evidence: It was a hot afternoon in August last year when I entered the country of Switzerland for the first time. I had just finished up a vegan wrap in the German city of Konstanz when I drove over the border and followed a gorgeous road along the banks of Lake Constance and later the Rhine to the Swiss town of Stein am Rhein. [...] The tiny exclave was long under Austrian control although the Swiss authorities often tried to annex the area, especially during the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1835, the conflict was settled when Büsingen became part of the German customs territory. In 1918, after the First World War, a referendem was held in Büsingen in which 96 % voted to leave Germany and become part of Switzerland. However, this never happened as Switzerland couldn’t offer any suitable land in exchange to Germany. The exclave was formally defined in 1967, and Büsingen officially entered into a customs union with Switzerland. At the same time, the former German exclave of Verenahof, consisting of just three homes, became part of Switzerland. With just over 1,400 inhabitants, Büsingen must be too important for Germany to give up.