My train ride today from Bonn to Switzerland proved again that I must look a bit European.

On the route from Mannheim to Basel the last stop in Germany before reaching Basel is Freiburg, about 30 minutes by train. Although Switzerland has signed the Schengen treaty, it has yet to implement it fully. So Swiss border police ride the train between Freiburg and Basel, checking people’s passports for entry into Switzerland. Well, some people’s passports, anyway. I don’t think I have ever been checked on the train, and most people with a Western European appearance aren’t checked, either. But if you look like you come from Asia or Africa, the border police will surely stop next to your seat and ask to see your passport. I guess "profiling" isn’t that much of an issue here as it can be in the USA.