Divided in the time of a pandemic: Coronavirus separates lovers, friends at Swiss-German border fences
Everything has changed
In a park on Lake Constance's shoreline residents of both cities normally move freely across an invisible line marking where one nation ends and the other begins. But everything has changed: Most Germans cannot come to Switzerland, most Swiss are barred from Germany.
Last chance
Lovers, brothers and sisters, parents and their children, and old friends gather here and press themselves against the chain links in the spring sunshine, just close enough to say "I love you", too far apart to touch.
Flesh and blood
For weeks, they have telephoned or spoken over FaceTime. But they believe fiber optic is not a substitute for flesh and blood and people need to meet in person.
No-man's land
This is a coronavirus no-man's land. It traces the route of a barbed wire-topped barrier that split Switzerland and Germany during World War Two and that was removed long ago.
Currently, those Swiss and Germans with cross-border jobs can go back and forth. For nearly everybody else, it's forbidden.
Meeting point
The fences have become a meeting point for people divided by the epidemic and a reminder of its disruption for Europeans accustomed to traveling where they please. Switzerland is not in the European Union, but agreements allow Swiss and the bloc's citizens to travel virtually unfettered, in normal times.
)
)
)
)
)