Travel: Where to go in Europe (Some Suggestions and Reviews from a Conservative Race Realist Perspective)
By Independent Thinker, Raceology.
Well hello! This type of posting is long overdue, I've neglected to post travel related content now for some time, mostly due to a lack of time that I have for this. This will be a start of having a travel section, to be added to, edited and expanded (this is just bare-bone beginning).
Where you'd like to go to for a vacation, a "work away", work-exchange-volunteer, a working holiday visa, or a student exchange, etc., really will depend on you, the reader. Your own interests, and any possible connections, or curiosity you may have developed for a country for any reason whatsoever. However, if you really haven't been around Europe, or there at all you may want to get some ideas before you are thinking of going. Most of the "travel" blogs, or websites out there just put together fluff, that makes all of these disappointing places seem like some kinds of wonderlands, and again they completely ignore what most conservative and race realists think about, namely safety, and race, and culture.
So here, we have a very quick look through some of the countries Independent Thinker has been to with some comparisons on what I consider to be important dimensions. Also, these are taken from the backpacking, budget traveller perspective. If you've got thousands to spend on travel abroad and adventure it might not be the best advice for you, although in all honesty what I write will be fairly applicable for the budget traveller, as well as to those who are more well-off.
Starting in no particular place we'll go to the UK. Specifically, to London, although obviously that won't be the best reflection of Britain. I mention London as that seems to be the most visited major city there.
LONDON
The good:
English as the main language (but not completely). Since you are in England English is the native language and so you don't have to struggle to communicate in another language as you would usually have to do elsewhere in Europe. Then again with the amount of non-British foreigners in London, sometimes when I am standing there at a McDonald's I ask myself "Am I the only one here who actually speaks English?".
The quality of infrastructure is what you are used to if you come from nice places in Canada, or the USA. Things are well-maintained and there are lots of great architectural works to marvel at there. Lots of very posh areas filled with Victorian, etc., type of architecture that you wouldn't be able to find in Canada or the USA.
There are a ton of museums and galleries for you to enjoy if you're into that type of thing. Many of them are free. The National Gallery is a large attractions, as is the British museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, The Museum of Natural History, etc.
As with any big city there are tons of activities to do there if you've got the cash, tons of pubs and clubs as well. You can also visit Hyde park close to downtown and Buckingham palace nearby.
The bad:
It is a very expensive city. Food costs in restaurants are exorbitant, unless you go to the fast food places (AND use coupons...lol). Also, as far as race issues are concerned there are many South Asians, and sub-Saharan African people throughout the city. North Africans too seem to be abundant there. There are tons of Eastern Europeans there including and especially Polish, but Russian as well. The city is really full of foreigners. I wouldn't necessarily say that it is dangerous in terms of violence though. Generally speaking I virtually always felt safe when I was there, or in many other parts of the UK at night, or whenever (this is in CONTRAST to other European countries).
In certain years and even up until now there appear to be lots of homeless people sleeping on the streets. In the summer it seemed like on almost every street corners there were rows of them there.
Rest of the UK: Can't speak about it at length I haven't been everywhere, been around Devon, which has lots of beautiful nature really. Dartmoor, and Exmoor national parks and the area around there in the north with the beaches and Ilfracombe is quite lovely. But you really are better served in these places with a car. The Tamar Valley is quite beautiful as well, as is Cornwall.
The whole Bristol and Cotswalds area is quaint in many ways but nothing to really get too excited about. Bath is a popular town but I haven't been, and I haven't been to Penzance on the westernmost point or Brighton or Southampton. I'll write about Manchester, and Liverpool later. As far as Scotland and Ireland are concerned. I have not been there. I'm not a huge fan of Ireland though (put it that way). But Scotland is considered to be one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful country in the world. It gets relatively little non-White immigration, and the costs are quite a bit cheaper than in London generally speaking (though apparently not gas).
GERMANY
I've only really been to North-Rhine Westphalia, and Frankfurt really so I can only comment on those places. One should realize that much of it got destroyed during the Second World War and so a to of the architecture is fairly recent and parts of Dusseldorf, for example, reminded me of Toronto in Canada, just based on the architecture.
The good:
Cheap beer and alcohol relatively speaking. If I recall correctly a 500 ml can of Heineken cost about 1.5 euro. Cheese wasn't too expensive, and neither were potatoes. You could get an entire bag of small potatoes at one of the discount retailers for only 1 euro! Also, Sparkling water (which I drink quite readily) only cost about 20 or so euro cents plus the plastic bottle deposit! There infrastructure is quite good at least as far as the Deutsche Bahn. The rail system offers relatively cheap transport and is VERY well connected throughout pretty much all of Germany, and to Europe as a whole. The streets, etc., are fairly well maintained, though as the train rode by between the towns I did see a lot of abandoned and dilapidated buildings.
As far as attractions the area that I visited wasn't exactly the most touristy area so I can't really paint a fair picture of Germany based on it. the Koln cathedral was very nice, the area around it though close to the Rhine had many drug dealers: White, Black, and North African, Middle Eastern. Avoid that area at night if you are in Koln (Cologne). There are lots of little things to see and do here and there, but most of what I saw wasn't too spectacular. Riding through the southern parts on the train however was very beautiful. There's probably a lot more to see and do in Berlin, and Munich, Oktoberfest comes to mind, unfortunately I have not been there and cannot comment.
The bad:
The race thing isn't necessarily a problem everywhere, but there are quite a lot of Turks, and sub-Saharan Africans in the region. When I walked through downtown Frankfurt during the summer, I wondered if I was somewhere in the Middle East, or North Africa. Where are all of the ethnic Germans I pondered. Aside from that honestly if traveling and vacation is going to be a big deal for you and you want to be wowed, I think that coming to the NRW area you might be disappointed. It is not a bad place to be in overall but there really wasn't enough things to enjoy and experience there that would justify the potentially high cost of going.
POLAND
As for Poland, I've mostly been around Warsaw (Warszawa), Krakow, Gdansk, and Eastern Poland, quite a range obviously.
The good:
Lots of good stuff actually. Firstly, the prices are rather cheap. They aren't the cheapest that I've been to (that would probably be Ukraine, and Thailand) but they are quite affordable. You can get a decent hostel, if you're that type of traveller, for a fairly low price, or for around 15 USD you could get quite a nice dorm in the old town of Warsaw as an example, but also for much less than that if you're willing to sacrifice a bit of quality. Food is fairly cheap as well, you can eat at fairly nice restaurants for about the price you would usually pay for fast food in the USA, and Canada. To save money I'd recommend trying some of the milk bars, or cafeterias there, as well as just buying groceries and meals at the store, and some fast food on the street. Honestly though the Kebabs in Poland are really not the best, so don't expect Germany quality kebabs there, and maybe avoid it altogether. I love Slavic cuisine, and Poland has lots of great dishes. Bigos is a great food with steamed cabbage and beef. Barszch Bialy is also something I really enjoyed, it is a fermented soup, Japanese tourists really enjoy it since it reminds them of Miso in a way. Beer is very cheap, you can get a good beer for about 3 zloty (about 8 American cents, or 1 dollar Canadian).
Attractions:
WWII stuff!!! There are tons of great WWII museums there. If you're a supporter of the Axis well, you probably wouldn't enjoy it. But for the rest of us, a lot of great information, lots on display, and lots of historical sites. The war museum in Warsaw, and the one in Gdansk stand out. Also, the museum of communism in Gdansk was quite interesting. The Jewish museum in Warsaw was quite enlightening about Jewish history in Central Europe. Auschwitz obviously was something that really made me think when I was there.
The Weilizka salt mine is a must! Yes, it is worth the 90 PLN or so of the admission. It is huge, beautiful and the tour was really great. One of the highlights in my opinion. The old town in Gdansk was quite lovely, but has way too many tourists in the summer. The walk from old town Gdansk to Westerrplate, the memorial as well as the open air museum etc., was quite lovely, one of the most serene and nicest in my travels actually. It took about 2 hours but was worth it.
Eastern Poland? LMAO, I had a great time there as well, I will upload pictures and information on it later, but it was one of the Whitest places I've ever been to. It seemed like 95% of people were Polish and the rest Ukrainian, with a few other foreigners from various parts of Europe here, and there.
The bad:
The infrastructure is not as good as what you would generally find in Western Europe. The customer service is generally terrible, especially when it comes to getting refunds etc. Some of the people are rather rude when walking on the sidewalk, playing sidewalk chicken and the like. As in the rest of Europe: PAY TOILETS! The horror...the horror! Since Warsaw was so heavily damaged many of its parts are filled with unattractive monotonous communist architecture. Also, in terms of food some of the stuff you get at restaurants, especially foreign foods can be pretty dismal. A lot of the Polish dishes had too much meat for my liking.
But also some of the cities due to a combination of architecture, general atmosphere, and some of the less friendlier people, have a somewhat depressing tone to them that starts sinking in as you spend more time there.
AUSTRIA
Austria was the country that really did surprise me, in a good way, and actually impressed me as well. I honestly expected it to be as "bad" as Germany, but it was quite unlike it actually.
The good:
I speak of only Vienna here, as that is the extent of my travels through Austria at this point. The infrastructure: it's good! The sidewalks are well taken care of and even, unlike in most of Eastern Europe. The streets are wide unlike in the UK, or the Netherlands, the buildings are clean and well taken care of, and generally speaking the place is beautiful. There are so many wondrous old buildings and museums in Vienna, and so much great architecture in general that I really felt like I was walking through one of the best cities in the world. As far as rankings are concerned in one of them Vienna won best city in the world two years in a row, beating out Melbourne in Australia.
You really need to visit the the area around Schonbrunn Palace, the views are spectacular, the mazes, and gardens, that marvelous greenhouse, etc. Oh yeah and all of the public water there in the taps comes from the Alps! Natural spring water. Also, it isn't totally overrun by immigrants like many other cities in Western Europe, nothing like what it is in Germany. Generally speaking it felt like a very relaxed and safe atmosphere. Definitely one of the best cities in Europe, and the world.
The bad:
There really isn't all that much bad here, aside from the prices which aren't the lowest for the budget traveller. It's great but I suspect it would get a bit boring after about a week for some reason. In any case it is worth a visit!
BALTIC STATES (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia)
The Baltic states, may make an interesting detour for some, unfortunately my time there wasn't the best, so I'm somewhat biased against them.
The good:
In the Baltic states there is quite a lot of well-preserved old architecture, and it does have a very nice look to it in many ways. Somehow even those old towns however gave off part of the bad atmosphere that I generally got when I was in those countries though. The food is cheaper at least relative to the wealthier Western European countries.
The bad:
I'd have to say honestly that I think the bad far outweighs the good in these countries. The bad part, and I'm being honest here, has a lot to do with the sizable Russian minorities in these countries. Based on my experience there was a lot of rudeness and aggressiveness with the Russians around, and I'll elaborate on what I mean. This kind of rudeness and aggressiveness has to just do with regular day-to-day interactions with the people, and generally speaking the local Baltic majorities feel the same way, and keep their distance from the Russian minorities. Now, mind you obviously it isn't all people that behave in such a fashion, but overall that kind of aggressiveness and rudeness is MUCH more typical of Russians than it is Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians. A lot of the locals that I met hate the Russian minorities, and LMAO, a lot of people in various Eastern European states dislike Russians in general. It does seem to be kind of boring in those countries, and based on what I've seen of Estonia, it appears that a lot of tourists from all over use it as a kind of party/brothel. It all seems to have that cold, unfriendly, and very depressing atmosphere. Although the White demographics are good, the Russian minorities spoil it there to be honest. I actually felt safer, and more at ease in Belarus than I did in Estonia...LMAO. Really it isn't worth your time, I don't think you'll be wowed, I wasn't at least.
NETHERLANDS
Although the Netherlands is a wealthy and developed nation, there are tons of things that I hate about it. The streets are extremely narrow, and frequently have both cars, scooters and people going through all of them, and it does not feel safe.
The good:
It is a well developed nation with excellent infrastructure, and quite a few interesting sights, and some very nice old architecture. It has very good cheap chocolate pudding, and Heineken if you like that. I've met people who love to hate Heineken though. The countryside is idyllic and reminds me of the classical paintings I've seen of the Netherlands.
The bad:
The streets as I've said. Lots of Arab and Berber people from North Africa, and many of them aren't too friendly if you catch my drift. Also, everything there, well almost, is REALLY expensive, so if you're a backpacker, it might not be the best choice. It's also not that interesting of a place to visit.
I hate the Red Light district with all of the drugs and prostitution.
FINLAND
Finland was probably my personal favorite European nation that I've been to. It's a long story, but objectively I do still think it has a LOT of strong points.
The good:
As opposed to having a lot of attractions outright like some places, for me the appeal of Finland comes from just living there, on a day-to-day basis and exploring more of the city, I lived there for quite a while, and although it had its very rough and unpleasant moments, I think it was one of the best experiences of my life. I really think Helsink is an incredible city with lots of beautiful scenery, and tons of places to just explore walking through, not just the downtown area.
The bad:
Not really all that much especially compared with some of the other countries that I've been to. It is expensive though, and as far as Helsinki isn't exactly full of attractions. I would definitely recommend it though for student exchange programs, long trips, and backpacking.
Coolest overall place with an enchanting atmosphere that is significantly different from other surrounding countries this would be: FINLAND (I am somewhat biased here!)
BEST OVERALL PLACE FOR MOST PEOPLE
Best overall place for people wanting a truly European city, that has everything they would expect from a place in Europe. City with great architecture, tons of cultural attractions and a very safe, and relaxed atmosphere: VIENNA, AUSTRIA. Considering it was ranked two years in a row for best city in the world, it should be a place worth checking out. Those people who take an interest in Germanic culture, and history would also probably want to give this place a visit.
BEST BUDGET BACKPACKING DESTINATION
Great cheap place to go to without hordes of tourists, yet tons of attractions, especially if you're into history: POLAND.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I definitely plan on expanding and enhancing all of this but if you'd like to see something let me know in the comments below!
Well hello! This type of posting is long overdue, I've neglected to post travel related content now for some time, mostly due to a lack of time that I have for this. This will be a start of having a travel section, to be added to, edited and expanded (this is just bare-bone beginning).
Where you'd like to go to for a vacation, a "work away", work-exchange-volunteer, a working holiday visa, or a student exchange, etc., really will depend on you, the reader. Your own interests, and any possible connections, or curiosity you may have developed for a country for any reason whatsoever. However, if you really haven't been around Europe, or there at all you may want to get some ideas before you are thinking of going. Most of the "travel" blogs, or websites out there just put together fluff, that makes all of these disappointing places seem like some kinds of wonderlands, and again they completely ignore what most conservative and race realists think about, namely safety, and race, and culture.
So here, we have a very quick look through some of the countries Independent Thinker has been to with some comparisons on what I consider to be important dimensions. Also, these are taken from the backpacking, budget traveller perspective. If you've got thousands to spend on travel abroad and adventure it might not be the best advice for you, although in all honesty what I write will be fairly applicable for the budget traveller, as well as to those who are more well-off.
Starting in no particular place we'll go to the UK. Specifically, to London, although obviously that won't be the best reflection of Britain. I mention London as that seems to be the most visited major city there.
LONDON
The good:
English as the main language (but not completely). Since you are in England English is the native language and so you don't have to struggle to communicate in another language as you would usually have to do elsewhere in Europe. Then again with the amount of non-British foreigners in London, sometimes when I am standing there at a McDonald's I ask myself "Am I the only one here who actually speaks English?".
The quality of infrastructure is what you are used to if you come from nice places in Canada, or the USA. Things are well-maintained and there are lots of great architectural works to marvel at there. Lots of very posh areas filled with Victorian, etc., type of architecture that you wouldn't be able to find in Canada or the USA.
There are a ton of museums and galleries for you to enjoy if you're into that type of thing. Many of them are free. The National Gallery is a large attractions, as is the British museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, The Museum of Natural History, etc.
As with any big city there are tons of activities to do there if you've got the cash, tons of pubs and clubs as well. You can also visit Hyde park close to downtown and Buckingham palace nearby.
The bad:
It is a very expensive city. Food costs in restaurants are exorbitant, unless you go to the fast food places (AND use coupons...lol). Also, as far as race issues are concerned there are many South Asians, and sub-Saharan African people throughout the city. North Africans too seem to be abundant there. There are tons of Eastern Europeans there including and especially Polish, but Russian as well. The city is really full of foreigners. I wouldn't necessarily say that it is dangerous in terms of violence though. Generally speaking I virtually always felt safe when I was there, or in many other parts of the UK at night, or whenever (this is in CONTRAST to other European countries).
In certain years and even up until now there appear to be lots of homeless people sleeping on the streets. In the summer it seemed like on almost every street corners there were rows of them there.
Rest of the UK: Can't speak about it at length I haven't been everywhere, been around Devon, which has lots of beautiful nature really. Dartmoor, and Exmoor national parks and the area around there in the north with the beaches and Ilfracombe is quite lovely. But you really are better served in these places with a car. The Tamar Valley is quite beautiful as well, as is Cornwall.
The whole Bristol and Cotswalds area is quaint in many ways but nothing to really get too excited about. Bath is a popular town but I haven't been, and I haven't been to Penzance on the westernmost point or Brighton or Southampton. I'll write about Manchester, and Liverpool later. As far as Scotland and Ireland are concerned. I have not been there. I'm not a huge fan of Ireland though (put it that way). But Scotland is considered to be one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful country in the world. It gets relatively little non-White immigration, and the costs are quite a bit cheaper than in London generally speaking (though apparently not gas).
GERMANY
I've only really been to North-Rhine Westphalia, and Frankfurt really so I can only comment on those places. One should realize that much of it got destroyed during the Second World War and so a to of the architecture is fairly recent and parts of Dusseldorf, for example, reminded me of Toronto in Canada, just based on the architecture.
The good:
Cheap beer and alcohol relatively speaking. If I recall correctly a 500 ml can of Heineken cost about 1.5 euro. Cheese wasn't too expensive, and neither were potatoes. You could get an entire bag of small potatoes at one of the discount retailers for only 1 euro! Also, Sparkling water (which I drink quite readily) only cost about 20 or so euro cents plus the plastic bottle deposit! There infrastructure is quite good at least as far as the Deutsche Bahn. The rail system offers relatively cheap transport and is VERY well connected throughout pretty much all of Germany, and to Europe as a whole. The streets, etc., are fairly well maintained, though as the train rode by between the towns I did see a lot of abandoned and dilapidated buildings.
As far as attractions the area that I visited wasn't exactly the most touristy area so I can't really paint a fair picture of Germany based on it. the Koln cathedral was very nice, the area around it though close to the Rhine had many drug dealers: White, Black, and North African, Middle Eastern. Avoid that area at night if you are in Koln (Cologne). There are lots of little things to see and do here and there, but most of what I saw wasn't too spectacular. Riding through the southern parts on the train however was very beautiful. There's probably a lot more to see and do in Berlin, and Munich, Oktoberfest comes to mind, unfortunately I have not been there and cannot comment.
The bad:
The race thing isn't necessarily a problem everywhere, but there are quite a lot of Turks, and sub-Saharan Africans in the region. When I walked through downtown Frankfurt during the summer, I wondered if I was somewhere in the Middle East, or North Africa. Where are all of the ethnic Germans I pondered. Aside from that honestly if traveling and vacation is going to be a big deal for you and you want to be wowed, I think that coming to the NRW area you might be disappointed. It is not a bad place to be in overall but there really wasn't enough things to enjoy and experience there that would justify the potentially high cost of going.
POLAND
As for Poland, I've mostly been around Warsaw (Warszawa), Krakow, Gdansk, and Eastern Poland, quite a range obviously.
The good:
Lots of good stuff actually. Firstly, the prices are rather cheap. They aren't the cheapest that I've been to (that would probably be Ukraine, and Thailand) but they are quite affordable. You can get a decent hostel, if you're that type of traveller, for a fairly low price, or for around 15 USD you could get quite a nice dorm in the old town of Warsaw as an example, but also for much less than that if you're willing to sacrifice a bit of quality. Food is fairly cheap as well, you can eat at fairly nice restaurants for about the price you would usually pay for fast food in the USA, and Canada. To save money I'd recommend trying some of the milk bars, or cafeterias there, as well as just buying groceries and meals at the store, and some fast food on the street. Honestly though the Kebabs in Poland are really not the best, so don't expect Germany quality kebabs there, and maybe avoid it altogether. I love Slavic cuisine, and Poland has lots of great dishes. Bigos is a great food with steamed cabbage and beef. Barszch Bialy is also something I really enjoyed, it is a fermented soup, Japanese tourists really enjoy it since it reminds them of Miso in a way. Beer is very cheap, you can get a good beer for about 3 zloty (about 8 American cents, or 1 dollar Canadian).
Attractions:
WWII stuff!!! There are tons of great WWII museums there. If you're a supporter of the Axis well, you probably wouldn't enjoy it. But for the rest of us, a lot of great information, lots on display, and lots of historical sites. The war museum in Warsaw, and the one in Gdansk stand out. Also, the museum of communism in Gdansk was quite interesting. The Jewish museum in Warsaw was quite enlightening about Jewish history in Central Europe. Auschwitz obviously was something that really made me think when I was there.
The Weilizka salt mine is a must! Yes, it is worth the 90 PLN or so of the admission. It is huge, beautiful and the tour was really great. One of the highlights in my opinion. The old town in Gdansk was quite lovely, but has way too many tourists in the summer. The walk from old town Gdansk to Westerrplate, the memorial as well as the open air museum etc., was quite lovely, one of the most serene and nicest in my travels actually. It took about 2 hours but was worth it.
Eastern Poland? LMAO, I had a great time there as well, I will upload pictures and information on it later, but it was one of the Whitest places I've ever been to. It seemed like 95% of people were Polish and the rest Ukrainian, with a few other foreigners from various parts of Europe here, and there.
The bad:
The infrastructure is not as good as what you would generally find in Western Europe. The customer service is generally terrible, especially when it comes to getting refunds etc. Some of the people are rather rude when walking on the sidewalk, playing sidewalk chicken and the like. As in the rest of Europe: PAY TOILETS! The horror...the horror! Since Warsaw was so heavily damaged many of its parts are filled with unattractive monotonous communist architecture. Also, in terms of food some of the stuff you get at restaurants, especially foreign foods can be pretty dismal. A lot of the Polish dishes had too much meat for my liking.
But also some of the cities due to a combination of architecture, general atmosphere, and some of the less friendlier people, have a somewhat depressing tone to them that starts sinking in as you spend more time there.
AUSTRIA
Austria was the country that really did surprise me, in a good way, and actually impressed me as well. I honestly expected it to be as "bad" as Germany, but it was quite unlike it actually.
The good:
I speak of only Vienna here, as that is the extent of my travels through Austria at this point. The infrastructure: it's good! The sidewalks are well taken care of and even, unlike in most of Eastern Europe. The streets are wide unlike in the UK, or the Netherlands, the buildings are clean and well taken care of, and generally speaking the place is beautiful. There are so many wondrous old buildings and museums in Vienna, and so much great architecture in general that I really felt like I was walking through one of the best cities in the world. As far as rankings are concerned in one of them Vienna won best city in the world two years in a row, beating out Melbourne in Australia.
You really need to visit the the area around Schonbrunn Palace, the views are spectacular, the mazes, and gardens, that marvelous greenhouse, etc. Oh yeah and all of the public water there in the taps comes from the Alps! Natural spring water. Also, it isn't totally overrun by immigrants like many other cities in Western Europe, nothing like what it is in Germany. Generally speaking it felt like a very relaxed and safe atmosphere. Definitely one of the best cities in Europe, and the world.
The bad:
There really isn't all that much bad here, aside from the prices which aren't the lowest for the budget traveller. It's great but I suspect it would get a bit boring after about a week for some reason. In any case it is worth a visit!
BALTIC STATES (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia)
The Baltic states, may make an interesting detour for some, unfortunately my time there wasn't the best, so I'm somewhat biased against them.
The good:
In the Baltic states there is quite a lot of well-preserved old architecture, and it does have a very nice look to it in many ways. Somehow even those old towns however gave off part of the bad atmosphere that I generally got when I was in those countries though. The food is cheaper at least relative to the wealthier Western European countries.
The bad:
I'd have to say honestly that I think the bad far outweighs the good in these countries. The bad part, and I'm being honest here, has a lot to do with the sizable Russian minorities in these countries. Based on my experience there was a lot of rudeness and aggressiveness with the Russians around, and I'll elaborate on what I mean. This kind of rudeness and aggressiveness has to just do with regular day-to-day interactions with the people, and generally speaking the local Baltic majorities feel the same way, and keep their distance from the Russian minorities. Now, mind you obviously it isn't all people that behave in such a fashion, but overall that kind of aggressiveness and rudeness is MUCH more typical of Russians than it is Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians. A lot of the locals that I met hate the Russian minorities, and LMAO, a lot of people in various Eastern European states dislike Russians in general. It does seem to be kind of boring in those countries, and based on what I've seen of Estonia, it appears that a lot of tourists from all over use it as a kind of party/brothel. It all seems to have that cold, unfriendly, and very depressing atmosphere. Although the White demographics are good, the Russian minorities spoil it there to be honest. I actually felt safer, and more at ease in Belarus than I did in Estonia...LMAO. Really it isn't worth your time, I don't think you'll be wowed, I wasn't at least.
NETHERLANDS
Although the Netherlands is a wealthy and developed nation, there are tons of things that I hate about it. The streets are extremely narrow, and frequently have both cars, scooters and people going through all of them, and it does not feel safe.
The good:
It is a well developed nation with excellent infrastructure, and quite a few interesting sights, and some very nice old architecture. It has very good cheap chocolate pudding, and Heineken if you like that. I've met people who love to hate Heineken though. The countryside is idyllic and reminds me of the classical paintings I've seen of the Netherlands.
The bad:
The streets as I've said. Lots of Arab and Berber people from North Africa, and many of them aren't too friendly if you catch my drift. Also, everything there, well almost, is REALLY expensive, so if you're a backpacker, it might not be the best choice. It's also not that interesting of a place to visit.
I hate the Red Light district with all of the drugs and prostitution.
FINLAND
Finland was probably my personal favorite European nation that I've been to. It's a long story, but objectively I do still think it has a LOT of strong points.
The good:
As opposed to having a lot of attractions outright like some places, for me the appeal of Finland comes from just living there, on a day-to-day basis and exploring more of the city, I lived there for quite a while, and although it had its very rough and unpleasant moments, I think it was one of the best experiences of my life. I really think Helsink is an incredible city with lots of beautiful scenery, and tons of places to just explore walking through, not just the downtown area.
The bad:
Not really all that much especially compared with some of the other countries that I've been to. It is expensive though, and as far as Helsinki isn't exactly full of attractions. I would definitely recommend it though for student exchange programs, long trips, and backpacking.
THE WINNER(S)
A WORLD AWAY
Coolest overall place with an enchanting atmosphere that is significantly different from other surrounding countries this would be: FINLAND (I am somewhat biased here!)
BEST OVERALL PLACE FOR MOST PEOPLE
Best overall place for people wanting a truly European city, that has everything they would expect from a place in Europe. City with great architecture, tons of cultural attractions and a very safe, and relaxed atmosphere: VIENNA, AUSTRIA. Considering it was ranked two years in a row for best city in the world, it should be a place worth checking out. Those people who take an interest in Germanic culture, and history would also probably want to give this place a visit.
BEST BUDGET BACKPACKING DESTINATION
Great cheap place to go to without hordes of tourists, yet tons of attractions, especially if you're into history: POLAND.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I definitely plan on expanding and enhancing all of this but if you'd like to see something let me know in the comments below!
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