Extra border patrols in Schengen zone

In Germany forum there is a discussion thread about that topic:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/stricter-border-enforcement-coming-into-germany

Germany has the most European neighbor states, so a lot to do. I expect that the border checks will be carried out beyond the date mentioned in the article.

those folks have been at that crossing for at least 3 years, off and on.

I frequently drive that and many times its easy and sometimes it takes a while. Sometimes Kehl, sometimes one bridge south on the Offenburg road. I've never seen them downstream at Rheinau. But times change. Always worth a bit of time padding.

The Germans must smell something in the air.... and have off and on for several years. Maybe its the same issues to do with the State Department downgrading Germany to a Level 2.

I flew into Warsaw a few days ago. I didn't understand why there was a bottleneck at the "Green" exit of customs. As I went through I could see the customs agents pulling a bunch of people out of the line.

About 12 hours after I originally posted the article we crossed from France into Germany by foot on a bridge across the Rhine north of Basel. From there we caught a tram which immediately crossed into Switzerland. An hour later we caught train back into France heading to Colmar. All without a border agent in site. I suspect the border agencies know where the hotspots are because it would be chaos trying to cover all the entry points.

It's "border theatre". The politico's need to show that they are doing "something" to the public, so they do "something". In this case it is indeed border checks at some borders. The first days they will probably call a few migrants, but they will quickly learn where the crossings without checks are.

On previous occasions these checks have been challenged in court (and the state lost), Looks like the state ignoring the courts happens this side of the pond too :-(

I have absolutely no knowledge of the information that the government has which has prompted the action, so its hard to comment on the situation. However, doing what little you can do in what is virtually an impossible situation, especially when it includes the intent to protect human life is not theater. Those that call it theater now would call it incompetence if they did nothing and something did happen. To presume that that the border checks being discussed are illegal is to presume that it is impossible to have border checks done in a legal fashion. If that were true one would think that Germany is without the means to protect its citizens.

By definition a politico includes a "person with strong political views".

The border checks have nothing to do with security. They have nothing to do with saving lives. They are there because AFD scored so well in the last election.

They are not effective. What the police do is put everyone they find without the right papers back on the first train the other way. And then these people try again. Or they just cross somewhere that there are no checks.

It is pointless theatre. And it wastes everyones time.

They are there because AFD scored so well in the last election.

even the ones several years ago?

Simply interesting. Germany has 9 neighboring countries.

Within 3 days after landing in Paris from SFO in June, I'll crossing the Franco-German border (this time by day train) at Forbach/Lorraine. The night trains come later in the trip, Germany-Austria, and Germany-France...so far.

Fred in this case it might not be about quantity, but more about proximity and changes in political philosophy.

Or, as Nigel points out, no change at all (or less change than the press is presenting).

@ Mr E...That was a point in geography.

On being checked: "they" can check me any time , regardless of frequency, they want to see if my passport is in order. makes no difference to me since it is easily available to be pulled out for that very purpose. I've been checked twice in that Munich to Salzburg corridor but never at Passau.

It is pointless theatre. And it wastes everyones time.

Layers of protection is classic security theory. Whether or not any of us likes it, it tends to be pretty effective. Travelers often whine about TSA, but the fact is that we haven't had another 9/11. Not for the bad guys quitting trying, either.

Sorry Fred.

Yup, I am one of those unusual people that doesn’t complain when TSA or as in this case border control does their job. It’s a thankless job but someone has to do it. Other than the politicos, I’m not sure who has a problem with trying to keep people safe, even if it is an inconvenience. Worst case its something to laugh about later.

It’s a troubled world we live in. This could be about Яussian television and news talking heads who daily call for the nuking the West, it could be about the control and/or safety of refugees from troubled areas, it could be about the increase in violence against Jewish people, it could be about some whack job extremist calling for cultural/religious change through violence, and indeed it could also be a little paranoia and political pandering; my guess is all of the above.

Yes, I was travelling from Liege to Aachen for a day trip a couple of weeks ago, and at Aachen station the German border police were pulling aside some people for ID checks. Generally those with darker complexions.

I was looking at the OBB website and noticed when looking up a train route that went into Germany there was a notice that the train would be boarded at the German boarder and to have your documents ready.

Is this really anything out of the ordinary? Three of years ago we were traveling by train from Prague to Dresden. At the border between the two countries, German Border Security got on the train and walked through the cars. Wife and I had our passports in our hands, but the officer did not pay any attention to us.

Patrols in cross border trains have been a thing for some time. But Germany recently started to check all borders.

And it is basically theatre, as it does not solve any issues, but creates others. For example, police are racking up lots of overtime, with the result that normal policing suffers. People are losing time at the border.

All this has not led to less people claiming asylum, nor have less migrants entered the country.
https://www.zeit.de/gesellschaft/2025-05/grenzkontrollen-zurueckweisungen-fluechtlinge-migration-alexander-dobrindt

So yes, I object to government activities that have no upsides.

Ed, last year, the Austrians boarded our train to Vienna. Its life.

Political comments here don't change the realities of tourism and are inappropriate on the forum.