In the last 5 days I have been in Switzerland, Germany, France, Austria and Lichtenstein. In the case of the first 3 I have visited multiple times. Occasionally, on major road bridges, there might be a border post but always unmanned. On minor bridges and most land borders there are no border controls at all. On minor roads there is often no clue at all that one is entering a new country. I suppose this is the Schengen agreement in action.
As someone who likes stamps in his passport it is pants; I also find it quite frustrating to frequently not know what country I am in. This a practical problem with a SatNav that assumes the address you are searching for is in the country you are currently in unless told otherwise.
I have just spent 5 days researching the first part of a new route along the Rhine from source to sea. With only limited time available I have concentrated on getting the bit out of the mountains done and I am now is Strasbourg waiting for a train back to Basel and a plane home. I am especially looking forward to having my passport thoroughly checked but only after being made to stand in line with a load of Europeans who must find it completely bewildering.
Next week another adventure begins…..
Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the EE network.
