Monday, April 2, 2012

Border Hopping


I live in the city of Schaffhausen, Switzerland. It is a small city of around 35,000 people. It is the capital of the Canton of Schaffhausen as well. Wikipedia does a pretty good job of describing our city. While the article explains that it is surrounded on three sides by Germany, I don’t think you quite get the idea of how close the border actually is.  I quick stroll from our apartment requires that I bring my passport.

Most days, I take Norton to a forested area just next to the city. To get there, we walk by border markers that are cement pillars about 3 feet high.  One side is marked with “D” for Germany or GB for Grossherzogtum Baden; the other has CH for Switzerland or CS for Canton Schaffhausen. My favorite is a small, square marker which points out a tiny corner between the two countries.

There is tiny path that cuts through the forest that straddles the border.  These stone doodads were erected in 1839 to mark the border between Germany and Switzerland. I’m an International woman of mystery almost every day!

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