ZURICH, Switzerland - What began as a routine training exercise almost ended in an embarrassing diplomatic incident after a company of Swiss soldiers got lost at night and marched into neighboring Liechtenstein.
According to Swiss daily Blick, the 170 infantry soldiers wandered just over a mile across an unmarked border into the tiny principality early Thursday before realizing their mistake and turning back.
...
Interior ministry spokesman Markus Amman said nobody in Liechtenstein had even noticed the soldiers, who were carrying assault rifles but no ammunition. "It's not like they stormed over here with attack helicopters or something," he said.
Wonderful weirdness. This makes me very happy. Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
Since it would be entirely possible to drive a car down the main highway from Switzerland into Lichtenstein without noticing that you'd crossed an international border, its not hard to imagine that happening out in the woods.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Annie: I can imagine it would be pretty indimidating to happen upon the Swiss army in the woods after dark.
What, with the knives and all.
(edited: eigo mada dekinai)
Yes, but I imagine it could come in really handy if you were planning a romantic afternoon with "A jug of wine, a loaf or bread and thou" but had woefully forgotten a corkscrew.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: Rabbit, where is that jug of wine quote from? I can't place it.
The Rubaiyt of Omar Khayyam
""A Book of Verses underneath the Bough, A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread--and Thou Beside me singing in the Wilderness-- Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!""
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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quote:The problem is Lichtenstein is so small that even their neighbors don't know where they are.
It actually has very little to do with the size of Lichtenstein. The borders in Europe are simply very poorly marked particularly if you are off in the mountains or the woods or even on a back road. You can very easily cross any countries borders in Western Europe without knowing it.
Does anyone here remember the ice man found on a Glacier in the Alps a few years back? It was originally thought that he was found in Austria but it turns out he was actually found on the Italian side of the border. There was a big controversy over which country he belonged to. Ultimately I believe the remains ended up in Italy.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: Thanks, Rabbit. I've never read it, but I've heard that verse before.
The line has become an inside joke between my husband and I. I don't drink wine because I am Mormon and I can't eat bread because I have Celiac disease, which puts all the burden on "thou" (my husband) alone.
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posted
I drove through Liechtenstein once. You could say that I ran over it with my car.
No actually, that was Luxenbourg - took about half an hour cross-country.
The captain of my cadet unit had a video of British (I think it was) soldiers who were training for amphibious assaults, and landed at the wrong beach; a civilian one.
Posts: 1762 | Registered: Apr 2006
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Now come with old Khayyam and leave the wise In talk. One thing is certain, that life flies. One thing is certain, and the rest is lies, The flower that once has blown forever dies.
quote:Originally posted by The Rabbit: The borders in Europe are simply very poorly marked particularly if you are off in the mountains or the woods or even on a back road. You can very easily cross any countries borders in Western Europe without knowing it.
I'd forgotten this, but escaped Allied prisoners during WW2 often had this problem. They'd escape from German POW camps and make their way to the Swiss border... and it often happened that as they floundered around in the dark they'd walk into Switzerland, only to wander back out into Germany and get caught by the border patrol...
Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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quote:They're not so hot on the electrified fences as the US is.
Hey, those fences have kept the Canadians from invading us. The Mounties are not our overlords, thanks to those fences.
Posts: 684 | Registered: Jun 2002
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quote:Originally posted by SoaPiNuReYe: Am I the only one who has never heard of this country before?
It's the 6th smallest country in the world, about 5 miles wide (east to west) and 10-12 miles long. It is bordered by Switzerland on the west and Austria on the east. Not only is it one of the smallest countries in the world, but it has the distinction of being the only country in Europe that is not only landlocked but also border solely by landlocked countries. It doubles as a ski-resort and tax haven for wealthy Europeans.
The country derives its name from a Castle south of Vienna which once belonged to royal family. From the train heading south from Vienna, the Burg (castle) appears bright white on the hill side to the west. Hence the name Liechtenstein meaning "bright stone"
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posted
"The Swiss postal service is invading Lichtenstein?"
If I am correct, and I may very well not be, there is no postal service in Liechtenstein. The government issues stamps which are valid for use, but the Swiss carry all the mail.
Posts: 211 | Registered: Dec 2006
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quote:The problem is Lichtenstein is so small that even their neighbors don't know where they are.
It actually has very little to do with the size of Lichtenstein. The borders in Europe are simply very poorly marked particularly if you are off in the mountains or the woods or even on a back road. You can very easily cross any countries borders in Western Europe without knowing it.
Does anyone here remember the ice man found on a Glacier in the Alps a few years back? It was originally thought that he was found in Austria but it turns out he was actually found on the Italian side of the border. There was a big controversy over which country he belonged to. Ultimately I believe the remains ended up in Italy.
(It wasn't meant as a serious comment. But thank you for the very informative reply. )
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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