Borders – 28/11/2021

Recently, I have crossed quite a few borders—whether national, linguistic, cultural, physical, or mental borders.

They fascinate, ground, inspire, and help you grow.

I have experienced and pushed my own limits again and again over the past few days. Physically, I am truly amazed by what is possible, especially when you have no other choice. Even when your muscles or knees hurt, when you are simply exhausted, when the destination is still several kilometers away, or when no suitable place to sleep appears, you can still keep going and conquer another climb. The limiting factor is usually your mind. It is often convinced that you cannot do it. But then, in the evening, it is all the more surprised by what was actually possible and what you achieved. It is an incredibly empowering feeling, and somehow you feel proud of yourself and your own performance.

Crossing a national border is always somehow exciting. You never know what to expect, especially during these crazy times. When crossing the border from Switzerland to Italy, the customs officers really cheered me on with my bike. The border from Italy to Slovenia was only noticeable because of the country signs. Not a single officer in sight, let alone a customs building. Entering Croatia was already a little more interesting. At that border crossing, I had to stop for the first time and show my passport. From Croatia, I visited Bosnia and Herzegovina twice by car, and that was by far the most exciting border crossing so far. You get stopped three times. The first stop is leaving Croatia, which is rather uneventful. The second stop is entering Bosnia (where your passport gets stamped). Here, you are asked several questions: why you are entering, where you are going, what you plan to do, and you have to show your COVID certificate. The third stop is to check whether you have anything to declare.

Leaving Bosnia follows exactly the same procedure. First stop: leaving Bosnia (passport stamp), where you again have to answer several questions. Second stop: entering Croatia—questions about where you are going, proof of reservation or accommodation, and showing your COVID certificate. Third stop: whether you have anything to declare. Since many migrants have recently been trying to cross the border from Bosnia into Croatia in this region, the officers are very cautious and suspicious and ask a lot of detailed questions.

As soon as you enter a new country, the language changes immediately. The languages do not really blend into each other. Even around Lake Constance, you can clearly recognize the borders between Austria, Switzerland, and Germany.

What continues to surprise me, however, is that many people do not speak English but do know some German. In Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia, you find many shops from Germany and Austria, such as dm, Müller, Lidl, Spar, Bauhaus, and others, and everything is written in German. It is quite fascinating.

The cultures mix, if you can put it that way, especially when it comes to food. Nevertheless, every place has its own specialties and traditions. Especially when you get in contact with locals and are able to spend time with them, you learn so many things that you would never experience as a normal tourist.

This is how you continuously discover something new and start seeing certain things from a different perspective.