British and U.S. consulate services in Munich

I was talkin to a guy last night with a nice tie, and our conversation drifted to the consulate services in Munich (BRIT + US).

Which got me to thinking, what expectations do you have from your consulate?

Are you happy with your consulate?

KK

I'd like the consulate to break me out and send me home when I finally get caught by the fuzz.

But so far I have never needed them.

I can see the point of a US consulate in a German city, but I really don't see the point of a British one in an EU non-capital city. If it could issue passports then perhaps it would be worthwhile but whats the point really of a British consulate in Munich?

This has also been covered previously: British consulate Munich - what's it good for?

Same story as Boomtown. Only thing I've needed all these years is a new passport and that comes from the Consulate General, which was in Düsseldorf at the last time of need.

My neighbor works at the British embassy in the economic department promoting English companies trying to do business here in the region.

The American consulate sends out messages once in awhile, but I sometimes wonder what else people expect.

BTW, the American Consulate is being remodeled. Germans wishing to have VISAs for the USA can get them there soon instead of having to travel to FFM or Berlin.

But sometimes I am surprised that some people expect something from the consulate. Heck, I guess I wouldn't mind having the marines host a Poker game.

Did someone say Poker?

KK

Well, it would be nice if security at the US Consulate was a little more relaxed. I didn't say lax, I said relaxed. Last time I was there, I had to drink some of my baby daughter's formula from her bottle before they would let me in. Prove it wasn't poisoned, I guess.

My husband was at the US Consulate yesterday, and he said there's a sign on the wall that says to take a seat till the window is free. Huh? So don't line up and hold your spot, just sit there and wait till everyone else has done their business and left.

Back to the baby daughter, I hope they've got the business with the new appointments for people registering births ironed out. We made an appointment (required) for say, 10 AM, got through security (yum! formula!) and to the line for the window a bit before 10. We stood in line till 10:30 to tell them we had an appointment for 10:00. They had no process for letting them know you had arrived for an appointment. The intention was good, they mean to save time for new parents, but it saved us no time and actually lost us the time it took to phone for an appointment. To be fari, they did ask how we found the birth registration by appointment experience, and we told them the story. So hopefully they have addressed the problem.

I also miss the helpful e-mail messages I used to get from the consulate. Here's an excerpt from a message dated September 13, 2004:


These messages never mentioned any specific threats, just vague reminders that Americans should be paranoid, since we're all high-value terrorist targets. You can bet I always maintained a high level of vigilance after receiving these messages! Thanks, US Mission in Germany!

As with others, I only needed the British one once and that was for a passport. Munich were no good and I had to use the "General" one in Düsseldorf. Service was fast, but they wouldn't accept a UK Cheque, only Euro Überweisung at their rather high exchange rate!