💗 Schengen
“Have you ever wanted to fly across a border more than 40 times in one minute? No? As of last month, you can do it anyway: By hopping on a swing in the towns of Baarle-Hertog-Nassau, you can fly from the Netherlands into Belgium and back.”
https://europeancorrespondent.com/en/r/borders-are-a-construct-but-this-swing-isnt
like this:
in the beginning of 1963, the town of Elten was Dutch, but on August 1, it became German
Dutch and German traders moved their trucks into Elten with all sorts of cargo in late July that was usually subject to import tax (butter, coffee, etc)
so when the borders shifted Aug 1, there was no import tax, because the goods hadn't moved
the event became known as "Eltener Butternacht": Butter Night
it was so huge they had to do road repairs
https://duitslandinstituut.nl/artikel/539/eltener-butternacht-maakte-exporteurs-rijk
There was a porous border in WWII in Konstanz on the Swiss/German border. People were allowed to pass small packages from CH to DE like coffee, sugar & clothing in sight of boarder guards. I knew some Milwaukee German families who’d emigrated to the US in 1860s that sent packages there.
This probably happened in several places. Basel, CH is the juncture of CH, DE & FR.
Frédéric Jacobs
me·ta·phil, der
ᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIES
@stevewfolds