As someone who uses a wheelchair, I’d like to say it’s very nice of you to mention potential accessibility issues. Travel can be complicated for people with disabilities and the lack of information can sometimes lead to embarrassing and disappointing surprises.
yes, my mother was in a wheelchair for the last 12 years of her life. Numerous times we made reservations and asked about wheelchair accessibility only to find that indeed, there was a wheelchair ramp and an elevator, but the doors were too narrow to allow a wheelchair to pass, making it rather impossible to get her into and out of buildings or rooms.
I was about to comment something similar, even though I'm not disabled myself; I appreciate Tim mentions stuff like this. It's a very small effort, but to those concerned of huge value.
@@jwenting it's so frustrating when people think that a ramp is the only requirement. It's really not very hard to just get hold of a standard wheelchair and just try and manoeuvre it around your establishment. I've done it! Takes ten minutes!
Me: Ah just a cute little hotel with a novelty location due to a treaty. Tim: It saved hundred of jews and resistance members during WWII, was personally thanked by Charles De Gaule and hosted the peace negotiations between France and Algiers.
I know this wasn't the intention, but the phrasing made me imagine a hand extending out from the hotel itself to shake Charles De Gaulle's, as though it were a part of the building itself.
Btw, in case any of you are now looking this up on Google or Bing maps (I know what you lot are like) - yes, they both show the border missing the hotel, and yes, they are both inaccurate :) EDIT: openstreetmap shows it correctly - www.openstreetmap.org/node/198153696#map=18/46.46523/6.07457 (thanks Voyager XYZ for your comment below pointing this out)
@@dontspikemydrink9382 They use the WGS-84 model of the world for border data I believe, which while it on average is accurate, can be several meters off in places. This is because WGS-84 assumes the world is perfectly spherical... it's not, the world is kinda lumpy
As a carpenter in this modern age, the fact he build that in 3 months back then even if it was just the shell of the building that was finished is impressive as hell.
My grandmother told me some of our family member escaped France though this hotel before settling in geneva. Thank god those people were there without them I wouldn’t have been born.
As far as I understand, the business is taxed 1/3 by Switzerland and 2/3 by France, as that's how the territory is split, but I'm not sure about the finer details
Three weeks later, cut to William in room 6, laptop poised and The Tim Traveller videos playing on repeat while he is rocking back and forth in bed with the sheets over his head.
At least it wouldn't set you back too much - I was super surprised to learn it's only 90€, not sure about the rest of Europe but in Finland, that's a quite standard hotel room price
@@64ankka I would argue it is kind of expensive. Last week I stayed in a 3* hotel in Prague, Budapest and Sofia for respectively 51, 48 and 29 euros for a three-person room including breakfast. (total prices, not per person) But I don't know if the prices are always so low. It might be because of Covid-19.
5:47 notice that the old sign says 'Simplon', which appears to be somewhat unusual for this location. Back in the day, this was part of RN5, the main road from Paris to Italy, across the Simplon Pass. At that time there was no tunnel through the Mont Blanc.
You should come to Basel. As it is located on the tripoint CH-DE-FR we've got many interesting border stories. EG cross border trams or the longest single span pedestrian bridge in the world connecting FR and DE. The Airport is also trinational and we've got railway stations of three countries in one city. I d love to give you some more infos and ideas, if you're interessted!
I just finished trekking the Westweg through the Black Forest this week and it ends in the Basel Badischer Bahnhof. To my surprise it is run by the Deutsche Bahn.
@@Optidorf Yes it belongs to the german state. In WWII it made quite a fuss. As far as I know it was the only place in Switzerland where the swastika officialy was shown in a city and later it came out that the nazis dug a tunnel from there under the city to prepare a possible invasion.
@@schaulinnoam That would have been quite mad for the Nazis to try. Switzerland is heavily defended by mountains. If they went to war with Switzerland it would not end well for the Nazis. Even by accidentally invading! No wonder they metaphorically wet themselves at the thought of bringing down the might of the Swiss Army on them.
@@hairyairey Well Basel isn't in the Alps and the defence lines were built in the hills after Basel, so it wouldn't have been to hard. And honestly: the swiss army istn't/wasn't really strong and the reason for not invading switzerland was that it was neutral and still traded with the Nazis and stored "their" gold. Here's an article (in german but google translate helps) about the tunnels under Basel: www.google.com/amp/s/amp.bzbasel.ch/basel/basel-stadt/in-katakomben-unter-dem-badischen-bahnhof-trafen-sich-die-nazis-129807997
I literally laughed out loud -- yes, audibly -- when you said ""What better way to celebrate the 14th of July than to...." I have already watched and enjoyed a few of your other videos but that definitely earned a "Subscribe." I look forward to watching your future travels (and catching up on your past ones)!
its a pretty useful site quite well optimized for searching (for a gov site). you can also access a ton of statistics of switzerland on bfs(dot)admin(dot)ch or very high quality and detailed maps (also for free)
Reminds me of Derby Line Vermont/Stanstead Quebec where the US-Canada border goes directly through a library. The library was deliberately built on the border for both countries to use, although the only entrance for it is on the US side
Yes - that library, along with the buildings of Baarle-Hertog/Baarle-Nassau, is the reason I had to call this place "*almost* unique" :) I think Tom Scott did a video on it a while back
I hope being able to travel again lifted your spirits, and that you're safe and well. It was an unexpected joy to see this pop up in my recommendations; I wasn't expecting you to be able to videos like this again so soon. I'm so glad though, your humour always puts me in a good mood, and you manage to make topics that I usually wouldn't be into so much more engaging. I've been reading about quirky places and unusual architecture lately, and I think you're one of the people I have to thank for developing my interest in that - so thank you! And, as always, thanks for the accessibility info. I will always appreciate it.
The lamppost line reminded me of the time I was fascinated by something that looked like some sort of modern art. Only to walk a few meters to find the same thing with a trash can under it. It was just a weird looking cover for public trash cans in that park.
Smuggling and customs-busting in general is a time honored tradition in France. For a highly regulated - some might say, over-regulated - country, the French sure do cheat the system with gusto if they have a reasonable chance they won't get caught.
Its not exclusive to France, go to a country like Portugal, Spain, Italy, etc. And its the same thing, babies learn to cheat the state before they begin to breath... Lovely countries...
Those of you who are wondering when's he gonna mention anything about trains (bcs let's face it it's not a Tim Traveller vid without a mention of trains) it's at 6:14 you're welcome :)
"Decapitated by the French" 😂😂😂 This is not a guillotine 🤔 (and it's more like at the hip - if u attached to some could be a good way to separate yourselves 🤭🤭🤭 )
I must imagine, the French resistance have a hillarious chase with the Nazis and Vichy France in this area, and they went hiding in the hotel just upstairs so that they both can't legally catch them, great intertaining video my friend! Love your humour! 😁
I've been to La Cure, I didn't know about the hotel though sadly, my parents used to own a house in the Jura Mountains. I used to go skiing at Les rousses and Les Jouvencelles.
I feel like these videos often miss the quirks of what its actually like straddling two borders, for example when you get invoiced what tax do you pay (I.e. what country is it actually in when you pay). Or even things like could they technically sell certain items on different sides of the building because of taxation on those sides
I was there last year, oblivious of this fact! I stayed in Les Rousses and went for a run to La Cure, hopping over the border and feasting my eyes on the border situation (I love borders) there. And never noticed the restaurant... Well, have to go back sometime then. Thanks for the great video. Stay safe👍🏻
Hey you can visit the purchella house in Austria I mean Germany wait I meant Austria . It’s in Berchtesgaden on a Mountain Whit beautiful view near the Königssee . It takes a little walk up (1 hour ) but the view is it weart when u walk up take the German path but down the Austrian path .
It's funny, I drive pretty often next to that hotel and I had always thought the name was only an indication that is was sitting next to the border, not literally on it.
Are you talking about the Swiss Franc? Many Swiss shops and businesses accept the Euro based on that day's exchange rate. They give you the change in Swiss Francs.
I want to thank you for always mentioning accessibility in your videos - seriously, thank you so much. Kindness is inherent in your content, and that does not go unnoticed.
I loved this, I laughed out loud several times. And I also love how you always talk about accessibility in the places you visit. That's not done nearly enough by anyone else, and I think it's great that you take the time to mention it.
You really do an excellent job of 'selling' European countries Tim. I'd like to go now for this very reason but I'm not sure I could converse in French as well as you!
In the village of Lucelle, the French-Swiss border separates the terrace of a café from the lobby. If you take your drink at the terrace, you pay in euros, but in the lobby, you pay in Swiss francs (maybe the other way round, I'm not sure). My hotel room, and the whole hotel, was in France, but the emergency exit leads to Switzerland.
I do wonder how the laws work for the building and its business. Like, which country do the pay taxes to? Which country sets rules for alcohol and food hygiene? Which country delivers mail and takes trash? And which country's fire brigade puts out a burning hotel?
Brilliant... just brilliant. I know people say "lol" and suchlike... but... Bastille Day... French... decapitation... brilliant. Couldn't stop laughing... spilled my beer and everything!! Keep up the good work.
"This is the french division of fiscality!You may have delayed us by leaving your house for this hotel, but it's time to pay up!" "Of course. Please, let's discuss this in my room."
There are several places in France alone (probably more in other countries that were occupied in WW2 as well) that used their peculiarity of being "on the border" to help Jews escape. Another famous one is the castle of Chenonceau, which has the peculiarity of being a fusion between a bridge across the Loire river, and a castle that you can visit (The shape of that castle is really interesting, it's literally a castle on a large bridge). During the first part of the occupation of France, the Loire river became the border between Vichy France and the part of France occupied by Germans troops. So if you were to visit the castle, and then, somehow made "disappear" during the visit, you could exit by the back door of that castle on Vichy France's side. They helped a lot of Jews to escape that way during the first half of WW2, after which it was no longer a border, since Vichy France became occupied as well.
So how does paying for your hotel room work if this building was built on the border between Switzerland and France? Since Switzerland and France have different money currency?
There is a town called Baarle which has an even more complicated border situation. Half of the town is Dutch (Baarle-Nassau) and half is Belgian (Baarle-Hertog). And the border isn't a straight line, it consists of 30 odd Belgian enclaves within Dutch territory and even some Dutch enclaves within the Belgian enclaves. The borders are marked on the streets and the location of the building's front door decides which country it belongs to. But there's a building where the border crosses straight through the front door so it has two street adresses in both Belgium and the Netherlands and even two doorbells, one for each country. The situation arose due to a medieval land dispute between noble houses and has continued till today.
Wonderful video. I’ve shared link with a friend who works at AF museum in Amsterdam. Places and stories like these need to be kept alive forever. Thank you for helping to do that. Zoltán
Hey! So glad you travelled by my workplace! I work in the maintenance for the small railway you travelled by. Lucky that you got the old carriages. Not the most reliable as they are from the 80's but the most picturesque indeed. The purple seats means we recently rebuilt the one you rode. I feel kinda proud you rode it and liked it. Good on You, Tim!
Ah cool! I was lucky enough to ride up in one of the modern trains, and back down again in an old one. They both seemed very well-maintained :) Btw, since you work there, do you know any interesting or quirky stories about the line? The only thing I've got at the moment is "it used to go to France, and now it doesn't"
@@TheTimTraveller Thanks for the comment! To put it simply, It was impossible to have an "international" company at that time. So the french part that went to Morez was operated by a sister company, called the "Chemin de fer électrique du Jura" (Jura electric railway) It owned his own carriages but contracted the maintenance and electricity to the NStCM. During WW2, as there was no maintenance infrastructure on the French side, trains continued to pass the border, with, as you can imagine, a LOT of smuggling happening, like cigarettes under the motor covers. The French infrastructure got nationalized in the 30's and became quite damaged with WW2 and lack of maintenance. It closed in 1958. I read somewhere that the Swiss company got the French rolling stock for free as a payment for overdue electricity bills! Speaking of electricity, this line is one of the oldest "electric from the start" railways. Another very quirky and misleading thing is the Bassins station, which is actually a good 35 minutes walk away from the actual village, being on the other side of the valley. Big trap for young players! Maybe you saw the underground Nyon terminal. It only dates from 2004. Before this the train went under the CFF railway and climbed on the street in front of the CFF station. The railway itself is gradually changing from mountain railway to commuter rail, as the region's demography changed from some farmers and many skiers to some hikers and skiers and many company workers. New accessibility laws, too. Old carriages may be replaced 2021/2022 and the 1916-built workshop in Les Plantaz will be replaced by a new one between L'Asse and Trélex. There are project going on all along the line, so there may be a lot of change in the 10 next years.
😯No fair! We Yanks ought to enjoy a border-dissecting hotel too. 🤔Hmm...Canada?...Mexico?... Hey! There’s a “dispute” with Haiti over Navassa-let’s just cut it in half!...
Well what can I say? You were going all over the place, I couldn’t track whether you were in France or Switzerland, please stay in a non-multiple-of-three room next time. Cheers, great video! 😄
I'm curious as to what currency they use here, you stated that it cost roughly 90€ per night but they probably also show prices in CHF right? I'm asking because it's usually very uncommon for places in neighboring France to accept CHF, but since this is also technically Switzerland... Also how were the prices? Was it like France (15€ for a decent meal) or like Switzerland (more like 25CHF for a meal)? Do they just do Swiss prices but in Euros 😂 ? So many questions
Omg! I live in Switzetland just few kilometers away,in the Le Brassus village!! Some many times i have crossed that same border point,ignoring the Hôtel Arbez's rich history !!🤗
There was also a duty free store, which benefited from this border location that crosses buildings. As of January 1, 2009, the Vandelle store, located straddling the Franco-Swiss border, a few steps from customs, will no longer be able to sell tax-free cigarettes and alcohol. This is the end of a very special exemption acquired in 1862 following an agreement between Napoleon III and the Swiss Confederation. The store will in fact lose its privilege of selling zero-rated goods. Sarkozy, then president, is the trigger for this removal of exemption.
New tourism Board Approved hotel motto, - Sleep Where you can survive your head being separated from your body & have the best night's sleep Ever!.. P.s.s Only available in room's X-Y&Z - not an actual guarantee of the health of individuals
On the US-Canadian border, there's a library that straddles both countries. (I believe the American half is in Vermont, which puts the Canadian half in Quebec. Vous pouvez parlez français là bas aussi.)
If you think that''s funny, keep traveling throughout the NW part of Switzerland. There are about a dozen communities strewn across the Cantons of Basel, Solothurn, Jura and Berne that are smack dab in the middle of another Canton. Fun fact: when traveling north from Zurich to Schaffhausen, you will cross the Swiss/German border twice before reaching your destination. That's because that part forms a cul de sac containg six German towns.
You and Tom Scott should do a video where you just happen to be doing a video at the same place and cross into each others videos.
Great! That would be like the SmarterEveryDay-Veritaserum collaboration on the coriolis force.
Why not invite Map Men too?
but they dont interact. they just sorta cross the frame in the background
@@stevecriddle Tim has appeared in a Jay Foreman (from off of Map Men) video th-cam.com/video/daeB46Z4fjs/w-d-xo.html
@@HugePilchard Hey, Geoff Marshall is in that video as well!!
6:00 great pun - "What better way to celebrate the 14th of July than by having my head separated from my body by the French"
more for revolutionary shade TBH
Agreed! Loved that! 😆
that took me a second _)
It's a good thing I wasn't drinking any tea or I would have spit it out at that. 😂
Is it a pun?
As someone who uses a wheelchair, I’d like to say it’s very nice of you to mention potential accessibility issues. Travel can be complicated for people with disabilities and the lack of information can sometimes lead to embarrassing and disappointing surprises.
yes, my mother was in a wheelchair for the last 12 years of her life. Numerous times we made reservations and asked about wheelchair accessibility only to find that indeed, there was a wheelchair ramp and an elevator, but the doors were too narrow to allow a wheelchair to pass, making it rather impossible to get her into and out of buildings or rooms.
I was about to comment something similar, even though I'm not disabled myself; I appreciate Tim mentions stuff like this. It's a very small effort, but to those concerned of huge value.
@@jwenting it's so frustrating when people think that a ramp is the only requirement. It's really not very hard to just get hold of a standard wheelchair and just try and manoeuvre it around your establishment. I've done it! Takes ten minutes!
I have always appreciated how he tells us how to get to the places so this was a lovely addition. Having been a carer, i totally understand
I thought exactly the same! It is nice when someone remembers that there are people with different needs
Macron: just go on vacation within french borders this summer please
Tim: yes but actually no
French Government: Will you go to France or leave the country?
Tim: Yes
Me: Ah just a cute little hotel with a novelty location due to a treaty.
Tim: It saved hundred of jews and resistance members during WWII, was personally thanked by Charles De Gaule and hosted the peace negotiations between France and Algiers.
I know this wasn't the intention, but the phrasing made me imagine a hand extending out from the hotel itself to shake Charles De Gaulle's, as though it were a part of the building itself.
It's Algeria, algiers is the capital
Btw, in case any of you are now looking this up on Google or Bing maps (I know what you lot are like) - yes, they both show the border missing the hotel, and yes, they are both inaccurate :)
EDIT: openstreetmap shows it correctly - www.openstreetmap.org/node/198153696#map=18/46.46523/6.07457
(thanks Voyager XYZ for your comment below pointing this out)
How so?
@@dontspikemydrink9382 They use the WGS-84 model of the world for border data I believe, which while it on average is accurate, can be several meters off in places. This is because WGS-84 assumes the world is perfectly spherical... it's not, the world is kinda lumpy
@@StairStealer the world is flat to begin with so there is where they are wrong to start with
@@StairStealer I thought it was because they use an American datum as opposed to localised datum.
@@dontspikemydrink9382 It's the place where they park the sun underground every evening.
"What better way to celebrate the 14th of July than by having my head separated from my body by the French"
best line.
As a carpenter in this modern age, the fact he build that in 3 months back then even if it was just the shell of the building that was finished is impressive as hell.
no one can defeat a french escaping taxes
My grandmother told me some of our family member escaped France though this hotel before settling in geneva. Thank god those people were there without them I wouldn’t have been born.
Since the building is french to Swisspeople and swisss for Frech, how do they do taxation?
As far as I understand, the business is taxed 1/3 by Switzerland and 2/3 by France, as that's how the territory is split, but I'm not sure about the finer details
@@TheTimTraveller That sound like a lot of fun for the buck.
That's fine if you are French or Swiss. But suppose you are British, then what country is the building in?
@@ingemarolson3240 or if you are binational French - Swiss?
Brilliant stuff. Love this. Keep 'em coming, Tim.
WW2 and Algerian independence? Wow what a hotel, filled with history. I miss living in Switzerland
You mean France? ;)
If only this hotel had been graced with the presence of our Dear Leader.
Dear Leader ia going to miss living altogether pretty soon, from what we've heard about his health.
Save to say, there is no vice versa...
ayy - i can go in room 6 and sleep in the same bed that you've slept in!
only joking - im not that much of a wierdo
Three weeks later, cut to William in room 6, laptop poised and The Tim Traveller videos playing on repeat while he is rocking back and forth in bed with the sheets over his head.
haha only serious
At least it wouldn't set you back too much - I was super surprised to learn it's only 90€, not sure about the rest of Europe but in Finland, that's a quite standard hotel room price
@@64ankka I would argue it is kind of expensive. Last week I stayed in a 3* hotel in Prague, Budapest and Sofia for respectively 51, 48 and 29 euros for a three-person room including breakfast. (total prices, not per person)
But I don't know if the prices are always so low. It might be because of Covid-19.
Luuk Wuijster yeah I guess Finland is kind of in its own price range. Then again, so is Switzerland
5:53 That cat laid down on the ground expecting belly rubs
"Where are you?"
"Fra..Switzerla..France
Fritzerland? Swance?
@@RacTac Francerland
Arbezie!
5:47 notice that the old sign says 'Simplon', which appears to be somewhat unusual for this location. Back in the day, this was part of RN5, the main road from Paris to Italy, across the Simplon Pass. At that time there was no tunnel through the Mont Blanc.
^ seems legit - username checks out
You should come to Basel. As it is located on the tripoint CH-DE-FR we've got many interesting border stories. EG cross border trams or the longest single span pedestrian bridge in the world connecting FR and DE. The Airport is also trinational and we've got railway stations of three countries in one city.
I d love to give you some more infos and ideas, if you're interessted!
I would like to see a video about that, great suggestion!
I just finished trekking the Westweg through the Black Forest this week and it ends in the Basel Badischer Bahnhof. To my surprise it is run by the Deutsche Bahn.
@@Optidorf Yes it belongs to the german state. In WWII it made quite a fuss. As far as I know it was the only place in Switzerland where the swastika officialy was shown in a city and later it came out that the nazis dug a tunnel from there under the city to prepare a possible invasion.
@@schaulinnoam That would have been quite mad for the Nazis to try. Switzerland is heavily defended by mountains. If they went to war with Switzerland it would not end well for the Nazis. Even by accidentally invading! No wonder they metaphorically wet themselves at the thought of bringing down the might of the Swiss Army on them.
@@hairyairey Well Basel isn't in the Alps and the defence lines were built in the hills after Basel, so it wouldn't have been to hard. And honestly: the swiss army istn't/wasn't really strong and the reason for not invading switzerland was that it was neutral and still traded with the Nazis and stored "their" gold.
Here's an article (in german but google translate helps) about the tunnels under Basel: www.google.com/amp/s/amp.bzbasel.ch/basel/basel-stadt/in-katakomben-unter-dem-badischen-bahnhof-trafen-sich-die-nazis-129807997
This is in the Atlas of Unusual Borders by Zoran Nikolic. Great book, I'd recommend it to anyone interested in geography.
That commentary about the lamp post and bed made my day 😂
Me too, and I also laughed about the "head seperated from the body"-part.
The cat was cute
If I'm not wrong the story of that hotel inspired an Italian-French movie: "The law is the law"; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Law_Is_the_Law.
Read that movie's plot. It's crazy!
I think I saw the poster for that movie in the hotel bar.
@@CallieMasters5000 I just read it. It really is crazy.
I literally laughed out loud -- yes, audibly -- when you said ""What better way to celebrate the 14th of July than to...." I have already watched and enjoyed a few of your other videos but that definitely earned a "Subscribe." I look forward to watching your future travels (and catching up on your past ones)!
Ah yes, admin ch, whenever you need to know ANYTHING about the swiss governement in an overcomplicated way in about 5 Languages...
its a pretty useful site quite well optimized for searching (for a gov site). you can also access a ton of statistics of switzerland on bfs(dot)admin(dot)ch or very high quality and detailed maps (also for free)
@@richardtickler8555 it is! or you can look up switzerlands flag code after hearing how ridiculous the us one is.
@@ludere222 i have no clue what a flag code is
@@richardtickler8555 law concerning flags
@@ludere222 oh, the swiss flag was chosen because it was easy to sew a cross on a make shift uniform. not much symbolism and shit going on
Reminds me of Derby Line Vermont/Stanstead Quebec where the US-Canada border goes directly through a library. The library was deliberately built on the border for both countries to use, although the only entrance for it is on the US side
And above the library is an Opera House. They gave my family a little tour.
I was about the mention this place also ... I used to live in Ayer's Cliff
Yes - that library, along with the buildings of Baarle-Hertog/Baarle-Nassau, is the reason I had to call this place "*almost* unique" :) I think Tom Scott did a video on it a while back
I think there actually is an entrance in both countries, but you're expected to use the same door that you entered to leave.
@@ClarkEmbree No, there's no entrance in Canada. Canadians park on their side and are allowed to walk on the sidewalk to the entrance in the USA.
4:02 this story is genius because it’s so simple yet so smart!
You always make the most interesting travel vlog. I always find you and the broke bald guy to be my favourite travel vloggers.
"France is allowed to travel", *cries in American*
haha I was gonna say, I wish I could visit but I think we are only allowed in Turkey
@@hashbrownfob sure. How else would "civilians" deessed in tan pants and blue polo shirts get into theat.... vacation.
I'm British and I was just thinking how nice it would be to be in France.
Yes but still in an area about half the size of the USA.
One day, when all this is over and I get to travel to Europe again, I'm going to have such a long list of places to visit inspired by your videos!
Same here!
This is only 60 km from where I was born. And I'm watching it from 10,000 km away!
Tim, excellent video as usual! 👍
Where do you live rn ?? 😁
@@jungle6815 Singapore.
@@kabochaVA Woah thats quite far, i live in iraq
are you swiss or french
@@meltedelevator French
I hope being able to travel again lifted your spirits, and that you're safe and well. It was an unexpected joy to see this pop up in my recommendations; I wasn't expecting you to be able to videos like this again so soon. I'm so glad though, your humour always puts me in a good mood, and you manage to make topics that I usually wouldn't be into so much more engaging. I've been reading about quirky places and unusual architecture lately, and I think you're one of the people I have to thank for developing my interest in that - so thank you! And, as always, thanks for the accessibility info. I will always appreciate it.
The 14th July joke was superb.
Gotta love a bit of "back for good" in the background
That had me laugh so hard!
The lamppost line reminded me of the time I was fascinated by something that looked like some sort of modern art.
Only to walk a few meters to find the same thing with a trash can under it. It was just a weird looking cover for public trash cans in that park.
Smuggling and customs-busting in general is a time honored tradition in France. For a highly regulated - some might say, over-regulated - country, the French sure do cheat the system with gusto if they have a reasonable chance they won't get caught.
Its not exclusive to France, go to a country like Portugal, Spain, Italy, etc. And its the same thing, babies learn to cheat the state before they begin to breath... Lovely countries...
"it started with a territorial dispute", so how it normally happens in the world then XD.
Only, they managed to solve this one without resorting to shooting at each other...
@@Bird_Dog00 yeah thats true, however if it was with like Germany or England france would have shot, and shot a lot especially towards us brits XD
Merde, ze French have increased VAT...
Quick, move ze cash register!
4:51 I have both french and swiss nationalities (not a joke) ... So, for me, is it swiss or french 🤔
Quelle histoire incroyable !!! J'adore ton humour permanent et sous jacent. Merci pour tes vidéos👍
That hotel has a better way of accommodating international peace treaties than the UN.
La meilleur conclusion possible. Personnellement chaque 14 juillet depuis près de 10 ans je chante "God save the queen" ^^
Je préfre la version originale "Grand Dieu Sauve le Roi" :
th-cam.com/video/IHokbedFMsI/w-d-xo.html
Those of you who are wondering when's he gonna mention anything about trains (bcs let's face it it's not a Tim Traveller vid without a mention of trains) it's at 6:14 you're welcome :)
"Decapitated by the French" 😂😂😂 This is not a guillotine 🤔 (and it's more like at the hip - if u attached to some could be a good way to separate yourselves 🤭🤭🤭 )
But thats not as funny!
YOU BETTER HAVE PET THAT CAT!
6:02 That pun was *revolutionary* from the rest of the video
I live in Nyon , about 25mn from there, and there are things I just learned with your video. Well done man.
I must imagine, the French resistance have a hillarious chase with the Nazis and Vichy France in this area, and they went hiding in the hotel just upstairs so that they both can't legally catch them, great intertaining video my friend! Love your humour! 😁
I've been to La Cure, I didn't know about the hotel though sadly, my parents used to own a house in the Jura Mountains. I used to go skiing at Les rousses and Les Jouvencelles.
I feel like these videos often miss the quirks of what its actually like straddling two borders, for example when you get invoiced what tax do you pay (I.e. what country is it actually in when you pay). Or even things like could they technically sell certain items on different sides of the building because of taxation on those sides
I was there last year, oblivious of this fact! I stayed in Les Rousses and went for a run to La Cure, hopping over the border and feasting my eyes on the border situation (I love borders) there. And never noticed the restaurant... Well, have to go back sometime then. Thanks for the great video. Stay safe👍🏻
Hey you can visit the purchella house in Austria I mean Germany wait I meant Austria . It’s in Berchtesgaden on a Mountain Whit beautiful view near the Königssee . It takes a little walk up (1 hour ) but the view is it weart when u walk up take the German path but down the Austrian path .
"having my head separeated by the french" i never laughed so hard about a dark humor joke!
I bet they have the counter/checkouts in Switzerland for tax purposes 😉
More of the cat in a later video please^^
That bed is perfect for "international relations."
It's funny, I drive pretty often next to that hotel and I had always thought the name was only an indication that is was sitting next to the border, not literally on it.
Ah, yes, the Swiss during WW2...
"Respect our neutrality... or else" < cocks gun >
Boy Tim, that ending was a zinger! 🤣😂
Is the 90s Jeaux Sans Frontières theme (other than somewhat apt) a test to discover who is an old fart like me?
Indeed, you are an old fart. (I also know that tune 😁)
I'm just imagining all the Fawlty Towers-esque shenanigans that could be got up to in a tv show set in this hotel...
The question is, does one pay french or suiss prizes.
Yes.
Are you talking about the Swiss Franc? Many Swiss shops and businesses accept the Euro based on that day's exchange rate. They give you the change in Swiss Francs.
I know shops where the have two cash registers.
I want to thank you for always mentioning accessibility in your videos - seriously, thank you so much. Kindness is inherent in your content, and that does not go unnoticed.
"I'm guessing he had some help" priceless
If I call 911 which country responds?
That closing statement around the 6:00 mark, absolute gold!
Love these quirky border situations. Glad you see someone traveling!
The building is Swiss territory for the French and French territory for the Swiss, fair enough, but what about citizens from third countries?
And does it mean that the Swiss have to pay for their hotel bills in euros, and the French in Swiss francs?
Do they have customs officials who stamp your passport every time you walk up or down the stairs?
I loved this, I laughed out loud several times. And I also love how you always talk about accessibility in the places you visit. That's not done nearly enough by anyone else, and I think it's great that you take the time to mention it.
You really do an excellent job of 'selling' European countries Tim. I'd like to go now for this very reason but I'm not sure I could converse in French as well as you!
They made an agreement about that building *LONG* before the Schengen Agreement. 😉
I can’t help thinking that tax must be a nightmare
In the village of Lucelle, the French-Swiss border separates the terrace of a café from the lobby. If you take your drink at the terrace, you pay in euros, but in the lobby, you pay in Swiss francs (maybe the other way round, I'm not sure). My hotel room, and the whole hotel, was in France, but the emergency exit leads to Switzerland.
I effin love that the piano plated jeux sans frontieres XD i think there is a famous italo/frank movie inspired from this hotel :D
Having your head in Switzerland and your body in France doesn't really sound like a bad thing.
Interesting information 🇨🇭 🇲🇫
Baarle Nassau/Baarle Hertog: ahw that’s cute!
I do wonder how the laws work for the building and its business. Like, which country do the pay taxes to? Which country sets rules for alcohol and food hygiene? Which country delivers mail and takes trash? And which country's fire brigade puts out a burning hotel?
At first I thought it was just a quirky hotel, but that story about ww2 was absolutely heart warming
she was a braver person than me!
So, technically it's Three countries. 🤔
Brilliant... just brilliant. I know people say "lol" and suchlike... but... Bastille Day... French... decapitation... brilliant. Couldn't stop laughing... spilled my beer and everything!! Keep up the good work.
"This is the french division of fiscality!You may have delayed us by leaving your house for this hotel, but it's time to pay up!"
"Of course. Please, let's discuss this in my room."
‘Allo, Very nice story. 👍🏽. Interesting and well presented thanks from Orlando.
How does this work with Swiss customs?
There are several places in France alone (probably more in other countries that were occupied in WW2 as well) that used their peculiarity of being "on the border" to help Jews escape. Another famous one is the castle of Chenonceau, which has the peculiarity of being a fusion between a bridge across the Loire river, and a castle that you can visit (The shape of that castle is really interesting, it's literally a castle on a large bridge). During the first part of the occupation of France, the Loire river became the border between Vichy France and the part of France occupied by Germans troops. So if you were to visit the castle, and then, somehow made "disappear" during the visit, you could exit by the back door of that castle on Vichy France's side. They helped a lot of Jews to escape that way during the first half of WW2, after which it was no longer a border, since Vichy France became occupied as well.
So how does paying for your hotel room work if this building was built on the border between Switzerland and France? Since Switzerland and France have different money currency?
There is a town called Baarle which has an even more complicated border situation. Half of the town is Dutch (Baarle-Nassau) and half is Belgian (Baarle-Hertog). And the border isn't a straight line, it consists of 30 odd Belgian enclaves within Dutch territory and even some Dutch enclaves within the Belgian enclaves. The borders are marked on the streets and the location of the building's front door decides which country it belongs to. But there's a building where the border crosses straight through the front door so it has two street adresses in both Belgium and the Netherlands and even two doorbells, one for each country. The situation arose due to a medieval land dispute between noble houses and has continued till today.
Wonderful video. I’ve shared link with a friend who works at AF museum in Amsterdam. Places and stories like these need to be kept alive forever. Thank you for helping to do that. Zoltán
There’s a similar setup, with the Franco-Swiss border running through the restaurant, here:
Le Franco-Suisse
goo.gl/maps/HtyTWCwM6kG7vXpT6
Hey! So glad you travelled by my workplace! I work in the maintenance for the small railway you travelled by. Lucky that you got the old carriages. Not the most reliable as they are from the 80's but the most picturesque indeed. The purple seats means we recently rebuilt the one you rode. I feel kinda proud you rode it and liked it. Good on You, Tim!
Ah cool! I was lucky enough to ride up in one of the modern trains, and back down again in an old one. They both seemed very well-maintained :)
Btw, since you work there, do you know any interesting or quirky stories about the line? The only thing I've got at the moment is "it used to go to France, and now it doesn't"
@@TheTimTraveller Thanks for the comment!
To put it simply, It was impossible to have an "international" company at that time. So the french part that went to Morez was operated by a sister company, called the "Chemin de fer électrique du Jura" (Jura electric railway) It owned his own carriages but contracted the maintenance and electricity to the NStCM.
During WW2, as there was no maintenance infrastructure on the French side, trains continued to pass the border, with, as you can imagine, a LOT of smuggling happening, like cigarettes under the motor covers. The French infrastructure got nationalized in the 30's and became quite damaged with WW2 and lack of maintenance. It closed in 1958. I read somewhere that the Swiss company got the French rolling stock for free as a payment for overdue electricity bills! Speaking of electricity, this line is one of the oldest "electric from the start" railways.
Another very quirky and misleading thing is the Bassins station, which is actually a good 35 minutes walk away from the actual village, being on the other side of the valley. Big trap for young players!
Maybe you saw the underground Nyon terminal. It only dates from 2004. Before this the train went under the CFF railway and climbed on the street in front of the CFF station.
The railway itself is gradually changing from mountain railway to commuter rail, as the region's demography changed from some farmers and many skiers to some hikers and skiers and many company workers. New accessibility laws, too. Old carriages may be replaced 2021/2022 and the 1916-built workshop in Les Plantaz will be replaced by a new one between L'Asse and Trélex. There are project going on all along the line, so there may be a lot of change in the 10 next years.
You sure are funny. Thanks!
Love the Jeux sans frontières music under the video - a very nice touch and throwback to the 90's. :-)
😯No fair! We Yanks ought to enjoy a border-dissecting hotel too.
🤔Hmm...Canada?...Mexico?...
Hey! There’s a “dispute” with Haiti over Navassa-let’s just cut it in half!...
Well what can I say? You were going all over the place, I couldn’t track whether you were in France or Switzerland, please stay in a non-multiple-of-three room next time. Cheers, great video! 😄
I live just near La cure
I'm curious as to what currency they use here, you stated that it cost roughly 90€ per night but they probably also show prices in CHF right? I'm asking because it's usually very uncommon for places in neighboring France to accept CHF, but since this is also technically Switzerland... Also how were the prices? Was it like France (15€ for a decent meal) or like Switzerland (more like 25CHF for a meal)? Do they just do Swiss prices but in Euros 😂 ? So many questions
I love the content, thank you.
Omg! I live in Switzetland just few kilometers away,in the Le Brassus village!! Some many times i have crossed that same border point,ignoring the Hôtel Arbez's rich history !!🤗
Are Yvette and Mimi still working there?
There was also a duty free store, which benefited from this border location that crosses buildings. As of January 1, 2009, the Vandelle store, located straddling the Franco-Swiss border, a few steps from customs, will no longer be able to sell tax-free cigarettes and alcohol. This is the end of a very special exemption acquired in 1862 following an agreement between Napoleon III and the Swiss Confederation. The store will in fact lose its privilege of selling zero-rated goods. Sarkozy, then president, is the trigger for this removal of exemption.
New tourism Board Approved hotel motto, - Sleep Where you can survive your head being separated from your body & have the best night's sleep Ever!..
P.s.s Only available in room's X-Y&Z - not an actual guarantee of the health of individuals
On the US-Canadian border, there's a library that straddles both countries. (I believe the American half is in Vermont, which puts the Canadian half in Quebec. Vous pouvez parlez français là bas aussi.)
If you think that''s funny, keep traveling throughout the NW part of Switzerland. There are about a dozen communities strewn across the Cantons of Basel, Solothurn, Jura and Berne that are smack dab in the middle of another Canton.
Fun fact: when traveling north from Zurich to Schaffhausen, you will cross the Swiss/German border twice before reaching your destination. That's because that part forms a cul de sac containg six German towns.