Three Borders and the Three of Us
- Jannah
- May 17
- 6 min read
Updated: May 19
I met Sara one evening in the hallway of Solvgade. She meowed at my back. She thought I was her friend, and I thought there was a cat behind me. All hijabis sort of look the same from the back—we get to say that because we are hijabis. It was a meet-cute.
A couple of days later, I recognized her name on the media team list for videographers, and she recognized mine. While I was busy overthinking a funny icebreaker to text her, she had already messaged me first. I was relieved I no longer had to come up with a hilariously clever opener. Two months later, we would be on a long train adventure together.
Sara met Claire at one of DIS’s social media team events, and they clicked immediately. Sara introduced us through a WhatsApp group chat where most of our planning happened. I would not meet Claire in person until the morning of our departure at Copenhagen Central Station. Not ideal, perhaps, but our schedules were impossible to align while living at different housing sites. Still, we all entered the trip with the same mindset: be adventurous, stay curious, and trust that things would work out.
And somehow, they did.
The Trilogy of Science, Design, and History
The three of us came from completely different worlds. I study history and journalism, Claire studies furniture design, and Sara is a neuroscience major. During our first planning session, we tried to figure out what common interest we could highlight in our application. Eventually, we realized that our differences were actually the point.
Traveling with people who care about different things pushes you toward experiences you might never choose on your own.
So we made a deal: each of us would pick something meaningful to her, and the other two would join with genuine curiosity and enthusiasm.
Claire chose the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, famous for its architecture and furniture exhibitions. Sara talked about her fascination with the relationship between walking, nature, and brain health, which inspired our Switzerland hiking plans.
Meanwhile, I became obsessed with the idea of staying in the “three borders” area where France, Germany, and Switzerland meet. During a semester spent learning about borders, movement, and who gets the right to move freely, the idea felt especially meaningful.
The plan worked because each of us had something personal to gain from the trip while remaining open to discovering entirely new interests through each other.
Three Borders, One Bridge
The “three borders” area somehow managed to serve all of us at once. We were fully aware of the privilege of waking up in Switzerland, staying in France, and casually spending the afternoon in Germany.
On our Bolt ride from Saint-Louis to Weil am Rhein, I asked the driver to tell us exactly when we crossed the border. He pointed while we were driving over a bridge above the Rhine.
“That’s it,” he said.
Just like that. Almost undetectable.
As someone who spends a lot of time thinking about borders politically and historically, it felt surreal to cross one so effortlessly that I nearly missed it.
Crash Course in Interrail
Practical Stuff
We relied entirely on Interrail/Eurail for transportation during this trip. Since we are non-EU citizens, we bought Eurail passes—specifically the “4 days within 1 month” youth pass, which was discounted by 15% when we purchased it.
The pass allows unlimited train rides within a single day, four times during the month after activation. One important thing to know: the travel day runs from midnight to midnight. Accidentally boarding a train at 12:03 a.m. could cost you an entire travel day, which feels like the type of mistake you only make once.
We were initially confused about how the pass worked, so we arrived at the station early and asked a DSB employee approximately fifteen questions each. The process ended up being pretty simple:
Download the Eurail app.
Add your journeys before boarding.
Activate the trip before the conductor checks your ticket.
Keep your passport nearby because they sometimes ask for identification.
Also, having a Eurail pass does not automatically mean you have a seat reservation. We only paid for reservations when they were mandatory, mainly for night trains. This occasionally meant sitting on the floor, including on an overcrowded train from Interlaken to Zurich. We didn't mind it much. At some point during train travel, your standards adjust. Still, if you are taking popular scenic Swiss routes, reserving seats is probably worth it for comfort alone.
Notes on Night Trains
We took two night trains during the trip.
The first was from Hamburg to Basel, where we booked private sleeping compartments. They cost around 60 USD each and were not included in the Eurail pass, but they were absolutely worth it. All three of us slept surprisingly well and arrived in Basel at 8 a.m. feeling almost functional.
Train Scenes (Left side by Claire; Right side by myself)
At 8:30 a.m., I had an internship interview while sitting inside Basel station using the station Wi-Fi. Spoiler alert: I got the internship.
The second night train was much more chaotic. It was not part of the original plan, but our scheduled train got canceled, and the night train became our only realistic option if we wanted to make it back to Copenhagen on time.
Because we booked last minute, we ended up in a six-person female couchette compartment. Was it glamorous? No. Did it work? Absolutely.
This is probably the most important thing I learned about train travel: trains are chaotic. There will be delays, cancellations, platform changes, and moments where everyone silently stares at the departure board trying not to panic.
What made it manageable was doing it together. Someone always had a new idea, another route, or simply the ability to say, “Okay, worst case scenario, we sleep in Hamburg.”
The Itinerary (and Why Flexibility Matters)
We left Copenhagen Central Station on Tuesday afternoon and arrived in Basel early Wednesday morning. After dropping our bags at our Airbnb in Saint-Louis, France, we headed to Weil am Rhein in Germany to visit the Vitra campus.
Vitra: educational, inspirational, and fun! (By Claire; by me of Claire)
Claire was having the time of her life exploring the exhibitions while Sara and I dramatically rated chairs out of ten as though we were professional furniture critics.
Claire also taught us how much intention goes into objects most people barely think about. By the end of the museum, I was suddenly developing opinions about what makes a chair a 10 out of 10.
Weil am Rhein itself turned out to be one of the most unexpectedly charming parts of the trip. Since it is not as tourist-heavy as larger German cities, it felt more authentic and relaxed. We wandered through grocery stores, picnicked in the park, and I tried a truly terrible strawberry matcha. Sara and I split a Turkish sandwich, and the sweet owner gave us free drinks out of pity—or kindness. Maybe both.
Thursday was spent in Strasbourg. Sara had visited before and talked about it so passionately that we all became curious. Although the city is most famous during Christmas season, visiting during the off-season made it feel calmer and more lived-in.
We spent the day thrifting, grocery shopping for hiking snacks, birdwatching, and sitting near a fountain while Claire sketched.
From the walk in Strasbourg (By Claire)
Friday was hike day.
We headed to Interlaken early in the morning for a 7.21-mile trail. None of us were professional hikers. In fact, there were multiple moments when I genuinely believed that could be the end of me. I remember asking a local on the train if anyone had died here before and she did not take me seriously.
But hiking with other people changes things. Everyone on the trail encouraged each other. Sara’s sandwiches and Claire’s constant motivational speeches somehow kept us moving upward.
The views at the top made everything worth it.
That hike was probably where we bonded the most. Somewhere between exhaustion, shared snacks, and collective suffering, we became closer.
Afterward, we collectively decided we deserved a reward, so we traded mountains for city life and spontaneously went to Zurich for iced matcha and tall buildings. One of the best things about having the Eurail pass was the flexibility. Some of our favorite moments were completely unplanned.
Saturday was spent mostly in train stations trying to make our way home, tired but very proud of ourselves.
What We Learned
I expected this trip to teach me about train systems, borders, and slow travel. It did. But more than anything, it taught me how quickly friendships can grow when you throw people into unfamiliar places together.
Slow travel forces you to spend time together—not just at destinations, but in all the in-between moments too. On platforms. In grocery stores. During missed connections.
While trying to understand train announcements in languages you do not speak.
That is where most of the memories ended up happening anyway.
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