Ben Nevis This mountain, which is only 1,344 m high, is the highest mountain in Great Britain and therefore also Scotland. It is located near Fort William in the west of the country. In good weather, the climb is just a bit of a strenuous excursion. But because of the frequent fog, the climb can…
Category: Europe
Wales History: Early to Middle Ages
The history of Wales is in large part closely linked to the history of the other parts of Great Britain and thus England in particular. Wales formally became part of the Kingdom of England through the Acts of Union in 1536 and union with Scotland took place in 1707. As a reminder, England, Wales and Scotland together…
Kosovo Conflict with Serbia
The international support for Kosovo’s path to independence in 2008 was the result of the continuity of Serbia’s Kosovo policy even after the fall of the Milošević regime and the takeover of government by the democratic opposition, i.e. a policy of denial of reality, which on the one hand insisted that Kosovo was part of…
5 Must During Your Trip to Trondheim
The beautiful Norwegian city of Trondheim is located by the Nidälven river and tourists have made a pilgrimage here once in a while, thanks to the majestic cathedral Nidaros. Today, however, there are several other reasons to visit Trondheim and below are descriptions of some of them. Nidaros Cathedral is a must Despite the fact…
Salzburg Travel Guide
Salzburg, Austria is a historic small town surrounded by mountains. Salzburg, Austria’s fourth largest city, is the country’s most popular travel destination. Known as Mozart’s hometown and the setting for The Sound of Music , Salzburg is an idyllic city destination that attracts with its alpine scenery, architecture and quality restaurants. SALZBURG AS A DESTINATION…
Espoo Travel Guide
Espoo is a nature destination in the embrace of Helsinki. Active Espoo invites tourists with its cultural sites and outdoor opportunities. The strengths of Espoo are the short distance from Helsinki, the wonderful Nature Attractions right next to the city and the interesting Cultural offer. You can easily visit the city during your Helsinki holiday,…
Vatican City 2011
Yearbook 2011 Vatican City. Hundreds of thousands of Catholics gathered in May when the former Pope John Paul II was blessed. Some criticism, however, was against the plans for the next saint declaration, due to the scandal involving sex offenses against children who broke out even before John Paul’s death in 2005. According to Countryaah…
United Kingdom 2011
Yearbook 2011 UK. The coalition government between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats continued its tough austerity policy. Several large demonstrations were held to protest the cut-off policy, including gathering between a quarter and a half million people in London on March 26. Plans to reduce pension conditions for public sector employees also aroused…
Ukraine 2011
Yearbook 2011 Ukraine. The year was dominated by bitter power struggles between President Viktor Yanukovych and former Prime Minister Julia Tymoshenko, who had lost the presidential election against Yanukovych in 2010. In April, prosecutors launched a preliminary investigation against Tymoshenko, where she was suspected of abusing her power as head of government. Tymoshenko felt that…
Turkey 2011
Yearbook 2011 Turkey. On June 12, the ruling Islamist AKP (Justice and Development Party) won its third straight parliamentary election with 49.8% of the vote. The second largest was the secular CHP (Republican People’s Party) with 26%. These two parties advanced compared to the previous election, while the third, the right-wing extremist MHP (Nationalist Party…
Switzerland 2011
Yearbook 2011 Switzerland. An attempt to revoke the right to keep military weapons in the home was voted down in a referendum in February. The proposal was supported by groups such as pointed out that suicide with firearms is three times more common in Switzerland than in the rest of Europe. A key argument for…
Spain 2011
Yearbook 2011 Spain. As one of the last countries in Western Europe, Spain introduced a ban on smoking from the beginning of the year. The resistance was great and reports were made in their quarters about the obvious when smokers defied the ban. According to Countryaah official site, the economic crisis worsened during the year….
Slovenia 2011
Yearbook 2011 Slovenia. According to Countryaah official site, Borut Pahor’s center-left government worked head-on during the first half of the year. Several ministers jumped off and voters voted down proposed changes in labor law and the pension system in two referendums. By mid-year, two out of four government parties had withdrawn from government cooperation. When…
Slovakia 2011
Yearbook 2011 Slovakia. During the year, Slovakia became an example of how a single coalition party in a member state can stop a major EU process – temporarily. The Liberal Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) said no when the government would decide in the autumn to strengthen the eurozone crisis fund EFSF for assistance to the…
Serbia 2011
Yearbook 2011 Serbia. After 16 years of escape from international justice, former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladić was arrested in May. According to Countryaah official site, Serbian special police found Mladić in a relative’s house in the province of Vojvodina. Within a few days, he was transferred to the War Criminal Tribunal in The Hague….
San Marino 2011
Yearbook 2011 San Marino. From the beginning of the year, San Marino introduced extra taxation of labor commuting across the border from Italy. According to Countryaah official site, criticism was raised in the European Parliament against the decision, which is estimated to affect about 6,000 people, most of whom are EU citizens. Country data Area:…
Russia 2011
Yearbook 2011 Russian Federation. The Russian Federation 2011 was the year when Vladimir Putin’s power was seriously challenged. According to Countryaah official site, United Russia’s electoral victory in December was followed by the biggest protests since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, with accusations of electoral fraud and loud demands on Putin’s departure. The declining…
Romania 2011
Yearbook 2011 Romania. In April, the European Commission declared that all EU countries must present national strategies during the year on how Roma are to be integrated and their living conditions improved. According to Countryaah official site, the Romania have worse opportunities in terms of education, health care, housing and access to work, according to…
Portugal 2011
Yearbook 2011 Portugal. In the January presidential election, incumbent Head of State Aníbal Cavaco Silva was re-elected for a second term. He already won in the first round with 53% of the vote. According to Countryaah official site, the ruling Socialist Party’s candidate received only 20%, while three others shared the rest. No clearing could…
Poland 2011
Yearbook 2011 Poland. The 2010 Russian Federation air disaster, including the death of President Lech Kaczyński, continued to cast its shadow over Poland. According to Countryaah official site, the Russian accident investigation’s final report came in January, and it blamed the Polish pilots for the accident. The reaction in Poland was fierce, as many considered…
Norway 2011
Yearbook 2011 Norway. The year became the darkest and bloodiest for Norway since the Second World War. On July 22, the country was hit by Northern Europe’s worst terrorist act and the greatest mass murder of modern world history, committed by a lone perpetrator. According to Countryaah official site, a 32-year-old right-wing extremist, Anders Behring…
Northern Macedonia 2011
Yearbook 2011 Northern Macedonia (until 2019 Macedonia). A political crisis arose in January when the Social Democrat-led opposition left Parliament in protest of what was perceived as politically motivated persecution of the media. Several media organizations had been raided and several media representatives arrested suspected tax offenses. According to Countryaah official site, the government was…
Netherlands 2011
Yearbook 2011 Netherlands. According to Countryaah official site, right-wing populist party leader Geert Wilders was released in June on all counts in the lengthy case against him for hate crimes and discrimination against Muslims. The Court found that while Wilders made offensive “fascist” statements, it was not hate crimes because the statements were directed at…
Montenegro 2011
Yearbook 2011 Montenegro. According to Countryaah official site, Bishop Amfilohije Radović of the Serbian Orthodox Church was indicted at the beginning of the year for using hate speech. The bishop was upset over plans to demolish a church erected in 2005 in a place that is considered sacred even by Catholics and Muslims. He said…
Monaco 2011
Yearbook 2011 Monaco. When intermarried bachelor Prince Albert married, at the age of 53, in July, Monaco got a princess for the first time since his mother Grace Kelly, who died in a car accident nearly 30 years earlier. According to Countryaah official site, the target was a 33-year-old former Olympic swimmer from South Africa,…
Moldova 2011
Yearbook 2011 Moldova. In January, Parliament approved the new EU-friendly coalition government formed just before New Year with Vlad Filat as prime minister. The government had 59 of Parliament’s 101 seats and thus failed to reach the majority of 61 out of 100 seats required to elect a new president. The two-year political stalemate therefore…
Malta 2011
Yearbook 2011 Malta. In February, Malta and Italy pleaded for assistance from the rest of the EU to cope with the unusually high number of refugees who had begun to travel to both countries since the start of democracy riots in North Africa in December 2010. Both countries wanted EU summits on the refugee issue…
Luxembourg 2011
Yearbook 2011 Luxembourg. According to Countryaah official site, the government presented plans for major changes in school education from year seven. Students would have greater opportunities to choose their own courses and also to choose the language of instruction. Many protested. Teachers in French were particularly worried that many students would choose to be taught…
Lithuania 2011
Yearbook 2011 Lithuania. In January, the 20-year anniversary of the attack on the TV tower in Vilnius was celebrated when 14 people were killed and hundreds injured when Soviet soldiers attacked a crowd defending the tower. According to Countryaah official site, the government declared that Lithuania will claim damages from Moscow for what happened in…
Liechtenstein 2011
Yearbook 2011 Liechtenstein. In March, the EU Council of Ministers approved Liechtenstein’s agreement with the EU to become an associate member of the Schengen passport union. According to Countryaah official site, the agreement had been signed in 2008 but the approval had been hampered by Sweden and Germany who considered that Liechtenstein had done too…
Latvia 2011
Yearbook 2011 Latvia. Since Latvia’s crisis economy turned upwards in 2010, growth accelerated in 2011. In the first half of Latvia, GDP grew by over 4%, and in the third quarter the figure was over 6%. But the economic recovery was disturbed by growing corruption. When Knab’s anti-corruption agency made over 40 raids in May…
Kosovo 2011
Yearbook 2011 Kosovo. According to Countryaah official site, Parliament re-elected Hashim Thaçi as prime minister in February, a few months after the re-election held when the former coalition government fell. Thaçi was re-elected despite information on involvement in organized crime and trafficking in Serbian prisoners’ bodies. The accusations, which were presented by the Council of…
Kaunas Attractions and Tourist
Attractions in Kaunas There are attractions and sights for every taste in Kaunas. The itinerary here gives you some suggestions on what we think are the very best! See DigoPaul for dictionary definitions of Kaunas, Lithuania. Includes geographical map and city sightseeing photos. devil’s Museum The main attraction in Kaunas is probably the Devil Museum….
Italy 2011
Yearbook 2011 Italy. The year 2011 became heavy and gloomy, both for Italy and for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Even before the year had begun, the media froze in yet another so-called sex scandal between Berlusconi and a young woman, and during the second half of Italy. According to Countryaah official site, Italy was drawn…
Ireland 2011
Yearbook 2011 Ireland. The deep economic crisis continued to leave its mark in Ireland. The hard savings hit most of society. For example, house prices had fallen by 43% since 2007, and unemployment had risen to 14% in the autumn – among young people it was about twice as high despite many young people leaving…
Iceland 2011
Yearbook 2011 Iceland. In January, police raided the banks Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir in connection with an investigation into possible crimes in the collapse of Landsbanki’s autumn 2008. Two former bank executives were arrested. Later, nine people were arrested in London and Reykjavík in connection with an investigation into Kaupthing’s collapse. In February, the Parliament…
Ibiza Attractions and Tourist
Attractions in Ibiza There are many attractions and sights in Ibiza. The best part is, of course, great scenery, beaches and rustic villages. It is not without reason why photographers from virtually the world, and at least Europe, flock to Ibiza to take the best outdoor pictures! Below you will find a selection of other…
Hungary 2011
Yearbook 2011 Hungary. According to Countryaah official site, Hungary, for the first time in the New Year, became the EU Presidency. But the Hungarian leadership was disputed because of a new Hungarian media law adopted before the New Year. The law was seen by critics in the EU as an attack on freedom of the…
Greece 2011
Yearbook 2011 Greece. Greece’s debt crisis escalated during the year and in November forced the Social Democratic government under Giorgos Papandreou to resign and surrender to a unifying government under former governor Lucas Papademos. Concerns were affecting the entire world economy. According to Countryaah official site, the Greek central government debt was estimated at 162%…
Germany 2011
Yearbook 2011 Germany. The nuclear accident in Fukushima in Japan in March led to a slap in German energy policy. The government, which the year before tore up a previous red-green decision to decommission nuclear power, changed. Eight reactors were shut down immediately and eventually it was decided that the remaining nine reactors would be…