Europe - Châu Âu

Europe is a continent bordered by Atlantic in the west, Africa in the south, east is Asia and north is North Pole.

Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula or subcontinent, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia, or even Eurasia, depending on how you look at it. It is by convention considered a continent, in this case a purely cultural rather than geographical distinction. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, however to the east it is unclear. However, the Ural Mountains can be considered as a land with distinct geography and tectonics marking the boundary between Asia and Europe (see details in the European Geography article). When considered a continent, Europe is the second smallest in the world in terms of area, at about 10,600,000 km², and is only larger than Australia. In terms of population, it is the fourth largest continent after Asia, America and Africa. The population of Europe in 2003 was estimated at 799,466,000: about one-eighth of the world's population.

Region

City

• Amsterdam - channel, Rembrandt, hashish and red lantern, is the focal point of social liberal attitudes
• Barcelona - Gaudi's cosmopolitan home on the Mediterranean coast
• Berlin - the capital of Germany reunited since 1990, after being divided for 45 years during the Cold War, and has rapidly developed into an international cultural center since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Berlin wall
• Istanbul - a big city split between two continents and a fascinating city of East and West cultures
• London - vibrant and famous city as the multicultural center of England
• Moscow - Europe's largest city famous for its nighttime beauty and the iconic Kremlin.
• Paris - romantic capital (and France in general) on the banks of the Seine
• Prague - magical city with famous bridge over Vltava . river
• Rome - the city center of science, history, culture and technology in the past with two thousand seven hundred years of history

Other destinations

• Alhambra - part fortress, part palace, part garden, and part government city, a stunning medieval complex overlooking Granada
• The Alps - the mountain range is very popular for skiing/snowboarding and climbing, with Mont Blanc like its highest peak
• Cinque Terre - a beautiful national park, which connects five picturesque villages
• Białowieża . National Park - the last and greatest remains of the immense primeval forests that once spread across the plains of Europe
• Blue Lagoon - great geothermal spa with water temperatures around 40 °C all year round, even in freezing conditions
• Meteora - six Eastern Orthodox monasteries built on natural sandstone rock pillars
• Neuschwanstein Castle - the well-known fairy-tale castle in the Bavarian Alps in Germany
• Plitvice National Park - beautiful turquoise-colored lake surrounded by a large forest complex
• Stonehenge - Neolithic and Stone Age stone fortress located on the plains of Salisbury

overview

History

The first concrete signs of European writing culture can be found in Greece. Homer (8th century BC), Hesiod (753 BC) and Kallinos (728 BC) are three of the oldest poets in Europe. The Romans believed that their city was founded in 753 BC. Modern archaeologists and historians believe that the area in modern Rome was inhabited at least from 1000-800 BC.

From the year 300, Christianity in Europe began to spread. Around AD 500, the Roman Empire fell, with France at the time being ruled by Merovingia, Spain coming to occupy from Northern Muslim Berber Africa and other countries over the invasive nature of groups. different barbarians. In 714, the Carolingian empire was founded and lasted until 911 for the most part of Western Europe. This period after this date is often referred to as the High Middle Ages and lasted until about 1300 saw a European-wide urbanization shift, which began in Western Europe, and led to the University. Then came the Late Middle Ages, which ended around 1500, giving birth to a period of European history commonly known as the Renaissance. The people of this period actively explored the classical Graeco-Roman culture and it was followed by a reformation of Christianity, with the rise of new sects in Europe, especially the Protestantism.

Between the period 1492-1972, many European countries (such as Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Russia, France, and the Netherlands) ruled or ruled most of the known world, with the exception of Eastern Europe. Asia (China, Japan and Tibet) and areas of Antarctica. This was called colonialism and was stopped after World War II in favor of a more humane, liberal and cost-effective method called globalization.

Europe, before the end of World War II, was a region ravaged by large-scale "total war". National leaders realized after World War II that socio-economic and political integration was necessary to ensure that such tragedies never happened again. It started with humble beginnings, with the founding of Europe's first European and Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951. The founders of the countries were Belgium, West Germany, Luxembourg, France, Italy. and the Netherlands. Impressed with the results of the unions, the six countries announced and in 1956 signed the Treaty of Rome, with the ultimate goal of creating a single market - the European Economic Community (EEC). In 1967, unions were further formalized with the creation of a single European Commission, as well as the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.

From 1945-1990 Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain dividing Eastern Europe with the exceptions of Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus from Western Europe. The Soviet Union controlled most of Eastern Europe along with East Germany for 45 years, in 1989 protests broke out across Eastern Europe and communist regimes were brought down by most of the nonviolent revolution except Romania, which violently force to overthrow the dictator and execute him and his wife. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed and the cold war ended.

After 1967, the EEC continued to grow rapidly, with Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joining in 1973, Greece in 1981, Spain and Portugal in 1986 and Austria, Finland and Sweden in 1995. So far, Norway and Switzerland have been anti-members for historical and economic reasons. The European Union persisted with economic integration and introduced the euro (€) in a number of countries on 1 January 2002. Currently, 17 countries use the euro as their official currency. In addition, San Marino, Vatican and Monaco, which are not EU members, have been granted official licenses to use the euro. Andorra, Montenegro and Kosovo use the euro without a formal agreement.

In 2004, 10 more countries joined the EU. These are Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. In 2007, Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU, and as of 2013, Croatia, Iceland, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey are official candidates.

Geography

Geographically, Europe lies within a larger continent than Eurasia. The boundary of continental Europe with Asia starts from the Ural Mountains in Russia to the east, to the southeast is not uniform, can be considered as the Ural River or the Emba River. From there this boundary extends to the Caspian Sea, then to the Kuma and Manych rivers or the Caucasus Mountains, and then to the Black Sea; The Bosporus, the Sea of ​​Marmara, and the Dardanelles end the boundary with Asia. The Mediterranean Sea to the south separates Europe from Africa. The western boundary is the Atlantic Ocean, yet Iceland, which is far from Europe's closest points to Africa and Asia, is also within Europe. At present, the determination of the geographical center of Europe is still debated.

Topographically, Europe is a group of interconnected peninsulas. The two largest peninsulas are "continental" Europe and the Scandinavian peninsula to the north, separated by the Baltic Sea. Three smaller peninsulas (Iberia, Italy and the Balkans) extend from the southern part of the continent to the Mediterranean Sea, which separates Europe from Africa. To the east, continental Europe stretched like a funnel all the way to the border with Asia, the Urals.

The topography within Europe varies greatly even within a relatively small range. The southern regions are mostly mountainous, while to the north the terrain lowers from the Alps, Pyrene and Karpati, through the hills, to the broad, low plains to the north, and quite east wide. This vast lowland is known as the Great European Plain, and its center is in the North German Plain. An arc-shaped highland lying on the northwestern sea border, starting with the British Isles to the west and along the Norwegian mountain fjord cutoff.

Climate

The climate of Europe is temperate. The climate is milder than in other regions of the same latitude (eg the northeastern United States) due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. However, there are profound differences in the climates of different regions. Europe's climate ranges from tropical near the Mediterranean Sea in the south, to subarctic near the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean in the north latitude. Extreme cold temperatures are found only in northern Scandinavia and parts of Russia during winter.

Average annual precipitation diverges widely in Europe. Most of the precipitation takes place in the Alps, and in a strip along the Adriatic Sea from Slovenia to the west coast of Greece. Other areas with lots of rain include the northwest of Spain, England and western Norway. Bergen has the highest rainfall in Europe with 235 rainy days a year. Most of the rain occurs in the summer, as westerly winds from the Atlantic hit the British Isles, the Benelux, western Germany, northern France and southwestern Scandinavia.

Best time to visit Europe during summer. In August, the British Isles, Benelux, Germany and Northern France have average highs around 23-24 °C, but these temperatures cannot be taken for granted. That's why during the summer many flights go from northern to southern Europe as northerners flee from the rain and can be below average temperatures. The Mediterranean has the highest amount of sun hours in Europe, and the highest temperatures. The average temperature in August is 28 °C in Barcelona, ​​30 °C in Rome, 33 °C in Athens and 39 °C in Alanya along the Turkish Riviera. A general rule of thumb is that the further south and east you go, the warmer it gets.

Winters are relatively cold in Europe, even in Mediterranean countries. Areas with only daily highs of around 15 °C during the month are Andalusia in Spain, several Greek Islands and the Turkish Riviera. Western Europe averages around 4-8 °C in January, but temperatures drop below freezing throughout the winter. The area east of Berlin experiences particularly cold temperatures with average highs below freezing. Russia is a special case as Moscow and Saint Petersburg have average highs of -5 °C and lows of -10 °C in January. Some activities are best done in winter, such as swimming Winter sports in the Alps. The highest peaks of the Alps have permanent snow.

Travel

Regulations of entry to Europe depend on where you are going. Citizens of EU countries and (EFTA) the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) can travel freely throughout the continent (except Russia, Belarus and the Caucasus region). , so the latter only applies to non-EU/EFTA nationals.

If you are entering a Schengen country and you plan to visit only other Schengen countries, you only need a Schengen visa. Only nationals of the following non-EU/EFTA countries do not require a visa to enter the Schengen area: Albania*, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina*, Brazil , Brunei, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Macedonia*, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro*, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, San Marino , Serbia * / **, Seychelles, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan *** (China), USA, Uruguay, Vatican City, Venezuela, additional British Nationals (overseas) ), Hong Kong or Macao.

Visa-exempt non-EU/EFTA nationals may not stay more than 90 days in a 180-day period in the Schengen area as a whole and, in general, may not work during the break ( although some Schengen countries do not allow certain countries to work - see below). Counting starts once you enter any country in the Schengen area and does not reset by leaving a Schengen country to enter another. However, New Zealand citizens can stay longer than 90 days if they only visit special Schengen countries.

Vehicle

The metro system is distributed all over Europe

Language

English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Russian, German...

Language group: Germanic, Latin, Slavic,...

To watch

Do

Buy

Eat

To drink

Sleep

Safe place to stay

Health care

Best in Germany

Contact

This tutorial is just an outline, so it needs more information. Have the courage to modify and develop it !

Wikipedia has articles about Europe