whats your favourite European country ?

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Re: whats your favourite European country ?

Me too for Croatia. Did one of those small boat cruising holidays round the Islands amazing holiday. Problem with Dubrovnik though as its always absolutely rammed with tourists. Not now though.

Great white sharks off adriatic

Be careful when swimming

[Optimistic Nick]

Re: whats your favourite European country ?

Germany

[xsnaggle]

Re: whats your favourite European country ?

Me too for Croatia. Did one of those small boat cruising holidays round the Islands amazing holiday. Problem with Dubrovnik though as its always absolutely rammed with tourists. Not now though.

Wasn't the main city in Game of Thrones actually Debrovnik?

[Mr Soul '68]

Re: whats your favourite European country ?

Spain, off the beaten track. I motored right across it, nearly 30 years ago. I love the food, the culture, the weather. Obviously I stayed away from the places that are full of Brit chavs, the ones having an English breakfast, fish n' chips for tea, and drinking shite British beer like John Smiths.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

Re: whats your favourite European country ?

Poland particularly the Krakow area

wanted to go back last year , think this year is out of the question maybe next year now who knows

Sludge often goes to Krakow....

[life on mars]

Re: whats your favourite European country ?

Portugal very friendly .

[ToTaL ITK]

Re: whats your favourite European country ?

Holland

I like its , shall we say , laid back vibe man

Amsterdam is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world due to its past trading links and the food is superb

Some bloody great pike , perch and zander fishing over there in the canals too

And its flat , going up and down mountains is a young man's game

Most cosmopolitan cities in the world

1 Dubai 83
2 Brussels 62
3 Toronto 46
4 Auckland 39
4 Sydney 39
4 Los Angeles 39
5 Singapore 38
6 London 37
6 New York 37
7 Melbourne 35
8 Amsterdam 28
9 Frankfurt 27
10 Paris 25

surprised by dubai

[UNDERHILL1927]

Re: whats your favourite European country ?

Germany. Lovely clean country. good people.

Same, lovely people, Berlin my favourite city

[Swiss Peter]

Re: whats your favourite European country ?

Same, lovely people, Berlin my favourite city

This always amuses me. My sister has lived in Berlin since 1978 and now even carries German citizenship, but she would say the locals tend to be brusque, borderline rude. Fantastic city though, agreed.

As a German speaker I'm very comfortable in Germany, but favourite non-British places in Europe (as opposed to favourite countries which I know is the question - but much harder!) would be west coast of Ireland, north west coast of Portugal/Spain and
- my favourite place of all - Corsica.

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Re: whats your favourite European country ?

Most cosmopolitan cities in the world

1 Dubai 83
2 Brussels 62
3 Toronto 46
4 Auckland 39
4 Sydney 39
4 Los Angeles 39
5 Singapore 38
6 London 37
6 New York 37
7 Melbourne 35
8 Amsterdam 28
9 Frankfurt 27
10 Paris 25

surprised by dubai

Surprised frankfurt is more cosmopolitan than Hamburg

Brussels doesn't surprise me , great city

Mayonnaise and Chips

Have it

[The Bloop]

Re: whats your favourite European country ?

Haven't travelled as extensively as I'd have liked. However, of the places I have been I love the Greek islands and also the Netherlands. One thing that impresses me with many places in Europe though, is how much the younger generations embrace their local cultures and traditions, which seems to miss many of similar ages in this country.

[AfricanBluebird]

Re: whats your favourite European country ?

Having visited every single one of them I would say:
Slovenia: it was an undiscovered gem when I visited the place about 20 years ago.
Romania: as above
Italy: oozes history, character and atmosphere.
Spain: I avoided the place for many years after images in my head of the tourist resorts. Great country, especially Andalucia.
Iceland: magical
Holland: the people. It's like home.
Germany: Lived there and became hooked on the people (straight as a dye), culture and language.
San Marino: very chocolate box.
Austria/Switzerland: stunning scenery
France: a delight on the eye.

Weirdest European countries visited:
The eastern strip of Moldova which is still under the control of Russia. Very eerie.
Northern Macedonia: very poor bit with a regime that pumps money into very vulgar and ostentatious statues in the centre of the capital city.
Azerbaijan: oil money seems to have trickled down to a very small minority and the rest of the population seemed very poor.
Albania: I went there when it first opened up and there was nothing to buy. There were hardly any vehicles on the road and some of them I saw had replacement side windows made from plywood! It was not uncommon to see ground floor flats surrounded by pigs.

Surprises:
Odessa in The Ukraine: almost Parisian in nature.
Minsk, Belarus: incredibly sophisticated despite being ruled by a despot
Bosnia: a beautiful, non-functional* country. (*Still beset with profound factionalism)

I enjoyed that summary Taunton. I've visited many in the list.

I agree... Slovenia is a super place. Lake Bled.. just beautiful.

The organisation I work for have a large presence in Romania (we helped the government set up their child protection systems and close the orphanages that Ceaușescu established)... Some real gems in Romania. Bucharest is fascinating. I ran around the city in 2019 doing the marathon.

Another secret from Europe if you're a wine lover . Moldovan wine... Just unbelievable and one of the best kept secrets.

Other notable mentions... Czech Republic.. amazing places there and also the literature is sublime. Prague is great but so many other gems outside the capital.

Croatia.. of course Dubrovnik but also some of the northern parts.. Rovinj has very special memories for me - stayed on Sveti Andrija a few times.

Agree about Austria, Switzerland, France and San Marino.

Germany is also stunning and Berlin is everything and more.. I was only there for a short time for a conference a few years back but for the few days I was there I loved it.

Bologna in Italy is a lovely city and I could slip right into the lifestyle quite easily!

The Greek islands are also lovely although of course the problem with some of the holiday destinations is the tourists. Philistines 🤣

I also loved Malta. I went out of season.. November 2018, still warm but quiet. Wonderful place. Rich in history and art and stunning beaches.

[Bobby Dandruff]

Re: whats your favourite European country ?

Holland

I like its , shall we say , laid back vibe man

Amsterdam is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world due to its past trading links and the food is superb

Some bloody great pike , perch and zander fishing over there in the canals too

And its flat , going up and down mountains is a young man's game

Italy. Too many reasons to list here ❤️

[Des Parrot]

Re: whats your favourite European country ?

If I only get to choose 1 then Sweden.
Honourable mentions Denmark, Portugal, Netherlands, Malta

Was due to go to Croatia this summer, only heard good reports

[Des Parrot]

Re: whats your favourite European country ?

Me too for Croatia. Did one of those small boat cruising holidays round the Islands amazing holiday.

Please share more or send PM. Sounds like my thing.