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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.
World Heritage #0657 – Sergiev Posad
Sergiev Posad is an important Russian Orthodox pilgrimage site as well as being the residence of the head of this church for centuries. The UNESCO...
VIDEO – Russia – Sergiev Posad
This video is from a visit to Sergiev Posad, the centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. "The Architectural Ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra in...
Moscow and Sergiev Posad
On the third of a five day visit to Moscow we went on an excursion to Sergiev Posad, a wonderful city in the Golden Ring. We spent the evening back...
World Heritage #0545 – Kremlin
From the gold capped onion domes of the Kremlin and its high walls, to the large Red Square and the buildings on it, this heritage site is...
VIDEO – Russia – Moscow – Red Square
This is a video from the Red Square in Moscow, one of the world's most famous squares. "Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow" is no. 545 on UNESCO's World...
VIDEO – Russia – Moscow – St Basil’s Cathedral
The video shows the inside and outside of St Basil's Cathedral (or Basilica). It is "one of the most beautiful Russian Orthodox monuments", and...
VIDEO – Russia – Moscow – Around Town
This is a video from various places, or around town in Moscow. Place names are noted below. Sokolniki Park, Bolshoi Theatre, Lubyanka, Church of All...
Some of Moscow’s main attractions
Days 1 and 2 on a five day visit to Moscow is about getting settled and then seek out some of Moscow's main attractions. We took the metro, crossed...
Introduction to the Trans-Siberian Railway
This is an introduction to the Trans-Siberian railway, "the world's longest train ride". The Trans-Siberian railway links Moscow with Vladivostok on...
Krakow, Auschwitz and the Wieliczka salt mine
This is about a few days in a most wonderful city (Krakow) with excursions to a terrible WW2 past (Auschwitz) and a magnificent salt mine...
VIDEO – Poland – Auschwitz
This video is from Auschwitz in Poland. It was a concentration and extermination camp in the second world war. Today "Auschwitz Birkenau - German...
VIDEO – Poland – Wieliczka Salt Mine
This video is from the "Wieliczka Salt Mine" outside Krakow. It is no. 32 on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The mine is among the world's oldest, and...
World Heritage #0032 – Wieliczka Salt Mine
At the Wieliczka Salt Mine they have been mining rock salt for centuries, and you are invited to a fantastic subterranean world. The UNESCO World...
World Heritage #0031 – Auschwitz Birkenau
There are only horrors connected to the heritage site of Auschwitz Birkenau, the horrors of exterminating more than 1.5 million people. The UNESCO...
VIDEO – Poland – Krakow
This video is from Krakow (Cracow) in the south of Poland. "The Historic Centre of Krakow" is no. 29 on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Read about my...
World Heritage #0029 – Cracow’s Historic Centre
Cracow's Historic Centre reveals a splendid city. Today it is peaceful and rich, but its historical experiences are of a terrible nature. The UNESCO...
Football, the Beatles and colonial buildings in Liverpool
A couple of days in Liverpool, a city with football and the Beatles on the menu, and a long lost maritime past. Why we went Liverpool certainly...
VIDEO – England – Liverpool
This video is from the World Heritage sites in Liverpool. "Liverpool - Maritime Mercantile City" is no. 1150 on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Audio:...
World Heritage #1150 – Liverpool
There is more to Liverpool than a couple of football clubs and pop bands. In the harbour area it is easy to notice the Liverpool's legacy as a major...
Praha, a one day walking tour
The Czech capital of Praha is the world’s most beautiful city. This was my second trip to Praha (or Prague in English), a weekend, and what comes...
Pictures from Czechia
This is a collection of pictures from Czechia (Czech Republic), the result of trips to different parts of the country. If you look up my articles...
Manchester is football and some more
This is about a football weekend in Manchester and little else to see in the city with the famous "Theatre of Dreams". What to see in...
Aberdeen is The Granite City
The Granite City of Aberdeen is Scotland's third largest and presumably the one with the most churches turned into "dens of sin". As such it was an...
Father and son on a football weekend in London
Father and son on a football weekend in London is fun. We had an introductory sightseeing trip to what London is about for all visitors as well as...
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
