Korea and Japan, and have never had any issue whatsoever, and no rudeness at all, but a layover at Heathrow? Rude security folk and depressed looking staff. Eurostar? Same thing over at St Pancras (the actual staff at the French customs point is mostly British).

It's not likely to have gotten better now post-Brexit either.

It's such as a shame, because Britain really does have its upsides and genuinely nice people too; not to mention a wealth of culture.

1: As you say, travelling to Germany (or Austria, Italy, Belgium, even Switzerland) by train is just great.

It's not just you — even as a Brit with an upper-middle class accent, even when wearing a suit, even though the other UK airports I've used have been fine, Heathrow in particular is bad. (Not used St Pancras/Eurostar enough to really compare).

Dutch as well, we're definitely spoiled with Schengen.

Hm, I didn't go over there since Brexit due to Covid ... don't they have those e-Gates anymore?

Yes if you're British/American/European/Canadian/NZ/Australian etc (a country with a low risk of illegal immigration), it can be quite quick if your passport works even when busy. But the queues for others can be scary

My wife got stuck in the e-gate, because it instructs you to take off your glasses and have your face scanned, but she couldn't follow the instructions without her glasses, causing her to panic a little. I was on the other side of the gate having passed through already, but got hassled by a security guy¹ in a booth to move on whilst my wife was looking for reassurance (and no one came to help her).

I'll take a manned gate any day.

1: Yeah, I'll move on when she's OK, now either help or kindly fuck off, mate.

They are some of the best museums in the world too.

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