EU 27
Us Europeans - 1989 testimonials
Finding company
Hamburg, DE (View on map)
Posted 23 Jul 2008:During the days I spent in Germany so far, it did not take me much effort to find out that Germans can be quite demanding, both to themselves and to others. Wondering how much that affects their personal relations, I am asking young Hamburgers today: what should your perfect partner be like? ... Read more
Fighting uncertainty
Posted 22 Jul 2008:I`m back in country number #26: Germany. After the first introduction from Munich (early May) and the couple of articles I wrote earlier this month, I trust I can start writing without starting off with another introduction of the country. I will simply continue from where I was. One thing I found out during earlier interviews in Germany is that Germans seem to feel uncomfortable with unexpected events, or at worst: scared of change. That observation made me come up with today`s question: what are you scared of and what would you do if you weren`t?... Read more
Gender issues
Roskilde, DK (View on map)
Posted 15 Jul 2008:Only sixteen more days of Us Europeans left. I slowly getting used to the horizon coming closer. As much as the first of August of last year was a horizon-beyond-which-the unknown, this first of August will be similar in many ways. The end of a rhythm, a habit, a version of myself. No wining about that though, there`s still 1000 km left to cover. Today`s subject: gender equality in Denmark. Pretty much the opposite of stories I wrote earlier in Southern Italy, Greece and, more recently, Poland.... Read more
Happiness explained
Posted 11 Jul 2008:Time after time, international polls show that the Danish are the happiest people Europe, usually slightly ahead of fellow Scandinavian countries. Danes are in the enviable position of not having much to worry about. After having seen the other 26 EU countries, I do have some ideas about how Danes can be happier than the others. But what do they themselves think about it?... Read more
Continuous improvement
Posted 6 Jul 2008:Being too happy with yourself is not a virtue in Germany. It is however equally unacceptable to engage in something without being good at it. The best compromise is to be very good at something without bragging about it. Altogether, it takes some effort to get a Germans to tell what they are good at.... Read more
Negative emotions
Torun, PL (View on map)
Posted 25 Jun 2008:Leaving home for one year without ever getting frustrated would be impossible, and today turns out to be my annual frustration day. I will keep the reasons of these negative emotions to myself but they do serve as a perfect excuse to ask some Polish people how they deal with frustrations, and what is making them feel frustrated in the first place.... Read more
Looking for love
Posted 23 Jun 2008:When it comes to finding a second half in life, I have found the Slovenians to be the shiest, the Swedes the most open-minded, Finns and Estonians the least `sticky` and the Britons the least careful about getting pregnant. The Poles in many ways compare to the Italians. Both nationalities want love to be passionate, they can be quite jealous and have a lot of arguments, but they are also the ones who buy each other more presents than couples in other countries do. What else is there to know about Polish love life?... Read more
Meet and greet
Usti nad Labem, CZ (View on map)
Posted 20 May 2008:Some countries on this planet have made smiling a moral obligation. No matter whether the smile is authentic or not, paste one onto your face and you will make it through the day. The opposite is true for many people in the Czech Republic. Their `by default face` seems to programmed to display active disinterest, with distress and dislike as optionally added flavours. Czechs need to know each other before they open up, and below article sums up a couple of unwritten rules which should be observed in attempts to find out what hides behind the first impression.... Read more
Fashion statements
Verona, IT (View on map)
Posted 2 May 2008:Italians rarely ever lack a subject of conversation. In case it does happen, it only takes one person to start talking about food before the situation is restored. Or about fashion, as I learn today. Opinions and preferences about dress codes differ by the individual, but every Italian for sure has clear cut opinions about it.... Read more
Joy and frustration
Ljubljana, SI (View on map)
Posted 24 Apr 2008:Rainy days, the alarm clock ringing in the morning, bumping into somebody you just did not feel like meeting.. Some annoyances are universal. So are many of the things we all like: music, food, one or several places to call home. Today, I am asking people in Slovenia about what they like and what annoys them, hoping to get some culture specific answers.... Read more
Waiting for love
Posted 21 Apr 2008:Slovenia is located right next to Italy, but there are definitely some stereotypes that the Slovenians do not share with the Italians. Italians are said to be romantic and seductive. Very little of that applies to the Slovenes, who seem to have some difficulties in expressing their appreciation of the person they fancy.... Read more
Presents and parties
P?cs, HU (View on map)
Posted 10 Apr 2008:Getting to a birthday party without a present would not be very polite in many European countries. In Hungary, it`s the raising of the glasses that counts more than anything else. Presents are preferably liquid and alcoholic, but they may also they represent something home-made; edible or artistic.... Read more
Role patterns
Satu Mare, RO (View on map)
Posted 30 Mar 2008:As I learnt during previous days, Romanian boys and girls are expected to behave in a similar way until they reach the age of 11 or 12, with the exception that the girls have earrings. Gender roles are only starting to sink in during the early teenage years. From then on, boys are raised to be men, and girls are raised to be women: two distinctly different paths.... Read more
Romanian humour
Posted 29 Mar 2008:Romanians are very social and talkative people. They like to spend time in company and they are fond of having conversations. Beside their love for philosophy and conspiracy theories, they also have a taste for humour. But beware, make sure you are not the subject of their jokes, because they are usually not very flattering.... Read more
Love and marriage
Thessaloniki, GR (View on map)
Posted 3 Mar 2008:Greeks have little appetite for rules, but they are fond of traditions. They don`t like anybody to decide about what they do, but will calmly consider obeying when the authority in question is a family member. Paradoxically, they like to see everybody as their family member. Maybe that explains why the Greeks are so eager to marry. Or would it just be because a wedding is an excuse for just another party?... Read more
Staying in touch
Posted 14 Feb 2008:After a short week of Malte, I am back in Italy. Today, I am finding out what I already knew: Italians are fond of talking. Whether in real life or over their mobile phone and in both cases, the conversation comes with the same gestures and facial expressions. When Italians are on the phone, it doesn`t look like they are talking to the person on the other end. From what you see, it looks more probable that they are either talking to themselves, or to just anybody happening to pass by.... Read more
Talking hands
Posted 4 Feb 2008:Over the last few days, I have made some comparisons between the Finns and the Italians and I think there will be more of those over the days to come. Today, I am writing about the Italian way of communicating, which makes a nice contrast with the monotonous and seemingly indifferent way of talking that the Finns are used to. Seeing Italian people converse in the streets is like going to an open-air theatre, and Sicilians seem to be top of the bill when it comes to body language. ... Read more
Italian passion
Posted 28 Jan 2008:From all nationalities I have come to know during the last few months, the Finnish and the Estonians seemed the least `flirtuous`. Italians have positioned themselves at the other extreme of the scale. In Italy, love is art waiting to be expressed. Whether in reference to love, to business or to anything else: compliments open doors. Italians, regardless of gender, like to be admired and they go out of their way to make a good impression on whoever they think is worth it.... Read more
Networking
Nicosia, CY (View on map)
Posted 23 Jan 2008:Cyprus is a very small country: not only in distances but also on a social scale. Almost everybody knows almost everybody. Social control helps Cyprus remain a very safe country, but some people would care for a little more privacy at times. Immigrants from mainland Europe usually need very little time to get fed up with the village-like social structures in Cyprus, which send news across the island quicker than a person can travel.... Read more
In the Welsh Valleys
Pontypridd, UK (View on map)
Posted 14 Jan 2008:-- Please note -- Postings may be severely delayed over the coming 10 days -- Northern Ireland and Bask Country previously suffered from my strict one-year travel schedule, and so does Wales. This is my second and last day in Wales, and I realise that I should have allowed more time to cover Europe`s smaller countries. In an attempt to find out some more about Welsh life, its pleasures and challenges, I took a train out of the capital to have a look in The Valleys and see what life is like beyond the northern borders of the capital.... Read more
With compliments
The Hague, NL (View on map)
Posted 25 Dec 2007:Look up the word `Dutch` in an English dictionary and the explanation `inhabitant of The Netherlands` will be followed by a list of unflattering proverbs. Most of them refer to the Dutch being rude, which is a well-established stereotype about the Dutch in adjacent countries. The Dutch prefer to see themselves as honest and direct, and allergic to differences hierarchical positions. Anybody differing from the average is singled out and usually made fun of - regardless of his or her social status, achievements or pretensions. The Dutch use a subtle combination of compliments, criticism and sarcasm to `level the playing field` between themselves and everybody they deal with.... Read more
Social elegance
Caen, FR (View on map)
Posted 29 Nov 2007:`Style over content` would be a nice stereotype to describe the French, or to make fun of them. Even though the modernisation of society has weakened the influence of the traditional `etiquette`, elegance and sophistication are still important values in France. Here`s a quick look into how the French expect their conversation partners to behave:... Read more
Social values
Murcia, ES (View on map)
Posted 18 Nov 2007:Already within the first ten countries I have visited during this trip so far, I have found major differences in the way parents raise their children. In Scandinavia, parents teach their offspring how to live an independent life. In Spain and Portugal, kids are raised to behave as social human beings who seek each other`s company for the sake of being together. ... Read more
What to say
Coimbra, PT (View on map)
Posted 29 Oct 2007:`Speaking is silver, silence is gold`. Many northern countries embrace this saying, but it does not work very well in Portugal. People like to socialise, talk to each other and spend time with each other and silence is not invited to the scene. Today, I am trying to find out how people start and end their conversations, and what words and gestures they use inbetween.... Read more
Family matters
Posted 27 Oct 2007:Some countries embrace change, some embrace tradition. Portugal falls in the second category. Family comes first, followed by football as second and everything else third. Old people are respected for their experience. Young people are launched on a track that others have walked before. Every step you take is strictly monitored by family members and turning down their inevitable advice is not something you do without thinking twice.... Read more
Choices, choices
Posted 22 Oct 2007:The UK may not be known as the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, but they do have a lot in common with their western neighbour across the Atlantic. Like the United States, the UK has an economy that floats on consumer choice. Former state monopolies have been privatised and are now set to make profits rather than fulfil people`s basic needs.... Read more
Big Brother watches U
Posted 17 Oct 2007:Reality TV has been a big hit in the UK ever since the first season of Big Brother in the year 2000. It has found its way to people`s daily lives, and not just via the TV screen. Citizens of Glasgow can be sure that they are observed 24 hours a day, in the city centre and residential areas alike. An impressive number of cameras, announced as CCTV (Closed Circuit TeleVision), have taken possession of the streets. I am wondering how that makes people feel.... Read more
The melting pot
Uppsala, SE (View on map)
Posted 8 Oct 2007:So the Swedish arrogance is not really what the Finns promised me. Swedes are a little more talkative and sociable, that`s for sure. But bragging is as `not done` in Sweden as it is in Finland. Being special and, most of all, expecting special treatments are not accepted. Still, the country has produced a fair amount of heroes: football players, industry leaders, music bands. How are they perceived and how much different can one person be from the next?... Read more
About pink power
Posted 4 Oct 2007:The same jobs and the same salary for men and women: reality in many EU countries is very far away from this. Sweden is leading the dance when it comes to equal rights for both sexes on the work floor. The remaining difference is still the subject of debates, especially so for the widely supported feminist movement in Sweden. I am wondering how young Swedes think about that and how much sympathy the feminists can count on.... Read more
Finnish passion
Vaasa, FI (View on map)
Posted 29 Sep 2007:On my last entire day in Finland, I am trying to solve one question that has gradually been building up during the past few days. If Finns are always organised and honest, not very fond of giving or compliments, used to seeing people naked, then how do they think about love and passion?... Read more
Stick to the rules
Posted 25 Sep 2007:If there is one thing that makes Finland stand out from its Central European siblings, it`s their tendency to always stick to the rules. It has helped Finland the least corrupted country in the world, while neighbouring some countries where corruption is more of a norm than an exception. I am trying to learn more about this whole rule-idea today, finding out where it could possibly have come from and which rules are more important than others.... Read more
Meeting the Estonians
Tartu, EE (View on map)
Posted 6 Sep 2007:Estonians are not known for being very talkative. I did not want to take that for a fact and tried to get them to reveal their favourite topics of conversations. And the subjects they want to avoid at all cost.... Read more
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