The Alsace town of Wissembourg, France. Photo ©hidden europe.

By Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries—

Note: The authors, on a slow train somewhere in Alsace, reflect on the enduring appeal of borderlands.

Borderlands are always interesting. These are the territories that somehow defy classification. Today, as we ramble along through eastern France, we focus on two of our favorite borderlands, Wales and Alsace.

The Welsh Borderlands

Of course, maps depict a border separating Wales from England, but the reality on the ground is more complex, as the traveller moves seamlessly through the marchlands from one cultural realm to the other.

Ludlow, an appealing small town in the Shropshire hills, is unequivocally English. Llanwrthwl, a village just 35 miles west of Ludlow, is most certainly Welsh. But drive the main road west from Ludlow and you’ll realize that Wales is not a clearly defined territory but more a state of mind. Communities along the way, like Knighton and Bleddfa, are also deliciously ambiguous.

Images of Alsace

Much the same is true of Alsace, the region in eastern France that is bordered by the Rhine. We stopped off in the Alsace town of Strasbourg, then meandered north to Wissembourg, never straying more than a dozen miles from the German border.

We ate choucroute and flammekueche, lingered over Riesling wines, and listened to conversations that started in French but moved effortlessly into Alsatian German.

In Strasbourg this month, there is a public initiative that focuses on the very idea of identity. Citizens are being encouraged to think about life in their border region, with performances, readings, and debates that explore four clear themes: perceptions, frontiers, values, and connections.

Traveling through this marvelous region, we are ever more struck that folk in Alsace could really teach the rest of us in Europe a thing of two. This remarkable borderland is little more than two hours from Paris by fast train.

Susanne Kries and Nicky Gardner run an editorial bureau in Berlin that provides text on travel and cultural affairs for media across Europe. They also publish hidden europe magazine.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Looking for ways to save some euros while visiting Amsterdam? Here are five suggestions:

Try some flower power.

Visiting the masterpieces at the Rijksmuseum will set you back €10, but the baroque and renaissance gardens behind it are free to stroll. Delight in the fountains, statues, and the carefully coiffed hedges and plants. The gardens are open daily from 9 am to 6 pm. Baroque gardens are closed on the weekends.

(Note: The Rijksmuseum is undergoing extensive renovations that are scheduled to last until 2010. Until then, visitors may visit a scaled down “best of” collection entitled ”The Masterpieces.”)

Pick up a passport to paintings. 

Speaking of the Rijksmuseum, we’re flying high about the joint venture between the museum and Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport. The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schipol, an art space at the airport maintained by the museum, offers annual exhibits free of charge. This year, an impressive collection of Van Gogh paintings is on display. The gallery is just behind the passport control desks—and is open from 7 am to 10 pm. So, get your stamp and your art on!

Go Dutch!

Ever wondered how to say “ham sandwich” in Dutch? (The answer is broodje ham).  Why not sign up for a local chat buddy and learn even more? Check out the University of Amsterdam’s Web site and bulletin board to find a partner in conversation. Or, just try Craigslist. Our friends over at Trippist recommend the Student Language Exchange too. What better way to connect with Dutch culture than to go, quite literally, Dutch!

Park  yourself.

It’s no secret that Amsterdam has some of the prettiest and most extensive parks. Our favorites include Vondelpark and Beatrixpark. For more space and to catch a game of Frisbee, try Vondel. Another Vondel bonus? Free concerts abound, especially during the summer months. Beatrix is your best bet for quiet and quaint. Relax on a blanket, pull out a good book, and prepare to catch some rays and shut eye.

Go over the river.

Since Amsterdam’s touristy canal tours can get pricey, we recommend the free ferry (about a 5-minute ride) from Central Station (the Ruyterkade) over the River IJ. We admit, the tour isn’t long, but it offers a great view of Amsterdam’s shoreline and lets visitors fully appreciate Amsterdam’s rich port and shipping trade history. Ferries leave every 7.5 minutes between 6:30 am and 11 pm daily; every quarter hour at other times of day.

If you’ve rented a bike, spend the day on the other side, touring the countryside and nearby small villages of Monnickendam, Marken, and Volendam. Cycling maps are available at all of Amsterdam’s bike shops (read more about this countryside bike tour).

Popularity: 12% [?]

Photo by marlandova

The beauty of travel in the Balkans is the authentic experience it provides its visitors. Without much of the tourist infrastructure set up in other parts of Europe, an adventure is always just around the corner.

Like when you want to inquire about transport options to Montenegro from Bulgaria and your handy Bulgarian phrase book only gets you so far with the impatient cashier. After all, how are you supposed to know that locally, Montenegro is known as Crna Gora?

Never fear, it’s ‘ole Wikipedia to the rescue. Consulting this handy Wikipedia directory in advance might just save you the energy you need to climb Ano Poli when you travel from Sofia to Solun (Thessaloniki). We love that the Web site lists city names in most European languages and with a version that uses the Latin alphabet. This way, we can at least approximate the local pronunciation.

Oh, and if you’re in Budapest and want to meet me in Dubrovnik, ask for a flight to Raguza pronto.

Wandering Cheapo Sunnia Ko is a wanderer at heart and primarily supports this habit as a teacher at Plovdiv University in Bulgaria. She is currently on a cross-Balkan trek from Plovdiv to Sibenik, Croatia, where she hopes to find the Adriatic as splendid and turquoise as she remembers it to be.

Popularity: 4% [?]

photograph courtesy of Uncensored_AKH

If you know the words to “I Will Survive,” “It’s Raining Men,” and “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” you will be happy to know that the lyrics to these songs are international currency.

In clubs and cars across Europe, these songs remain on high rotation. Yes, these songs were originally popular decades ago, but believe it or not they remain popular today.

Anglophones don’t always realize that songs like these actually provide English lessons for many non-native English speakers. Ask people you meet during your European travels: how did you learn English so well? Sure, many of them will say they studied English for 12 years or lived in an English-speaking country, but many others will cite music and movies.

Anglophones: Try this at home! To learn another language, check out music and film in another language. Who knows? One day you may find yourself having a conversation with someone in your newly-acquired tongue only to be interrupted by one or another souped-up classic.

Popularity: 3% [?]