Experience of Delays at the Border During a Trip to Germany
Svitlana Rudikova, a Kyiv artist, shared her experience of delays at the border during her trip to Germany, which lasted about 45 hours. This trip, planned before the New Year holidays, turned out to be significantly longer than expected due to long queues at the Polish border.
Crossing the border with Poland took about 16 hours, while passing through the Ukrainian border lasted only 20 minutes. According to forecasts, the trip to Dortmund was supposed to take 32 hours, but in reality, it lasted 45 hours. Only two border guards and two booths were operating at the checkpoint, significantly slowing down the process. Checking one bus took about an hour, and there were more than 20 buses in line. The queue of cars stretched for approximately 5 kilometers.
'I have gone through this procedure a few months ago and my process took 2 seconds.' Svitlana Rudikova
However, as she emphasized, 'technically, it goes very very quickly, but if you consider that there are several dozen people in the bus, it takes at least an hour.' During the delay, travelers had to stop at the WOG gas station located before the checkpoint. 'We are standing at the WOG gas station, which is before the checkpoint,' she added.
At the gas station, it was warm, there was water, and also the opportunity to use the restroom. 'We arrived at WOG and spent the night there; it was warm, there was water, and we could use the toilet,' Svitlana reported.
Conclusions from the Journey
After completing her journey, Svitlana Rudikova noted: 'I finally arrived.' This experience highlights the difficulties faced by Ukrainians during border crossings under high loads.
Delays at the borders, as shown by Svitlana Rudikova's experience, are becoming an increasingly common phenomenon, especially during holiday periods when the number of travelers sharply increases. This raises concerns about the effectiveness of border services, which can impact travelers' plans and the overall image of the country in the tourism and transport sector. Such cases may prompt the need for reforming the border control system and improving infrastructure to prevent similar delays in the future.