The Icelandic baby boom is all down to economics: "Many of us have sought solace in love and sex". Why does everyone want to be Irish? From Angela's Ashes to "Who Do You Think You Are?", the Emerald Isle is still a reliable source of self-pity (and a look at Ireland and its various Dark Ages). An article on the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, the border-fence of Europe. The Barbarous Black Skeleton: The Eiffel Tower, now the iconic symbol of Paris, was despised at first for being too American (and more and more). Where's the Belgian pride? On National Day, Belgians barely lift a flag. Here's the truth about Amsterdam's coffeeshop culture — because you can see museums and canals anywhere. How is it that a small German town has ties to almost all of Europe's royal families? The precedents for disgraced imperial superpowers are many, so how have the once-violent Danes become a docile, perfectly socialized society? An article on Scandinavia’s loser towns: Will the last one out please switch off the light? Entering the Yugosphere: Almost 20 years after political bonds were severed by war, day-to-day links between companies, professions and individuals are quietly being restored. From Slate, a dispatch from Albania, the Muslim world's most pro-American state. From Forbes, an article on Europe's most idyllic places to live.
