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German exclaves in Belgium separated by a bicycle path from the rest of Germany

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Re: German exclaves in Belgium separated by a bicycle path from the rest of Germany

#2
> There is no border control due to the Schengen Agreement, therefore daily life is not really impacted.

That's the most interesting part to me. I cross the border every day to go to work. Yet, when a friend came to visit us and we we to the city, he couldn't believe that we were crossing a border that easily (France-Switzerland). It was literally an open fence with a sign welcoming you.

It's really awesome when you think about it

Re: German exclaves in Belgium separated by a bicycle path from the rest of Germany

#3
I live in Monschau and drive past these every day. Driving from Monschau to Roetgen takes you through a forest in Belgium. One crosses the border twice within a couple of kilometers. The border is, indeed, at the bicycle path.

Re: German exclaves in Belgium separated by a bicycle path from the rest of Germany

#4
post #2

> There is no border control due to the Schengen Agreement, therefore daily life is not really impacted. That's the most interesting part to me. I cross the border every day to go to work. Yet, when a friend came to visit us and we we to the city, he couldn't believe that we were crossing a border that easily (France-Switzerland). It was literally an open fence with a sign welcoming you. It's really awesome when you…

It’s interesting and sad to contrast it with the India-Bangladesh enclaves, where there were great hardships due the lack of such international cooperation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India–Bangladesh_enclaves

Re: German exclaves in Belgium separated by a bicycle path from the rest of Germany

#6
post #4
post #2

> There is no border control due to the Schengen Agreement, therefore daily life is not really impacted. That's the most interesting part to me. I cross the border every day to go to work. Yet, when a friend came to visit us and we we to the city, he couldn't believe that we were crossing a border that easily (France-Switzerland). It was literally an open fence with a sign welcoming you. It's really awesome when you…

It’s interesting and sad to contrast it with the India-Bangladesh enclaves, where there were great hardships due the lack of such international cooperation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India–Bangladesh_enclaves

TBF, the "desenclaving" is relatively recent if it was effected by the Schengen agreement given these enclaves were created back in 1921.

It would be interesting to know how they were handled/managed in the meantime, did Belgium have the entire railway fenced off? I expect not, most land borders are not that hard, the east/west border was more the exception than the rule.

Re: German exclaves in Belgium separated by a bicycle path from the rest of Germany

#7
post #2

> There is no border control due to the Schengen Agreement, therefore daily life is not really impacted. That's the most interesting part to me. I cross the border every day to go to work. Yet, when a friend came to visit us and we we to the city, he couldn't believe that we were crossing a border that easily (France-Switzerland). It was literally an open fence with a sign welcoming you. It's really awesome when you…

This is what I was expecting when I drove between Switzerland-Italy in 2016. Except I was stopped, told to park, had my passport examined with with a loupe, and then was sent on my way. Are the borders back to normal now?

Re: German exclaves in Belgium separated by a bicycle path from the rest of Germany

#8
post #2

> There is no border control due to the Schengen Agreement, therefore daily life is not really impacted. That's the most interesting part to me. I cross the border every day to go to work. Yet, when a friend came to visit us and we we to the city, he couldn't believe that we were crossing a border that easily (France-Switzerland). It was literally an open fence with a sign welcoming you. It's really awesome when you…

People in the U.S. have forgotten the meaning of the word "state".

Re: German exclaves in Belgium separated by a bicycle path from the rest of Germany

#9
post #7
post #2

> There is no border control due to the Schengen Agreement, therefore daily life is not really impacted. That's the most interesting part to me. I cross the border every day to go to work. Yet, when a friend came to visit us and we we to the city, he couldn't believe that we were crossing a border that easily (France-Switzerland). It was literally an open fence with a sign welcoming you. It's really awesome when you…

This is what I was expecting when I drove between Switzerland-Italy in 2016. Except I was stopped, told to park, had my passport examined with with a loupe, and then was sent on my way. Are the borders back to normal now?

Probably not. The Italian Northern border has been repeatedly “closed to Schengen” by neighbours because of the migration crisis. France, Switzerland and Austria basically keep suspending the treaty unilaterally whenever they feel like, as well as carrying out further abuses (like French Police illegally crossing the border and unloading migrants in a forest before driving back).
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