Posted on 06/28/2022 5:25:21 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Perhaps the world's most complicated boundary, a narrow bike trail offers a window into a region that has been the battleground of Europe and is where culture and geography intersect.
Nicolai Meyer stepped away from his restaurant's deep fryer to offer a quick lesson in geography.
"We're in Belgium," he explained, then pointed through the window. "The road is Germany. Then it's Belgium. Then Germany." The entire area he described spanned perhaps 50m.
I picked up one of his chips, which he assured me was a true Belgium frite, dipped it in mayonnaise and took a bite as I tried to make sense of this patchwork quilt borderland.
What may be the world's most complicated boundary centres on a narrow ribbon of bike trail. Its history offers a window into a region that at times has been the battleground of Europe and an area where culture and geography intersect.
The cycling route follows an 1899 railroad called the Vennbahn, or Fens Railway, which connects the city of Aachen, Germany, with Luxembourg. Built by Germany's Prussian State Railway to haul coal, iron and steel, the railway fuelled industrial growth and prospered through World War One, when it was used to carry military supplies.
When hostilities ended, the 1919 Treaty of Versailles awarded Belgium contested German land, along with the railroad and its tracks that connected it. That included a 28km corridor that left several pockets of German land completely cut off from the rest of the country. One section was annexed by Belgium and later returned to Germany in 1958, but five others remain as enclaves – a territory completely surrounded by another territory.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
That’s going to take several minutes to listen to, thanks.
Sounds like a Belgian waffle.
I was thinking of a Venn Diagram - maybe award jurisdiction to both countries?
Then there’s this one:
https://www.traveltrivia.com/worlds-strangest-borders-may-surprise-you/YPsC-CJ-5QAHjX2N
Lots of strange borders in Europe. The strangest one I’ve ever seen is in Derby Line,Vermont. In that town is a library called the Haskell Library.It’s situated directly on the US/Canadian border and in the building itself is a line on the floor denoting the border. Outside the building are several flower pots representing the border.
Arguably, the world’s shortest border lies just south of Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, Spain. The border dividing Spain from Morocco is about 90 yards long.
My neighbor has a retired cop dog. Good for them. It is very defensive of its new home and especially doesn’t trust me.
Knowing it was a cop dog, I tried a a few commands in Dutch. She asked me what I was doing, and I told her.
She said he was a Belgian Malinois, so maybe he was trained in Belgian.
True story, and not a SloJo story.
Are they enclaves or exclaves? Depends on your point of view.
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