All Over the Place: Which Country, Again?
Issue 33: Karkonosze National Park and Krkonoše National Park
Quick, what country are you in?
This is not a difficult question to answer. Usually. But when hiking in the Giant Mountains with a pen pal and his friends a few weeks ago, there were several times where I found myself unable to answer that question.
We were hiking in Poland’s Karkonosze National Park, except when we were hiking in the Czech Republic’s Krkonoše National Park. The parks border each other, with the international border separating them. In most cases, repeatedly crossing a border like this would be suspicious to border authorities on both sides, but here it is mundane due to something called the Schengen Area.
The Schengen Area is one of those groupings (like the European Union and NATO) that most of Europe is in, but not all of it, and some countries are part of one or two but not the others. The Schengen Area is an area of shared border controls. You’ll need to show your passport to enter the Schengen Area, but you can go from one Schengen Area country to another without standing in line and stating the purpose of your trip.
Our route criss-crossed the border several times, and the weather (pleasantly mild but foggy) meant that visibility was limited. In parts, the border stones were almost completely covered with snow, and the fog and snow made it seem like we were on the border with Antarctica. In other parts, it was a much clearer winter wonderland. It was a fantastic trip, and I am thankful that my pen pal invited me along.
New Article:
“Stand up and support Ukraine, democracy”
https://kenoshanews.com/opinion/column/article_30cc21be-001d-11f0-974d-f3e93e0f136b.html