CROSSING INTERNATIONAL BORDER WITHOUT VISA OR PASSPORT

No, I did not pull a Bajrangi Bhaijaan stunt for this one. Neither did I face Mr. Deol guarding his territory.

Well, borders are often areas of political turmoil usually capable of starting a war in a blink. But I am not going to take you around those kind of borders. I am here to explore a town, where a single café stands on 2 different countries, homes have 2 different numbers and country codes and the town hall has polices with uniforms from both the countries.

And yes, all of these exist peacefully with each other, because Borders can be Peaceful too!

If you have not guessed it already, I was talking about the border in Baarle Hertog-Nassau, an otherwise non-descriptive city that shares its boundaries with 2 different European countries, i.e Netherlands & Belgium. While in Netherlands, the city is called Baarle –Nassau, in Belgium it goes by the name Baarle Hertog and this tale of 2 cities is a fascinating one. The border that passes through buildings, offices, shops has made this town one of the prime tourist attractions for how often can actually be on 2 different countries and all at the same time.

Imagine waking up in your bedroom in one country and then walk across the hallway to the bathroom and voila, you are in another country. This may sound bizarre but this can be true if you are in this city. Tucked away in the quiet corners of two countries, this hamlet would have gone easily unnoticed if not for the fact that this hamlet houses the most interesting and peaceful border.

Quick Fact for History Buff: It is said that the confusion with the border was created during the Middle Ages when a wealthy duke traded pieces of territory resulting in this weird border lines.

An Afterthought: This city does not have a traditional border but it is more like a jigsaw puzzle with enclaves within enclaves that politically belongs to the other country, making things way more complicated than you can imagine. But thankfully, that’s the only complicated part of this border.

As I see around with countries in war, new borders being drawn and soldiers and common people losing their lives, homes and every last bit of peace, this border stands as a ray of hope that not all borders need to be about LoC. Not all countries have to wage wars. If Belgium & Netherlands can share such a complex border, yet stay peacefully with each other, why can’t we do the same? People in this city are not fighting with each other for inches on the ground. Rather they enjoy being a part of both the countries and makes the most of their situation and that has become a tourist attraction and can easily be an inspiration for many countries