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RE: By train through Europe - 13th August - Sibiu
One thing that is for sure when you travel the balkan is that you start to appreciate the EU again. Anyway, the worst borders are inside the EU. Schengen outer rim. Hungary-Romania is one, Croatia-Slovenia another. Often those countries have a history of enmity too, and then it get's really bad. (Fucking Slovenian border police)
The only thing I can't understand: "The EU passport line"? Doesn't really exist any more. It's all passports everywhere I went to.
That's interesting, last time I crossed the Serbia-Hungary, Serbia-Croatia and Croatia-Slovenia borders, there was a separate line for "EU/EEA/CH passports", but that was more than 2 years ago, so there's a possibility they removed it.
For Serbia-Croatia I can't say, I luckily didn't have to cross that one. ;-)
Hungary-Serbia there is the sign visible, but the electric sign above says "all passports".
Croatia-Slovenia have it, but I stood 1.5 hours before I even saw the sign, and also then I didn't have the impression that the line there was any faster. If you stand for 2 hrs, the difference of getting into this line and then saving maybe 3 min in the very end doesn't really count.^^
Did I say that I hate borders?
It still exists in some places. I can't remember where I've seen it this year. I would say Basel-Mulhouse and another place, possibly Amsterdam. The queue was inexistent there, while the All Passports was stacked. It consisted of self-scan and smile at the camera.
The Romanian borders by car are all OK. I've been through most, multiple times. There is no enmity as far as I can tell, but border guards are strict and unpleasant by definition. The general feeling towards Europeans is respect. But indeed, some strange individuals may exist.
But Croatia-Slovenia, I agree with you :) The only border where they were asking me things in Croatian and expecting a reply even though I told them I only speak English. He wouldn't give the car papers back until I answered him so I switched to Romanian and started asking him a series of questions. The border guards stopped, looked at me, gave me the papers and they let me go. I refuse to think they didn't know English or could understand Romanian.