Thoughts on Europe?

I would also like your thoughts on Germany, my birthplace, i've seen some bigoted stuff last time i tried this so here i try it again. What are you general thoughts of europe vs where you live/US? Do you think we are a bunch of misguided pussies that have no balls to play world police? Do you think we have something good going on? I would like to know

Europe>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>USA. Germany>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Sweden

I think the US should stop picking up the tab for NATO and maybe let Russia steamroll them into submission.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

How is the Ruble doing?

Expensive. Love them taxes like no ones business. Though there always seems to be more interesting activities to do. Your roads suck to by the way. You should get on that.

I've only been to Germany once and it's a beautiful country. I'm from Sweden myself, I like it here, except for the climate I guess, the winter is long and really cold and the summer is usually pretty short. I think that life would be pretty good in most countries that have freedom of speech, where people are tolerable of other cultures and where you don't have to worry about loosing your house and everything you have just because you or someone in your family gets sick. That would be a very stressful society to live in.

All I know is the whole of the EU should unite alongside a strong German leader, lets not resist any more and allow Germany to take over. They're just better than everyone else, only bloody country in the EU that isn't in a crap ton of debt, all have jobs and the women are hawt.

The vibe I get from Europeans is somewhat similar to Central Americans. I'm going to Portugal, first time to Europe

I think Europe is much like any other place....some good, some bad, but most people just trying to make a living for themselves and their families.

I envy the Germans and Dutch for their brothels and the Norwegians and Swiss for their scenery.

Oh and I envy Germany for having frequent and good metal concerts.

Never been. Want to go.

Love most things German besides the overly strict laws about the period of history between 1939 and 1945.

When I see a few dickhead Euros (here at GS) being boorish, I reply in kind. I don't care where they're from. They give the middle finger, they get the middle finger back because that's the only language they understand.

Now that the above is out of the way.

Most Euros I've seen in the real world act like most normal folks everywhere. All I've encountered in the past have been nice to me and I returned the courtesy. Being ex-GI (and having a foreign wife), I'm friends with a number of ex-pats from other countries, including a fair number of Europeans.

I had a great time in Germany. Driving on the streets of Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and the GI town of Kaiserlauten was a pleasant experience. Motorists actually kept their distance, signaled, and did the speed limit. I honestly think Germany have some of the more civilized drivers around compared to the bonehead drivers we have here in the US or say, the drivers in England, Turkey, and Italy.

Establishments are about the same as here. I love scale models and dioramas. Visiting hobby shops in Europe was a routine I did. Euro hobby shops have that feeling of authenticity because a lot of the hobby stuff I purchased (eg Verlinden products) in the US were imported from Europe. It's like an honor to be at the source and the shop owners are more than happy to talk shop.

Houses in general tended to be on the small side though. My wife definitely prefer US houses and furniture although she also thought Euros are better with hard wood and wrought iron/marble. We have European-made wrought iron kitchen furniture along with Italian (and Turkish) marble which is highly prized by my wife.

Europe is a continent.

Don't know about the actual countries themselves, but the Europeans I've met in real life are nice, normal people. The euro trash on this site really give Europeans a bad name, but I imagine plenty of Americans on the internet give the US a bad name, when most of the people I deal with on the daily are nice, normal people.

@foxhound_fox said:

Never been. Want to go.

Love most things German besides the overly strict laws about the period of history between 1939 and 1945.

What laws? I've heard that the Germans are pretty up front about the shit they did during WWII. It's the Japanese that have a big problem with confronting their atrocities.

I think he means this kind of stuff. http://www.alternet.org/rss/breaking_news/497119/canadian_tourist_arrested_for_giving_nazi_salute_outside_reichstag

British girls are damn beautiful and very nice by nature so UK. One of ex g.f was british.

Only ever been to Spain (Madrid, then trip through the south), and France technically (airport). It was a nice place, Madrid was the biggest city I've ever been to. Homeless guy flashed us first thing off the metro. People were friendly and helpful besides that even though I wasn't fluent in the language. Literally nothing in between cities. Nothing except architecture was that much different than the U.S. overall. French flight attendant and women sitting next to me were jerks.

A normal meal at burger king cost me like 12 dollars though, and I'll never forgive that.

German Pluses:

• Synonymous with impressive achievements in science and engineering
• Liberal social mores
• Strongest European economy
• Fascinating history

German minuses:

• Indiscriminate, de facto subordination to Israeli interests. (How many free or heavily-discounted nuclear submarines have you given away lately?)
• Current leadership is painfully, embarrassingly obsequious to the White House, to the detriment of Germany's own interests. (Cf Merkel's maintenance of sanctions against Russia at Obama's behest, even though those sanctions are harming the German economy)
• Rank hypocrisy: Outlaws any celebration of Nazism at home, but sponsors---to the tune of billions of Euros---the Ukrainian puppet government of Petro Poroshenko, which is using brazenly neo-Nazi militias to subject Donetsk and Luhansk to ethnic cleansing.

Terrible country.

I don't know much about most places... but from what little bits of information I gleam, most European places seem like places I would rather live.

KLM is my favorite airline. Took it a few times, the most recent from Amsterdam to Atlanta. Great service from the flight attendants (hotties too), well-equipped aircraft at the time with lots of diversions (even on coach).

Italian TV have hardcore pr0n on hotel room TVs. Awesome. Wife wasn't pleased though.

My parents loved Spain by far of all the places they've been to in Europe. My wife loved Turkey (except for Antalya - see below) although it's not really Europe.

I'm also a sucker for pitas. One reason why I love Mediterranean Europe.

When we were vacationing at Antalya, Turkey, there were German tourists everywhere. Many of them had no qualms about changing to their bikinis out in the open. Again, the wife wasn't pleased. I had to wear shades all the time so I wouldn't be caught gawking. But, my stupid grin kept giving me away. ;)

I'm pretty sure anywhere in Europe is Rapture compared to where I live.

I live in the UK but would love to tour the rest of europe. Though I wouldn't visit the big holiday destinations smaller quiet locations.

Man, I miss Antalya, Turkey.

Germans declare Antalya most trusted tourism spot

Besides its flaws, and boy it does have its flaws..I wouldn't want to trade Europe (as place to live) for anything.

I love that you can be in a completely different world with its habbits and cultures in a matter of hours.

As for Germany: I love the country, it's really beautifull. Lots of historic places to visit and beautifull landscapes.

Though I didn't like it where I used to live for 3 years (close to the Ruhrgebiet). It's a rather depressing area to live in, in my opinion.

I am studying the French, German, and Spanish languages. My relative experienced racism in Spain and they throw bananas at African soccer players (another act of racism that you need to understand the context of to comprehend), so they need to work on their dignity. From what I have been told, Britain is cloudy throughout most of the year. I would like to see Big Ben and compare my American English to British English. I figure they are overall decent fellows, so I imagine that experience might include a joke or two. English tea in England sounds pleasant.

Moving on, there is a Greek restaurant in town and the restaurant is not fancy, but the food is superbly healthy and delicious. I plan on getting the felafel at some point and also seeing the Parthenon in person while visiting. Like I said, I am learning French and German. Both are languages I would like to use in their countries of origin. Germany has a great standard for their industry and I am specifically referring to their technological prowess. I am surely going there, one day. Next, France has been America's ally since its founding. I would like to visit that country to see the descendants of who my ancestors considered friends. There are other countries I intend to visit, but to begin, I am going to places where I understand the language.

Which countries are racist in Europe?

Nah

It's pretty common knowledge in europe and in the rest of the World, that it's Belgium that are the most racist people in europe.

Oh.

I worked under german company, they are pretty hardworking and cool people from my experience.Some british people can be pretty racist, particularly towards asians ( Indians specially) whom they have ruled in past as slaves. They don't like indians studying, living and earning in UK =P

Lol, they're laying on rocks. What a shitty beach.

I was wondering about that too. But, I'm not surprised. The resorts have taken up all the nice sandy beaches and they're almost always at full capacity.

OMG

Mr D :D

Long time no see MrD :)

Common knowledge my ass.

I think Europe is a really nice place. The history is most fascinating and quite rich and the culture is diverse and surely captivating. Its a shame though that a substantial part of Europe seems to be wasting itself in excessive liberalism and "social innovation", not to mention the failure of multiple European states to maintain their own populations. I believe its really pathetic and unbecoming of any nation to require the help of others for that end. It is in effect a definitive precursor of the abolition of the state. Also, you can insult and deride the U.S all you want but European politics will always be second rate to its American counterpart. It is ineffective, hesitant, timid and isolationist if not downright racist, bearing in mind that I'm not particularly using the term racist derogatorily here. One thing I'd like to point out with regards to Europe the continent is the fact that when people think of Europe they mainly think of western Europe while possibly lumping the central region of the continent along with it which I find to be really unfair to eastern Europe and Russia. That part of Europe may not be as prosperous as its western counterpart in the present day at least but it certainly doesn't fall short to it in terms of culture and history. Personally I find the allure of visiting some eastern European states to be much more enticing than the prospect of visiting many celebrated and hyped western European states.

Now, as far as Germany is concerned, it is one if not the most interesting country in Europe. It gave the world Marx that alone crowns the country at the top of the list of interesting countries everywhere not just in Europe. The history and the culture are intoxicating and the language is just music. I've never been to Germany but I'd absolutely love to visit there and maybe spend a few years living in the place. Among "multicultural" European countries Germany seems to be doing exceptionally well. You rarely hear a beep about racial or immigration issues coming from the place. The economy is solid and everything is just topnotch in there. Imagine a world where Germany is the world's hegemon. That'd be intriguing to say the least.

That's the first time I've ever heard that said about German. It's a pretty harsh and strange language. Though maybe if you grew up around Arabic speakers you'd be more comfortable with that.

Yea common knowledge my ass indeed. Besides, Belgians are too busy bickering among each other to be racist against others. In fact the Flemish and the Walloon would go as far as "recruiting" and luring immigrants for their respective sides as "assets" in the constant face off between the two sides.

Well I've been told on multiple occasions that I have an eccentric preference of languages. I find French to be really pedantic, Spanish to be boorish and Italian to be witless. Among my most favorite languages are Russian, German, Dutch and Japanese to a lesser extent.

they're girls are the hottest in the world

Low labour mobility makes it far from ideal for a common currency, Eurozone isn't particularly strong despite being important. It's like everyone sorta want the EU to become the US of E, but no one is willing to actually take any steps. Germans are wonderful people who know how to live and work, PM is the antichrist, however. Europe itself is a beautiful multicultural region and I love it.

How come?

I've never been to spain, but I kinda like the music. They say the ladies are insane there and they sure know how to use it.

Sounds like a good time, i am from Stuttgart :D

I had a pleasant time although I avoided late autumn and winter because of the weather. Germany seems dreary in winter. The snow is okay. But, the bouts of cold, cold rain and wind is depressing. I rather have it all snow.

The above reminded me of Upstate New York where we lived for six years: very similar climate. It's probably no surprise that part of New York state was favored by German immigrants. A lot of people there have German ancestors.

Edit:

Oh, just like Upstate New York...... The forests in Germany are lovely in autumn.

This could be in Upstate New York too: <<< Just google Adirondacks autumn

Fucking Budapest. Dentistry is 70% cheaper than the UK.