EU 27
Us Europeans - 1989 testimonials
Doing nothing
G?ttingen, DE (View on map)
Posted 25 Jul 2008:Separating work and private life seems to be a recurrent subject in my conversations with young Germans. It seems like many of them suffer under the imposed expectations of always having a higher income in the year to come, regardless of how much of their own personality they need to give up to stay tuned with their ambitions. Hence today`s question for some young people from G?ttingen: What`s your preferred way relax?... Read more
Fairytale city
Odense, DK (View on map)
Posted 16 Jul 2008:Denmark has quite a couple of internationally known heroes, but few of them are as well-known as fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen. His name itself may not be known everywhere, but his stories of the `Ugly Duckling` and `The little Mermaid` are commonly read all across the Western hemisphere and possibly even beyond. What is there to know about this man, and how do the inhabitants of his birth place Odense feel about the heritage of such a famous writer?... Read more
Holiday time
Posted 8 Jul 2008:When I saw that my way from the south tip of Denmark up to Copenhagen would lead through `Fakse`, I was excited about the idea of spending the night in a village with such a cool name. Reality seems to be a bit less sparkling. There is not much to see in Fakse, neither are there many people to talk to. They all seem to have found there luck elsewhere at this time of year. Which leads me to today`s question: how do Danish people typically spend their holidays?... Read more
Summer holidays
Wroclaw, PL (View on map)
Posted 20 Jun 2008:Poland is one of the few countries where many people head North during the holidays. The Baltic Sea coast is one of the most popular destinations for young Poles who leave on holidays. The concept of leaving the country to celebrate holidays abroad is relatively new, but the market for such vacations is developing at full speed. More and more people are exchanging the Polish beaches for something more exotic. Today`s question to young Poles in Wroclaw: what`s Your program for this summer?... Read more
Polish football drama
Posted 16 Jun 2008:Euro 2008 is moving ahead at full speed. Two matches will decide which one of the four teams in pool B will make it to the quarterfinals. One of these teams is representing my current host country Poland. Their chances of making it to the final are slim: a lost game against Germany and a draw against Austria put Poland in the last place. Tonight`s match Poland-Croatia may bring relief, but only if Austria beats Germany. Below report describes how Cracow is experiencing this vital match.... Read more
Never bored
Bratislava, SK (View on map)
Posted 8 Jun 2008:After money, abortion, euthanasia, psychological or physical disabilities, sex and/or deviant sexual preferences and immigration issues, I think have come across another topic that qualifies as a taboo in big parts of Europe: doing nothing. The Greeks seem to be the only ones in the European Union to collectively accept and even praise the activity of being idle. Slovakians are located on the other end of the range. Along with most of their fellow Europeans, they prefer to fill up their spare time working on hobbies, meeting friends and visiting relatives.... Read more
Film fun
Posted 6 Jun 2008:Three hundred and ten articles about culture and none of them has dealt with films.. Time to cast my ignorance about films aside, and ask a bunch of young Slovak about their preferences when it comes to projections on the wide screen.... Read more
Euro 2008 expectations
Prague, CZ (View on map)
Posted 23 May 2008:The Czech national football team has a solid international reputation. 1976 was the most successful year so far, with the then Czechoslavakian team claiming the title in the European Champtionships of that year. The Czech Republic qualified for most of the recent European and World Championships and, at several occasions, made it to the best four. Expecting that the upcoming European Championships will be an exciting event for the Czechs, I hit the street today with the purpose of asking them about their expectations for the tournament.... Read more
A night out
Posted 19 May 2008:Different people have different ideas about what constitutes a nice evening out with friends. Some of the ideas are, at least partly, culturally defined. Spaniards will not start their parties before the time pubs in England have already closed. While Italians will try hard to impress members of the opposite sex, Slovenians try to sheer away from interacting with anybody that is not already part of their group of friends. But what about a Czech night out?... Read more
?sterreich am Ball
Vienna, AT (View on map)
Posted 11 May 2008:European football fans are counting down towards the beginning of June, when Switzerland and Czech Republic kick off for the first match of the European Football Championships 2008. Sixteen countries will compete for the title. For Austria, it will be the first time they even join this stage of the competition. Along with co-host Switzerland, Austria is automatically qualified this time. Expectations for the overall tournament are high; expectations for the Austrian team seem to be modest to fatalistic.... Read more
Krocha style
Posted 10 May 2008:Writing about youth subcultures is a risky project. Once they are noticed, the trend is usually already over. Austrian media keep writing about `Krocha` these days, a subculture that was born in Vienna a few months ago and quickly spread over all of Austria. What is there to know about these `Krocha` people?... Read more
Austrian hobbies
Posted 7 May 2008:I`m back in Austria after a quick one-day visit to Munich. Now in Salzburg, I am asking young Austrians to tell me about the way they like to spend their spare time. Key ingredients: beer, enjoying and challenging nature, preferably through individual sports. And football..... Read more
Active weekends
Celje, SI (View on map)
Posted 20 Apr 2008:Slovenians seem to be quite hard-working and busy during the week, so it would make sense to think that they will take it easy in their spare time. And so they do, but probably only when it rains. All other weather conditions are a perfect excuse to hit the road and engage in some kind of outdoor activity.... Read more
E-everything
Budapest, HU (View on map)
Posted 5 Apr 2008:Only 15 years ago, internet was still a new phenomenon. People were not familiar with even the expression `on-line`, let alone the drastic consequences the internet would have on their daily lives only a decade later. Internet was introduced to the big public well after the 1989 revolution in Eastern Europe, which means that it could develop simultaneously all over Europe. Differences in the quality of infrastructure have put Eastern Europe behind on Western Europe, but countries like Estonia show that initial delay can also serve as an advantage. And what about Hungary?... Read more
Spare time
Bucharest, RO (View on map)
Posted 17 Mar 2008:Spare time is becoming a scarce commodity in current day Romania. The rapid economic growth requires people to choose: jump on board or miss the train. There is no time for bumming around, or maybe there is. Today, I am asking young Romanians what they do when all other obligations have been fulfilled.... Read more
Drugs and pleasure
Tarnovo, BG (View on map)
Posted 11 Mar 2008:Young Bulgarians are probably just as fond of drugs as their European neighbours. Whatever is available in Amsterdam is also available in Bulgaria, but consuming illicit substances is better not done out in the open. Just the possession of a few grams of marihuana is sufficient to get yourself sentenced to a few years in prison. Here`s some Bulgarian opinions on the subject.... Read more
Sports in Bulgaria
Posted 9 Mar 2008:Sportswise, there is little difference between Bulgaria and most of the other countries I visited after Christmas. Football is sport number one, also here. Much to the disappointment of the Bulgarians, the national team did not manage to qualify for the European Championships which will be held in Switzerland and Austria this year. Fortunately, Bulgaria is not placing its bets on football alone. Bulgaria is used to collecting honorary metal in figure skating, chess and men`s volleyball.... Read more
Football champs
Athens, GR (View on map)
Posted 23 Feb 2008:2004 was a magic year for sports in Greece. The Greek national football team won the European Championships and the Olympic Games returned to their birth place Athens. While few Athenians were bothered to stay in town to see the Olympics, the unexpected football victory sparked a seemingly endless chain of celebrations across the country.... Read more
Maltese weekends
Sliema, MT (View on map)
Posted 9 Feb 2008:It`s weekend in Malta! Summer has not yet arrived, but the terraces along Sliema`s main streets are animated with people. The weather is windy but sunny. Tourists try to take photos of the violent waves that throw themselves onto the shore. Some get caught in showers that splash against the rocks below the boulevard. A handful of locals, all earphone-equipped, are jogging or walking along the seafront as if nothing is happening. And then there`s me, trying to find out how Maltese people like to spend their weekends.... Read more
Sunday observations
Limassol, CY (View on map)
Posted 20 Jan 2008:No buses on Sundays and all shops are closed. Limassol is the second biggest city of Cyprus, but most streets in city centre remain completely empty until noon. Only the beach boulevard is crowded and I think I will easily find people to tell me what is going on in Cyprus on Sundays. Wrong bet: hardly anybody on the coast walk is Cypriot. Three questions for today: where are all these people from, where are the Cypriots and, the original question, how do they spend their weekends?... Read more
FF Chille
Amsterdam, NL (View on map)
Posted 27 Dec 2007:The Netherlands is a crowded and busy country. The love for planning allows people to make the most of their time, resulting in a labour productivity that ranks among the highest in the world. But how much time do the Dutch allow themselves for relaxation? And how do they spend their spare time?... Read more
Sporty Spain
San Sebasti?n, ES (View on map)
Posted 24 Nov 2007:Every country has its favourite sports and for many countries in Europe, that favourite sport is football. The Primera Divisi?n is one of the leading European football leagues and many players can only dream of being recruited by one of the Spanish teams. But is there any other sport in Spain that can compete with the popularity of football?... Read more
Boring Sunday?
Coimbra, PT (View on map)
Posted 29 Oct 2007:Thinking of shopping on a Sunday? Not in Portugal. It all happens on Saturday morning, for clothes and food alike. Open air markets attract masses of people and shopping streets fill up. Halfway Saturday afternoon, most shops close their doors only to re-open them on Monday. If it wasn`t for the restaurants and supermarkets, the streets of the city would be empty on Sundays. How do people keep themselves busy when everything is shut?... Read more
Zig-zag Baseball
Jyv?skyl?, FI (View on map)
Posted 19 Sep 2007:The streets of Helsinki and Jyv?skyl? are full of joggers, Nordic walkers and cyclists. This may have something to do with the fact that both cities have lots of students, but the trend seems more general than that. Today`s questions are organised around sports an outdoor activities.... Read more
Spare time activities
Riga, LV (View on map)
Posted 30 Aug 2007:Life is not as simple everywhere as it is in Ireland. While the Irish are largely satisfied having a church, a pub and a sports pitch around, their Latvian counterparts have many different activities at hand. Here`s a short overview of what Latvians do when they are not working or studying.... Read more
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