The State Union lives on…

Before heading down to Montenegro last week, I went through the usual rigmarole of declaring my departure at the local police station, which is necessary each time I leave Serbia. However, when I crossed the border into the independent Republic of Montenegro no customs officers entered the bus to even look at our passports/ID cards. Concerned that the police in Belgrade would give me grief about the lack of a stamp in my passport when going to declare my arrival, I made a point of getting off the bus at the border on the return leg of my trip and requesting a stamp in my passport. I was greeted by a confused looking customs officer who explained that I couldn’t get a stamp because I hadn’t left the country.

“Treba mi carinski pečat zbog prijave za boravku u Beogradu” (I need a stamp in order to declare my arrival in Belgrade), I explained.

“Kakav, bre, pečat?” (What sort of bleeding stamp?), replied the semi-conscious officer.

“Pa, pečat sa međunarodne granice,” (Well, a stamp from an international border), I clarified.

“Nemamo mi pečat ovde jer ovo nije prava granica,” (We don’t have a stamp here because this isn’t a proper border), he said.

“Kako nije granica? Bio sam u inostranstvu u Crnoj Gori a sad se vraćam u Srbiju preko granice.” (How is this not a border? I’ve been abroad in Montenegro and now I’m returning to Serbia via the border?), I insisted.

“Da li imas pečat za poslednji put kada si stigao u Srbiju?” (Do you have a stamp from the last time you arrived in Serbia?)   

“Imam” (I have).

“E, pa, to je to. Nisi sada bio u inostranstvu. Samo si bio na moru”. (Well then that’s that. You haven’t been abroad now. You’ve just been to the seaside.)

“Ali zar nije Crna Gora sada samostalna država?” (But isn’t Montenegro an independent country now?)

“Pusti ti to. To ništa ne znaci. Nisi bio u inostranstvu. Doviđenja.” (Forget about that. That doesn’t mean anything. You haven’t been abroad. Goodbye), he insisted, handing me back my passport and sending me on my way.