tess

We will be in Saltzburg in August and plan to drive the A-8 to Munich. I read somewhere that there can be delays of up to an hour to cross from Austria to Germany. Is that true? Are there better places to cross? We aren't trying to sneak anything into Germany, just want to avoid delays.

Wayne

I've driven that border many times at many different crossings, but none since Sept 11. Before then, I never had any delays. Now, I simply don't know; but if there are any delays it would probably be for a good reason. I hope someone who has traveled more recently can give you a current update.

Art

The border crossings between EU countries are empty now. You don't even have to slow down.

Ben Haines

The empty frontier control buildings stand folorn beside the road, a monument to past nationalism, with windows that badly need cleaning. In the same way, you sometimes find in frontier railway stations old and deserted customs halls. That in Basel main station is huge, with grand doors and mahogany inspection counters, and at midnight wholly empty. Next due to fall are the western borders of Poland, the Czech republic, Hungary and Slovenia.

In 1989 Gorbachev spoke of "our common European home, from the Atlantic to the Urals". With American encouragement, we are getting there.

Ben Haines

Joyce

If you are going by train, you will probably not even know when you crossed the border. When I made the crossing 2 years ago, no announcement was made, and I did not see anything out the window that indicated the train had moved into Germany.

bettyk

Just recently returned from a 2-week trip to Germany, Austria, Switzerland where we many numerous border crossings. We experienced no delays at all. In fact, most of the time, we didn't even have to slow down. There might be the normal traffic problems, but that would depend on the time of day you are traveling.