Swimming across the (ex-) Iron Curtain

One of the great things about open water swimming is there are disproportionate number of courses which cross national borders and where you get to spend time in no-man's land  where no policeman has jurisdiction.

Last Saturday, I was privileged to take part in an event over a very unusual course - across the old Iron Curtain into a landlocked country, Hungary .  Paradoxically it was a course which has always been and still is legally impossible because the Hungarian Customs & Immigration authority does not recognise entry by swimming. Unsurprisingly it is a new event, this being only the fourth time the event had been held. But numbers have doubled each year, and the field reached 80 this year.  

The significance of the event is made even more poignant by the fact that the lake was a primary escape route from Communism, as the water is so shallow across the whole lake (I believe) that one can walk anywhere.  BUT the route is TO Hungary from Austria . Furthermore only a few kilometers away is the land crossing where 100s of East Germans queued in the summer of 1989 in their Trabants and Zsigulis (Ladas) anticipating the border being opened by the Hungarians - which then triggered all the events which we associate with the fall of the Berlin Wall, collapse of the Soviet Union etc ; ; 

Weather conditions were perfect for the 4.2 km swim - hot, clear skies and following wind. We found our way down through half a mile of thick reed beds to the pier. An hour later we were on board the venerable double-decker water-bus when it cast off from the Hungarian side to take us along the route in reverse to the start. We passed a series of thatched houses on stilts before finally pulling in at the final one in the row, a mere half kilometer travelled.

Bizarrely this was the border station. Heavily uniformed Hungarian and Austrian border guards swooped in to check our passports and confirm that we had no illicit imports / exports - even though we were all wearing only swimming trunks / costumes. Would we need to check in on the way back, I wondered? 

En route we also passed a forlorn EU flag, leaning out of the water. Presumably it once marked the border of the EU, and it's kept for nostalgic reasons.

The swim itself was fast. The wind was behind us and most of the field took a dog-leg route via the customs house. I clocked in after about 60minutes in 7th place having decided to take the straight course.  Of course unconventionality has a price in this part of the world, and I was stopped close to the border - but I was allowed to continue.  However I should have taken the dog-log, as I then found myself traversing a  dinghy-boat competition AND leading  visually  challenged paralympic  sportsman. I was duly pipped at the post though when he spotted the flags atop it!

One thing I should be clear on. This event was not intended to be a competition - so times were not given out. And as if to emphasise this, we were all given a tasty picnic lunch afterwards, in addition to the standard t-shirt and certificate

Do drop me a line if you have any feedback or suggestions. I would love to find some more events in the region

Peter Grace 

July 2006