{"id":7387,"date":"2011-02-24T18:48:51","date_gmt":"2011-02-24T23:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=7387"},"modified":"2022-03-08T07:10:28","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T12:10:28","slug":"international-clip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/international-clip\/","title":{"rendered":"International Clip"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u2019ve always had a thing about collecting and counting geography. You\u2019ve seen plenty of examples of that on Twelve Mile Circle before. For example, reference my ongoing tally of U.S. counties <\/a>that I have visited. Sometimes these “visits” are exceedingly brief, even measuring to mere seconds. Yet, they still count according to the arbitrary rules I\u2019ve applied to myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I haven\u2019t focused much attention on the blog on my international travel but the same rules apply. I may be arbitrary but at least I’m consistent. Thus, I would have to clip only the tiniest corner of a nation and I would consider the goal completed. I’d color-in that nation on my world map. Sure, I’d prefer to experience the sights, meet the people and explore the nation in depth. That wouldn’t change this<\/em> tally, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I’ve Done This Before<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That described my first trip to Germany. I’d been visiting with a friend in Brussels and we took a day trip down to Luxembourg. I mentioned to him that I\u2019d never been to Germany, and it was oh-so-close. Couldn\u2019t we just hop across the border please<\/em> so I could say I\u2019d been there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Schengen.<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Schengen Agreement had been inked by the time but it hadn\u2019t yet been implemented. Thus, there was still a border control station heading into Germany. The guard asked us about the nature of our trip and how long we planned to stay. My friend explained that we\u2019d be in Germany for about ten minutes until we intended to cross into France. We were only doing it because the weird American in the passenger seat wanted to say he\u2019d been to Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The guard chuckled, smiled and waved us through. It was probably the most entertaining thing he\u2019d seen all day. In my defense, I will say that I\u2019ve been back to Germany subsequently. I’ve now seen much more than my original 9 km strip (map<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Possibilities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I thought about it and wondered. Are there other 3-nation excursions that are even more ridiculous in their minuscule length and duration. There are something on the order of 150+ international tripoints, so plenty of opportunities exist. I imagine the better opportunities would occur in areas with well-developed road systems combined with relaxed border controls. That sounds like the Schengen Area. Indeed I found a number of great examples in western Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Better Luxembourg – Germany – France Example<\/h3>\n\n\n\n