order Stations

aron Von Lodge was the head of a small country known as Lilliland near Switzerland. The time was the early 1900s.

As the Baron and his fiancée, Lady Angela of Alpine Castle, traveled throughout Europe and Great Britain together, they commented about the slight differences in countries. One of the differences that the Baron mentioned was the way that travelers were received at the border stations.

With passports in hand, most travelers had their passports stamped as a remembrance of their trip and they were promptly on their way. Should the travelers have a problem, they had to find their own way to a place to solve the problem.

The Baron said to Lady Angela that the border station and the border guards in Lilliland looked and acted just like the typical European border station guards. The Baron said that he wanted to make some changes in order to help people in their travels.

Upon returning to Lilliland, he called in his chief advisor, Professor Hamblin, to discuss some of the border station changes he wished to put in place.

Professor Hamblin like the idea of helping tourists because tourism was so important to a healthy economy for Lilliland and he liked the golden rule of human kindness to be everywhere.

The director of the border guards and border stations was called to a meeting with the Baron and Professor Hamblin. Lady Angels was also at the meeting at the Baron’s request.

“The border stations will be rebuilt and the station will have the usual personnel as well as hostesses to talk with the travelers about any special concerns that they may have. The hospitality of Lilliland will begin at the new border stations,” the Baron said.

Any questions or concerns the travelers might have would be addressed at the new station. For example, if any expectant mother needed to know where the hospital facilities were, she would get that information. If an elderly person were traveling with a wheelchair, that concern would be resolved. If the tourists were traveling on a cold winter day, they could come inside to sit by a warm fireplace and have a hot cup of tea. If tourists were running late and needed to confirm hotel reservations, they could call from the border station.

Whatever the problems of the visitors to Lilliland, the Baron wanted to help his guests have a trouble-free time. “Maybe because Lilliland is a small country, we can offer tourists that personal touch and they will come back again,” the Baron thought.