My travels through Bergenstein
Hi,
I'm Christian, I am 33 years old and I live in Birmingham, Trentannia. I have throughout my life been fascinated about Bergenstein however I have never been. When the Wars started I thought that I would never be able to go however Colong Holidays solved that issue for me. They run tours around Bergenstein for people to Bergenstein's current state. Getting on one of these tours though is horrifically hard. There so many paper to sign and then you have to fill about 30 forms in applying for permits and what not just to get through certain checkpoint. Fortunately Colong sort all accommodation out for you though food is not included. This was good as this way we could experience all the delights of traditional Bergen food. I have learned a number of the Bergenstain languages however the tour is in my home language, the international language. I also expect lots of Bergen to be able to speak it though I have bout 20 odd phrase books just in case. I even bought Etruscan, Insuloan and Mervegian ones, just in case we get caught up in Coalition issues. As a Trentannian I can already speak Breullan and Sinopean. I have also had to get a large amount of money in about ten different currencies, despite there only being one official currency many areas will not accept it, especially in the south. We have also been given a list of what not to take with us, some of the things are rather amusing actually. Anyway I am about to get out of taxi near the Bruellen boarder, the tour picks us up just inside Bergenstein and I was not going to leave my car in Bergenstein. No thank you.
-
Well hello again I have just been through boarder control and now I am in bed in my hotel room, just a Frist Inn, nothing special nothing out of the ordinary. But by god it has taken me all day to get through the boarder crossings, all three of them. When I left you I had just arrived a few metres from the Breullen border control. After a quick toilet check (this was the wised move in my life) I joined the queue. There were two queues one for Bergen citizens and one for non citizens. The line wasn't that long however each person had the bags checked they were patted down, some were even taken off to be stripped searched. But gosh I was glad I wasn't Bergen they were being much more thorough with them. They were each interviewed intensively. I had to supply three documents here and my passport. One from the Breullan Government giving me rights to access Bergenstein, one from my travel company to prove my purpose of visit and one from the Bergen Federal Government. Tew whole proses took about two hours if you include the queue.
I was out of Breullen now and there was no going back. To get to the Bergen control I had to walk over a bridge over the river --<>Will I forgot did we ever name the river that forms our northern half of our border<>-- Bright flowers lined the river, it was all very pictures, well apart from the excess of military hardware. There were six tanks alone on the Breullen border, the tanks were huge, much bigger than I thought. I won't give too many details though I don't want this taking down because it could be used a military intelligence. Not that any of the stuff was hidden. A few army lorries drove past full of troops. I had never seen so many guns, but I suppose I was going to have to get used to that. I watched a Breullen patrol boat slowly chug by. I decided to stop and eat my sandwich I had prepared just in case I was stuck in a long queue. Breullen ham is nothing special, well not from a cheapo supermarket that is. I Bergen patrol vessel was moored on the opposite bank. It actually belonged to Berge, the state that I was about to enter. The most normal as people have dubbed it. It by the looks of things had been in a battle. It had a number of bullet shaped dents in it.
I finished up and headed for the Federal Bergen Frontier. This time I joined a single queue which was a bit longer however moved a bit faster. Well or so I thought. I was in the line for well over three hours and I got plenty of time too look around. The weather was pleasantly hot well getting into the second hour it was uncomfortable but a man selling chilled water from a bag that looked a little dodgy but did worry too much as a security guard bought one. If it was safe for him it would be ok. And I was great relief indeed. I paid the man in Lagos, he refused my Thauler, I found that rather interesting. There were a number of tanks which were rather old and other armoured vehicles all painted in the dull murky grey of the Bergen Federal Army. Some had a sort of camouflage while others were solid grey. Reminded me of GAW a bit. The crossing was labelled as a Bergen Federal Checkpoint however the old name of Central Border Guard Crossing Station still shone through in the light. Apparently this pre war people were waved through sometime checking passport when deemed important. How that had changed. There were plenty of soldier here now and I would not like to cross them. When I finally go to the checks I had to show my passport and the same federal document as last time as well as a note I received from the previous checkpoint. My passport was also stamped with the Bergen coat of arms. That was quite a special moment for me, finally got the Bergen stamp. Now I had to just survive this tour and I would have it forever.
After a rep from Colong escorted me to a taxi. I showed him my holiday tickets and passport and we were off, to what I thought was the hotel and I though there might even be time for me to go on a little walk but I was surprised to see yet another checkpoint. This was for entry into the state Berge. This time there were actual border guards in police like uniforms doing the checks. That was quite a nice sight. The military presence was also reduced. t was interesting seeing the different uniforms and that all military vehicles were painted in a much light grey. When we got to the checkpoint however we had to be searched. The van was only quickly scanned, they were probably used to it however I had to unpack and even unfold my clothes. They searched every bit of my luggage. They were much friendlier here I found but that may be linked to the fact it wasn't a military run checkpoint. The it was a quick drive to this First Inn. I had a nice simple meal and a really nice beer. Apparently a very local, so local that is was only made in the nearby town. It had quite a hoppy taste yet wasn't that strong.
And that is my first day, Tomorrow we have a breakfast reception then the tour begins. I cannot wait.
Latest images
