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Destination Europe!
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Ambiance

Lay of the Land

Backpacker Scene

Ambiance

It's useless to make sweeping generalizations about Europe as the people and cultures differ dramatically from one region to the next. The unstructured and eternal celebratory lifestyle of the Spanish is a far cry from the deliberate temperament that can be found in the Germanic regions of Europe. The quaint villages nestled in the valleys among the magnificent Swiss Alps possess a wholesome and naturalistic feel while Europe's great metropolitan cities such as Paris and London move as fast and frantic as anywhere on earth.

While the many flavors of Europe make it difficult to concisely describe Europe as a single body, this is exactly why Europe represents such a great opportunity for travelers. Nowhere on earth can a traveler witness such a vast array of rich cultures in such a short period of time. Through centuries of war, plagues, political reshuffling, and technological advances the various European cultures have adapted and persevered in one form or another. The record of this sometimes tumultuous history can only truly be experienced by going there in person, seeing the sights, and tasting the culture first hand.

As many of the modern countries of the world are either direct derivatives or heavily influenced by the European empires of long ago, making the journey to Europe is a sort of pilgrimage for many travelers from around the world. The cultures throughout Europe are very rich and genuine… it's like tasting fresh squeezed orange juice as opposed to the stuff made from concentrate. The old way of doing many things often times still prevails in spite of what some would consider much more economical or efficient means. But this is the true beauty of Europe, they hold tradition in high regard… and so they maintain their rich culture. Keep this in mind when traveling around and don't get all bent out of shape when something doesn't seem to go as quickly or be as inexpensive as you would like. It's all a matter of trade-offs.

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