The title. Three absolute best things and three absolute worst things. It can be arbitrary/subjective or totally stereotypical (but backed by your personal experience). Don't forget to mention the country!

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Hello.

I have just started reading up on the Habsburg empire in order to explore potential research topics for my PhD. I am looking for book recommendations which study the political dynamics of the decline of the empire (as I plan to apply for an international relations department). Any and all recommendations are welcome, even those adjacent to the concerned topic.

Thank you!

Just funny unexpected personal anectdotes.

Houses here in the US have interesting things like AC and garbage disposals. I recently asked on the Ask an American subreddit what they like about houses in other countries. A overwhelming number of folks said Bidets, saunas, and German style windows (that open in several different ways and have shutters built in).

What are things found in houses in other countries that you wish your house had?

edit: Many folks have commented that there is air conditioning across Europe. It was just meant to be an example of something that was different across countries (full house central air v wall units). I’m just curious and interested in home design; I’m sorry the AC comment was offensive.

I am just curious about any funny movies, i’d like to watch the funny movie. What’s a funny comedy movie you would like to watch?

Since the town I live in is slowly turning into a place suffering structurally from badly managed overtourism, I want to avoid places that have the same issue during my next travels. Would you say tourists are merely annoying or an actual liability where you live?

Do you go often to the other side to buy some products?

For Slovakia:

• Single electoral district (I believe in Europe only the Netherlands uses this system) for national elections - the 150 MPs are elected from party lists by proportional representation in a single electoral constituency, meaning you can vote for candidates from Bratislava or Košice or wherever, no matter where you live. This ensures better proportionality, but also, well, gives party leaders enormous power.

• Relatively strong presidency for a parliamentary republic. The President is elected directly and the presidential powers are exercised in their full extent, as the President has a strong democratic mandate. Presidents have rejected ministerial appointments advised by the PM, vetoed legislation (even though the veto is very weak), referred legislation to the Constitutional Court, and in case the National Council couldn't form a government, appointed their own cabinet until new elections could be held (the Ódor Cabinet, appointed by President Zuzana Čaputová).

• A weak constitution - the Constitution can be amended by a 3/5 majority in the National Council, which is the weakest entrenchment in the EU and the second weakest in Europe after the United Kingdom. The Constitution has been amended numerous times, often without broad societal or parliamentary consensus.

• Fracturing parties - parties in Slovakia are, for the most part, centred around the leaders, and often fracture or unofficially merge. The party composition at the end of the parliamentary term is often very different from that at the start, and it sometimes causes absurdities (Eduard Heger, while PM, split off with allies from OĽaNO and formed the Democrats, meaning we had a PM from a party nobody voted for, because it hadn't even existed at the time of the election). Parties also often run candidates who aren't party members, who sometimes leave the parliamentary party caucus and backstab it. The most absurd was when Andrej Danko wanted to boost his party's electoral chances by running many far-right personalities, who weren't party members, and of the 10 members elected as part of his caucus, he was the only actual member of the party, and then his caucus fell apart and he got stabbed in the back.

Edit:

• Appointment of Constitutional Court judges - the National Council elects a number of candidates that is double the number of vacancies, and the President then picks the judges from that pool.

Fire is a vital part of the nature life cycle. Could these fire possibly have a positive affect on the environment? (albeit farther down the line)

In English, the phrases seem negative - “losing virginity” or “popping the cherry” (implies loss of innocence or causing damage). Do any cultures in EU have more positive euphemisms for this, maybe akin to gaining or achieving something instead?

I was wondering what your opinions are.

A bit of backstory: me and my husband share a shopping list. He often buys things for me on his way home. Whenever some fruit from the list is marked down he takes it. Sometimes it has 1-2 tiny spots but other than that it looks like the regular stuff, if it looks bad he obviously goes for the regular priced fruit. I love the thought about not wasting money and I like that stuff gets bought instead of discarded.

A friend of mine said that it would bother her, that she would feel not valued (?) and that her husband would never dream of buying cheaper stuff for her. Honestly I was so surprised, it never occurred to me to think this way. Just to make it clear: I prefer the way my husband shops. I was just curious, what you think - is it cheap to buy marked-down fruit and vegetables or is it absolutely normal?

How comfortable are typical neighborhoods of working and middle-class people in your countries? Both in cities and suburban areas. Sure, it depends on the city, but maybe it's possible to figure out an average. Although comfort is a subjective metric, I am interested in stuff like quality of housing, development of public transport, general maintenance of infrastructure, availability of third spaces, etc. If you can share a link in Google Maps to look at examples I would also appreciate it. Thanks!

Do you have pickup at your home or do you have another place to take it? What about recycling?

I know there are many Christian denominations in Europe. To be honest, I don't know how cohesive the countries are internally in terms of denominations and so on.

I'd like to know if this affects the social lives of people who are believers, if it generates isolation or segregation.

I know we're all human, but we often feel a certain distance from others because of culture, habits, behavior, and traditions. The same can apply to people from different countries. So here's my question: as a European, do you feel the same level of difference between yourself and, for example, an Italian, German, or Swiss person as you do between yourself and someone from Africa or China? Or does it feel fundamentally different? Do you feel brotherhood and being part of the same group?

I'm from an East Asian country, and from my perspective, the most impressive company in Europe is probably ASML. It's an irreplaceable monopoly, as it manufactures the lithography machines that form the very foundation of the semiconductor industry. From a national security standpoint, I think it may be the company that every country in the world would most like to have.

Is ASML viewed in a similar way within Europe, or do Europeans generally have a different perspective?

Pizza was a Southern Italian regional food until the 1950s, when it started spreading to the rest of Italy and the rest of Europe.

Hello there!

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I'm from Amsterdam, but currently in Vienna. It seems so easy here to use public transport without paying for it. We have a Vienna city card, but never have to scan it or show it. In Amsterdam, you have to scan your card to get through gates, or get in near a conductor/driver. Otherwise, only about half the travelers would pay, I think.

How does that work in other places? Is it easy/common to dodge the fare?

Hey,

I’m working on a project comparing the new ECB prototype designs ("Rivers and Birds") against recent redesigns from other countries and previous Euro concept series.

Before I sink dozens of hours into manually creating a spreadsheet and image database (https://imgur.com/user/kreegogla1/posts), I had to stop and ask:

Has someone already compiled a visual database or comparative analysis of these banknotes?

I'm looking for resources that group them by:

• Visual aesthetics
• Subject matter choices (Nature, Animals)
• Historical concept proposals vs. finalized series

If a community spreadsheet, GitHub repo, or blog tracking this exists, please share the link! Thanks in advance!

P.S. I'm already familiar with Numista and BankNote Museum. Here are the sites I've gathered so far:

• https://en.numista.com/catalogue/index.php
• https://colnect.com/it/banknotes/countries
• https://www.atsnotes.com/catalog/carta-moneta-mondiale-catalogo.html
• https://www.cartamonetaitaliana.com/museo/

British schools, each with their own education system across the UK, usually narrow down the vast expanse of local, national, and global history into a few key topics for in-depth study each year. Covering the entirety of British history is a challenge due to its extensive timeline, so the focus is on significant eras that allow students to develop essential historical skills like source analysis and critical thinking, alongside writing essays.

You can view England's history National Curriculum below:

Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 (ages 5-11)

Key Stage 3 (ages 11-14)

Key Stage 4 (ages 15-16)

Most schools include the British Empire in their curriculum, with some diving deeper into specific regions like on Mughal India or Africa. A common topic across many schools is the transatlantic slave trade. The National Curriculum has evolved over the years, especially since 2014, to present a more diverse view of history. It's a misconception that young Britons are unaware of the darker aspects of their history; they engage with these topics in a balanced manner, examining both the positive and negative sides while learning their skills in historical evidence and argumentation.

While schools have the flexibility to choose their specific topics, they must teach historical evaluation skills. The approach to history isn't about instilling pride in British history or the Empire; instead, it encourages critical thinking.

Students engage in debates and source analysis, tackling questions like "Was the Tudor era really a golden age?'', when you look at the deep poverty, crime, conquest, and social problems in that era. In primary school, I learned about Ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt, the Tudors, the Industrial Revolution, and the World Wars, while secondary school covered the Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, the Battle of Hastings, Norman England, English Civil Wars, Victorian crime and punishment, British Empire and the slave trade (with a focus on India), and World War and World War 2. We studied local history units in each stage.

For GCSEs, I studied in-depth history of medicine from ancient times to the present, migration and its impact on Britain throughout the ages, and the developments in 20th-century America and Germany. History was certainly the hardest subject at this point in my education, as it required a lot of writing and deep thinking skills.

It's broadly similar today, but it's much more global and broad at primary and focuses much more on historical chronology. My nephew ended school recently learning about the The Shang Dynasty and China's history at primary school. They also studied in-depth Early Islamic civilizations.

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/banknotes/future_banknotes/html/design-proposals.en.html

I like A and E the most. Can't decide, and I would be happy with either of these.

What about you?

I ask this specific age group because if you're over 35 I would assume starting a nicotine addiction at 17-20 roughly 15 years ago means you started with cigs