A Tour to Europe

FinlandLocation

In northern Europe (Scandinavia)between Sweden and Russia

Official language: Finnish & SwedishCurrency: EuroPolity: Parliamentary DemocracyCapital: HelsinkiPopulation: ≈ 5,4 million people (concentrated in the southern part of Finland)

Finland

Average winter temperatures:

-15° to -4° (in Lapland) -7° to -4° (in the south)

Average summer temperatures: 15° to 17°

Climate cold, with long-lasting winters and snowfall

Finland

Naturea country with a great biodiversity, most famous for its forests

Finland’s national animal: the brown bear

Finlandwas the first nation to give the right to vote to all adult citizens, including

women

Famous PeopleMusicFinland is well-known for its metal and rock bands, like:

Apocalyptica and StratovariusLinus Torvalds: software engineer (the creator of Linux)

Mika Häkkinen: Formula 1 World Champion

Republic of Lithuania

Capital and largest city is Vilnius.

Lies in Northern Europe on the shores of the Baltic Sea.

Republic of LithuaniaPopulation of 3 million people

Official language Lithuanian

Currency Lithuanian litas

Religion77 % of Lithuanians belong to the Roman Catholic Church.

ClimateLithuania's climate, which ranges between maritime and continental, is relatively mild.

Snow occurs every year, it can snow from October to April. Temperatures can soar up to +30C in summer, and drop down to -32C in winter

Republic of Lithuania

HistoryAs World War I neared its end, Lithuania's Act of Independence was signed on 16 February 1918. Starting in 1940, Lithuania was occupied first by the Soviet Union and then by Nazi Germany. As World War II neared its end in 1944 and the Germans retreated, the Soviet Union reoccupied Lithuania. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first Soviet Republic to declare the restoration of independent State of Lithuania.

Lithuania has been among the fastest growing economies in the European Union.

Republic of LithuaniaSportsBasketball is the national sport of Lithuania. Lithuania was even ranked 3rd worldwide in FIBA Rankings (now 4th). Lithuania has produced a number of players: Arvydas Sabonis, Šarūnas Marčiulionis, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas, e.t.c.

CuisineLithuanian cuisine features the products suited to the cool and moist northern climate of Lithuania: barley, potatoes, rye, beets, greens, berries, and mushrooms.

Specialties: dumplings

the baroque tree cake known as Šakotis.

Republic of Lithuania

Lithuanian Traditional Music

Sutaras

Famous PeopleLaurence Harvey, the British movie star who helped usher in the 1960s with his indelible portrait of a ruthless social climber.

Al Jolson was known in the industry as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," for well over 40 years

Republic of PolandRepublic of Poland is a country in Central Europe, the 9th largest in Europe. In the northwest is the Baltic Sea.

Capital: Warsaw

Population: over 38.5 million people

Republic of PolandCurrency: Złoty

Official language: Polish

Religion: 87% belonging to the Roman Catholic Church

HistoryMany historians trace the establishment of a Polish state to 966. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025.In September 1939, World War II started with the invasions of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in this war. Poland became a client state of the Soviet Union in 1944 and was accordingly renamed the People's Republic of Poland in 1952. During the Revolutions of 1989, Poland's communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy and renaming itself the "Third Polish Republic".

Republic of PolandDespite the vast destruction the country experienced during World War II, Poland managed to preserve much of its cultural wealth. There are currently 14 heritage sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in Poland and 54 Historical Monuments. Since the end of the communist period, Poland has achieved a "very high" ranking in terms of human development.

Republic of PolandWaters

The longest rivers are the Vistula 1,047 kilometers long,and the Oder which forms part of Poland's western border, 854 kilometers long.Poland's rivers have been used since early times for navigation.

Biodiversity

Forests cover about 30% of Poland's land area.Broadleaf and mixed forest Eco regions as well as the Carpathian Montagne conifer forest.Many animals that have since died out in other parts of Europe still survive in Poland.

Republic of PolandPoland is the birthplace of many distinguished personalities , among which are: Fryderyk Chopin, Maria Skłodowska Curie

Cuisine

It is rich in meat,especiallypork, chicken and beef, winter vegetables and spices.Pasta is also featured in many Polish dishes. Most notable are pierogi.

Kingdom of SpainLocation: in southwestern EuropeNorth and Northeast: France & Andorra (Pyrenees Mountains)West and Northwest: Portugal & Atlantic OceanSouth and East: Mediterranean Sea

Population: ≈ 45,5 million people

Capital: Madrid

Large Cities: Barcelona, Valencia, Seville

Official Language: Spanish (co-official: Basque, Catalan and Galician)

Currency: EuroPolity: constitutional monarchy

Kingdom of SpainHistory

Spain was Europe's leading power throughout the 16th and 17th century.It was a great empire that included parts of America, islands in the Asia-Pacific area, cities in Northern Africa, as well as parts of what are now Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

Kingdom of Spain

Modern History The Spanish Civil War (1936 – 1939) The Nationalists led by General Franco (supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy) fought the Republicans. In 1939 Franco became dictator.

After the death of Franco, 1975, democracy was restored in Spain.

Kingdom of Spain Art

Spain has a long tradition in painting and great painters as:Velázquez, El Greco,Goya, Picasso, Miró and Dalí

LiteratureThe classiest work of Spanish literature is the Don Quixote of Cervantes.

The Spanish literature (Federico Garcia Lorca) has a rich tradition and strong interaction with Latin America (Gabriel García Márquez).

Kingdom of Spain

CuisineA unique cuisine, with vegetable and fish-based dishes or rice-based dishes like paella

MusicSpanish music is very diverse, reflecting the large cultural differences between regions.The flamenco style originates in the south of the country (Andalusia).

Republic of RomaniaCapital: Bucharest

Currency: Romanian leu

Location: In Southeastern Europe

East: The Black SeaArea: 238.391 square kilometers

Official Language: Romanian

Government: Unitary semipresidential republic

Population: about 20 million people

Religion: 87% Orthodox Christian

Republic of Romania

ClimateContinental. Average annual temperature in the south 11oC, in the north 8oC. Cold winters.

Morphology Romania is divided into three regions: the mountainous Transylvania , the plains of the Lower Danube and Moldova and the intermediate region of the Carpathians.

Hydrography: Dominated by the River Danube

Republic of Romania

Natural Environment

The Danube Delta is part of the Unesco World Heritage and home for many animal and plant species.

The Carpathian Mountains are home to one of the largest undisturbed forests in Europe.

Animal species include brown bear, wolf, lynx, red deer, red fox, roe deer and wild boar.

Republic of Romania

Cuisine

The category ciorbă includes a wide range of soups with a characteristic sour taste. These may be meat and vegetable soups, tripe and calf foot soups, or fish soups.

Popular main courses include mititei, frigărui and the șnițel. One of the most common dishes is mămăliga and is served on its own or as a side dish. Pork and chicken are the preferred meats, but beef, lamb and fish are also popular.

Republic of Romania

Tourism Medieval atmosphere and castles in Transylvanian cities

Romania's Black Sea seaside.

Major natural attractions, such as the Danube Delta, the Iron Gates

(Danube Gorge)

Republic of Turkey

Location: at the crossroads of Europe and AsiaSouth: Mediterranean SeaWest: Aegean SeaNorth: Black Sea

Capital: Ankara

Population: ~ 75 million people

Large cities: Instabul and Izmir

Republic of Turkey

Official Language: Turkish

Currency: Turkish Lira

Polity: Parliamentary Democracy

Architecturegreat monuments that combine elements of a lot of traditions

f.e. the Süleymaniye Mosque, the Blue Mosque and the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul.

Republic of Turkey

After the Ottoman Empire collapsed, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (military officer and First President of Turkey) established the modern Republic of Turkey in 1923.

History

Republic of Turkey

MusicIt includes elements from Arabic, Byzantine, Ottoman, Persian and also Western popular music.

2003 Turkey won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Everyway That I Can”, which wrote and sang Sertab Erener.

Turkish traditional cuisine is based on Ottoman cuisine and includes elements of Central Asia, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Balkan cuisines.Typical dishes: dolma döner kebab

and baklava

Cuisine