May 28, 2020

Shop on Belgian-Dutch border off limits to both countries

Filed under: Food & Drink,Weird by Orangemaster @ 2:24 pm

Bart Cuypers’ beer shop Bierparadijs (‘Beer Paradise’) is technically in Belgium, but only accessible from exit A16, leading to an industrial area that borders the Netherlands. Due to Covid-19, Belgium, like many other European countries, is policing its border, in this case some 100 metres from the beer shop.

Cuypers doesn’t currently have any customers, and like many other businesses he’s getting some government support to keep up the place and its employees until he’s able to operate more normally. Right now everybody wants beer but there’s no decent way to get to it.

The Dutch could get to his shop as long as they take another exit just before the border check, which is meant for people entering Belgium. However, the Dutch cannot go to Belgium without a valid reason, and jokes aside, stocking up on beer is not a valid reason. The Dutch are 98% of Cuypers’ clients, as many beers are 25% cheaper in Belgium than in the Dutch supermarkets.

Back in 2008 we told you about a murder on the border and sorting that out was quite complicated.

(Link: volkskrant.nl)

Tags: , , , , , , ,

December 30, 2015

Borders to change between Belgium and The Netherlands

Filed under: History by Orangemaster @ 7:10 pm

eijsden-openstreetmap

In February 2014 we told you about a border correction that was to take place between Belgium and The Netherlands two years down the road. Apparently, it should happen in 2016: the Presqu’ile de l’Islal, a small Belgian peninsula stranded on the Dutch bank of the river Meuse (Maas), will become Dutch territory much to the delight of the law on both sides.

At present, the uninhabited Belgian peninsula is off limits to the Dutch police and because it’s only linked to Dutch land, Belgian police can’t go there without a hassle. The story goes that it’s a lawless sex, drugs and rock n’ roll place, especially in the summer. The Belgian cops didn’t like having to go there by boat, either.

Belgium and The Netherlands also have the joint legal weirdness of Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog to deal with, which is so complicated even Google Streetview had its work cut out for it back in 2010. And then there’s that murder case that gave the place an extra layer of headache.

It’s nice to see a border swap rather than a border dispute in this day and age. Bring on 2016!

(Link: www.theguardian.com, Map by OpenStreetMap contributors, some rights reserved; the big purple line is the border)

Tags: , , , , ,