kerouac

Starting today and until the end of the month, there will be reinforced border controls in Switzerland and Austria. Application of the Schengen agreement is suspended in Austria this month.

This is due to the Euro 2008 football (soccer) championship being co-hosted by those two countries. Police from other countries will also be on duty in Austria and Switzerland. Several thousand police officers from Germany, France, Spain, Slovakia, etc., will be on duty at the various stadiums to prevent incidents among the highly excitable and alcohol-fuelled fans.

Germany, Spain, Portugal and France are considered to be the top 4 teams according to the betting sites.

kleeblatt

Thanks Kerouac.

If I only had a Franc for everytime I hear a Swiss say, "I'm getting fed up with the Euro 2008."

Like any major sports event, if you're not a fan yourself, you get rather tired of the constant media circus. Every store, every newspaper, every website is trying to profit from the event.

However, we are still honoured to have this event in our land and hope it will be carried out peacefully. Tons of security has been set up and people are a bit worried about hooligans.

It's a great time to buy Swiss and Austrian souvenirs.

Alec

Don't worry about hooligans - the English and the Scots aren't there, though I hear their place is eagerly snapped up by pretenders from Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and some Eastern countries.

kerouac

There will be plenty of English "fans" anyway. Just because your team isn't playing doesn't mean that you don't want to beat up the supporters of other teams, when you're in that frame of mind.

I have some Swiss friends in Zürich who are expecting the worse. Personally, I think they're overdoing the fear factor, but of course part of the problem is that Switzerland is not a turbulent country, so they are not used to this sort of ambience. I doubt that the Austrians are as worried.

alanRow

<<< Don't worry about hooligans - the English and the Scots aren't there, though I hear their place is eagerly snapped up by pretenders from Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and some Eastern countries. >>>

The Italians & some Eastern European countries have some REALLY nasty fans who make the British ones look like children.

They plan their fights, taking weapons - including guns - whereas the British tend to get drunk then start trouble

altamiro

>part of the problem is that Switzerland is not a turbulent country, so they are not used to this sort of ambience.

OK; I see you haven´t been in Zürich at May 1st.

jgg

later this month we will be driving from Czech Republic to Austria and then Austria to Germany, anything we should know about or be sure to have with us?

girlonthego

Thanks kerouac for the heads up.

jgg: Go to UEFA.com and look to see the dates of the matches and what cities they are in. I know Vienna, Salzburg, Klagenfurt and I think Innsbruck are all hosting games. You may want to avoid the crowds, especially if you are not a football fan!
We are actually going at this time to enjoy the football mayhem. We will be in Austria at the end of June.

kenderina

Yes, Spain plays in Innsbruck

Kay2

jgg,
It means that border contols can be put back in place, so they may stop your car, ask to see passports, etc. So, expect possible delays at the border as before Schengen.

From what I read, for the border with the Czech republic they can just reopen the facility when they want.
For Germany, they will have mobile facilities that they may use to house the officials.
They may not be operating all the time at all crossings.

jgg

Thanks Kay. We can be prepared for that.
Girlonthego - we had checked into that before we made our plans. In Austria we will only be in Salzburg and it will be after the games in Salzburg are done. We were in Italy during the World Cup in 2006. We loved being in Europe at that time (especially Italy because they were winning), but were happy not to actually be in Munich where the games were. So, we are again looking forward to the excitement without having to deal with the mayhem!