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Intro
States
Photos
Blog
Facts
Overall impressions
This is a picture from the “Old World”, the largely Protestant and ethnically quite homogeneous region stretching from Prague in the southeast to Ireland in the west to Scandinavia in the north – and to some extent Russia in the east. For four hundred years, between 1550/1600 and 1950/2000, countries in this region defined the world as we today know it. Geo-politically, economically, militarily, philosophically, culturally, and in terms of world languages.
All about this region is history. Everything older than 200 years fascinates Americans who come here. The OMGs emit at a constant pulse. This region hardly offers anything but 200+ years of historical artefacts. Asians who come here find consumers able to pay for their products. Africans coming here find nothing but a boot kicking them back home again.
The region’s population is (at least relatively speaking) in decline, it is ageing, the economic importance is becoming negligent, innovations take place elsewhere in the world, the region’s countries have for decades been vassal states under an external superpower. Europe as a whole is splitting apart in infighting, selfishness and an overburdened welfare state.
Countries
Armenia | Austria | Azerbaijan | Belarus | Belgium | Czechia | Denmark | Estonia | Finland | France | Georgia | Germany | Hungary | Iceland | Ireland | Latvia | Liechtenstein | Lithuania | Luxembourg | Netherlands | Norway | Poland | Russia | Slovakia | Sweden | Switzerland | Ukraine | United Kingdom
There are 25 countries in what Sandalsand has grouped as North and Central Europe. Click a country name to view all posts from each country.
My definition of North and Central Europe encompasses everything north of the Mediterranean Ocean, including parts of Eastern Europe. Sandalsand’s travels in this world region are numerous. Obviously, I have lived here all my life. If I was to attempt a resume of my travels in this region, I would not know where to start or finish, or how.
I have been to almost all countries in this region. The three exceptions are in the Caucasus. To be more specific, I have not been to Georgia, Armenia or Azerbaijan. Historically, they have been categorised as West Asia or even Middle East. In recent years, geographers have started to group the three under the Europe heading. I am including them here for the time being. They are most certainly on my bucket list, for many reasons.
Map of Northern Europe. It includes the European part of Russia. Sandalsand has been to countries marked with a green colour, not the yellow ones. (Map source: Wikimedia Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported)
Photo galleries
Open the box to view a multitude of picture galleries from Sandalsand’s travels in this region.
Click to show or hide
For the best experience, open a picture gallery in a new tab or window. You will find numerous galleries from Norway on another page. Read the introduction to Norway.
Posts from North, Central and East Europe
Find Norway entries on a separate page.
Iron Wheels (1) Exciting train journeys
This is an introduction to exciting train journeys. I have registered my travels on a world map and the distance travelled on trains has been...
VIDEO – Denmark – Kronborg Castle
This video is from the Kronborg Castle in Denmark. "Kronborg Castle" is no. 696 on UNESCO's World Heritage List. It is famous for being the setting...
A day trip to Helsingør and Kronborg from Copenhagen
We had a pleasant hour-long train ride from Copenhagen to Helsingør and Kronborg, passing by some really fine residential neighbourhoods along the...
World Heritage #0696 – Kronborg Castle
Enjoy the view from Kronborg Castle across the strait of Oresund, just like the imaginary Hamlet a few hundred years ago. The UNESCO World Heritage...
Copenhagen is the Queen’s City
Scandinavia's largest city, the Danish capital of Copenhagen, was for centuries called the King's City. And indeed, the kings set their marks on...
VIDEO – Gibraltar
This video is from Gibraltar. Gibraltar is a British overseas territory on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It is dominated in every way...
The road trip from Ronda to Gibraltar and Jerez
This is the story from a road trip in Andalusia. On Day 3 we took the mountain road from Ronda down to Gibraltar and continued across the lowlands...
VIDEO – England – Hampton Court Palace
This is a video from Hampton Court Palace. It was the residence of King Henry VIII from 1529 and also several later monarchs of the UK. Later kings...
Visiting London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and the Hampton Court Palace
The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and the Hampton Court Palace were our last visits on this weekend trip to London. This article is one of...
VIDEO – England – Highgate Cemetery in London
This is a video from Highgate Cemetery. It was one of the "The Magnificent Seven" cemeteries from Queen Victoria's London. In the early 1800's...
The British Museum and Highgate Cemetery – a surprisingly good combination
The story from my London weekend continues here with visits to the British Museum and Highgate Cemetery. This article is one of three from a visit...
VIDEO – England – Westminster
This is a video from Westminster, the very heart of Britain for centuries. It is also World Heritage Site. The site, inscribed on the list as number...
VIDEO – England – Chelsea Flower Show
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is a large garden show held each May on the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, London. In 2012 tens of thousands of...
Combining The Chelsea Flower Show with evensong at Westminster Abbey
The Chelsea Flower Show was a perfect start of a weekend in London. The city is good for your heart and soul, and stomach. There is so much you have...
Pictures from Russia
This is a collection of pictures from Russia, the result of a trip in 2011 to Moscow and across the country on the Trans-Siberian. If you look...
VIDEO – Russia – Trans-Siberian Railway
This is a video from the Trans-Siberian Railway (actually Trans-Mongolian) from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar. It shows life on board, the stations, and the...
The Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Mongolia
This is a story from the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Mongolia. Read about the days on the train, four and a half days continuously on the...
VIDEO – Russia – Lake Baikal
This video from Lake Baikal is shot from the train on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Lake Baikal is no. 754 on UNESCO's World Heritage List. According...
World Heritage #0754 – Lake Baikal
This huge lake in Siberia, Lake Baikal, is a natural phenomenon, but is also of big cultural importance to the Russians. The UNESCO World Heritage...
VIDEO – Russia – Moscow – Kremlin
This video is from the magnificent religious and secular buildings and treasures of the Moscow Kremlin. "Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow" is no. 545...
More attractions in Moscow
We spent a couple of days to seek out more attractions in Moscow. A cruise on the Moskva River, the Gorky Park, the Kremlin and even more....
World Heritage #1097 – Novodevichy Convent
The Ensemble of the Novodevichy Convent is a convent in the middle of Moscow which doubled as a fortress. The UNESCO World Heritage List includes...
VIDEO – Russia – Moscow – Metro
This is a video from the Moscow metro. It is one of the world's most famous, and must certainly be the one with the most beautiful stations. Here is...
VIDEO – Russia – Moscow – Moskva River
This is a video from the Moskva River (Moscow). Cruising on a river boat is a relaxing way to see some of the major sights in the Russian capital....
If countries were people, England and France would be old men. Italy would be dead. Compared with them, America is in its 20s. (will.i.am)
A fact sheet
This is Wikipedia’s introduction to Europe as a whole.
Map and numbers
- Area: 10,180,000 km2
- Population: 741,447,158 (2016)
- Population density: 72.9/km2
- Nominal GDP: $20.2 trillion (2017)
- PPP GDP: $26.7 trillion (2017)
- Per capita GDP: $27,330 (2017)
- HDI: 0.845
- Demonym: European
- Countries: 50 sovereign states, one observer, 6 with limited recognition
- Dependencies: 6 dependencies
Geography
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia.
Since around 1850, Europe is most commonly considered as separated from Asia by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas and the waterways of the Turkish Straits. Though the term “continent” implies physical geography, the land border is somewhat arbitrary and has moved since its first conception in classical antiquity. The division of Eurasia into two continents reflects East-West cultural, linguistic and ethnic differences, some of which vary on a spectrum rather than with a sharp dividing line. The border does not follow political boundaries, with Turkey and Russia being transcontinental countries.
Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earth’s surface (6.8% of land area). Politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a total population of about 741 million (about 11% of the world population) as of 2016. The European climate is largely affected by warm Atlantic currents that temper winters and summers on much of the continent, even at latitudes along which the climate in Asia and North America is severe. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast.
History
Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD and the subsequent Migration Period marked the end of ancient history and the beginning of the Middle Ages. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art and science led to the modern era. From the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at various times the Americas, almost all of Africa and Oceania and the majority of Asia.
The Age of Enlightenment, the subsequent French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars shaped the continent culturally, politically and economically from the end of the 17th century till the first half of the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to radical economic, cultural and social change in Western Europe and eventually the wider world.
Both world wars took place for the most part in Europe, contributing to a decline in Western European dominance in world affairs by the mid-20th century as the Soviet Union and the United States took prominence. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the West and the Warsaw Pact in the East, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall.
Source
Wikipedia on a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Date: 2018-06-22
