Border Brilliance
With immigration and border crossing increasingly prominent in the news these days, it seems like a good opportunity to take a light-hearted look at some extremely interesting border trivia around the world, from phenomenal engineering feats such as the Oresund Bridge-Tunnel through to the charming but Newlywed-splitting Hotel Franco-Suisse.
They are all at least border on fascinating. Ahem.
France / Italy
If you’re looking for a scenic route whilst crossing an international border and don’t have a fear of heights, you surely can’t beat the cable-car ride which connects France and Italy. You see, whilst the Mont Blanc lift effortlessly glide you from one country to the other (Aiguille de Midi to Point Helbronner) through one of the most stunning areas of the world, the 5km journey also happens to be the highest cable-car traverse on Earth.
Denmark / Sweden
The Oresund Bridge-Tunnel is the world’s longest border crossing bridge and connects Denmark and Sweden across the Oresund Strait. An incredible engineering feat, the bridge itself comes to an end and rests on an artificial island called Penderholm, at which point a tunnel takes over and carries traffic under the strait and onto the Danish mainland. Incredibly, this nearly 8km long structure also has a railtrack underneath the 4 lane roadway.
See the bridge-tunnel on Google Maps here. More info about the bridge at Dark Roasted Blend.
Mexico / USA
Before you attempt to illegally jump a border you may want to visit Parque EcoAlberto in Hidalgo, Mexico for a taster of the experience. This self-styled theme park charges customers the equivalent of £10 in order to take part in a 4 hour illegal border crossing simulation from Mexico to the U.S., complete with ‘actors’ playing the parts of smugglers and border guards. The paying public ‘must hike through undergrowth, dash down steep hills and across rivers, and slip under barbed-wire fences’ whilst avoiding the non-authorities.
More info at Pruned.
Finland / Sweden
At the Green Zone Golf Club it’s very possible, if talented or lucky enough, to get a hole-in-one that spans two countries due to the fact that hole 6 begins in Finland and ends in Sweden. In fact, during the 18 hole course you’ll find yourself crossing the border on a number of occasions between the towns of Tornio, Sweden and Haparanda, Finland. It’s a unique set-up but one which is soon to be trumped by a 27 hole course in the Emerald Triangle, an area of land where the borders of 3 countries (Laos, Thailand and Cambodia) meet. The plan is to play 9 of the 27 holes in each country.
More photos here.
France / Switzerland
Hotel Franco-Suisse in La Cure, France straddles the border of France and Switzerland to the point where you can choose to stay in either a French or Swiss room during your bi-national stay. The best part is the honeymoon suite: the border line cuts through the room, right down the middle of the bed. I’m not too sure if the best way to spend what should be one of the most romantic nights of your marriage is to sleep in a different country to your partner.
Check out the hotel here on Google Maps.
Panama / Costa Rica
Connecting the countries of Panama and Costa Rica is the Sixaola Bridge pictured above. Luckily for pedestrians, the trains no longer run, but that doesn’t mean the 16 wheel trucks have stopped using this incredible old steel bridge at the same time as people. Apparently when the largest vehicles are crossing you literally have to jump onto intermittent safety platforms to ensure you reach the other side of the border.