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I recently visited that part of Europe and to me it looks nothing like the eastern part of Europe (Bulgaria, romania, serbia, ukraine) which feel very different.
Czech republic, hungary, croatia felt more similar in a way to western europe
Croatia reminds me a lot of northern Italy, Czech republic and Hungary are also sort of influenced by Germany, when I was in Hungary you can see influence from the austro hungarian empire
for some reason the Russian influence in their societies are seen as negative, they really hate that part of their history because rather than wanting to be part of russian sphere of influence, they were FORCED via occupation.
if you look before the communist regime in those places, you find much more links to Germany and austria than to the Russians.
Yes, they're central europe - I've been to Budapest out of these and liked it. I am not sure most people in bulgaria, ukraine and romania like the "russian influence" either, so it's the same when it comes to russian influence in all of the countries mentioned. The only difference is hungarians have their own language which doesn't mean that bulgaria or serbia speak slavic language because of russia - not at all...mostly because their languages are older than russian.
I recently visited that part of Europe and to me it looks nothing like the eastern part of Europe (Bulgaria, romania, serbia, ukraine) which feel very different.
Czech republic, hungary, croatia felt more similar in a way to western europe
Croatia reminds me a lot of northern Italy, Czech republic and Hungary are also sort of influenced by Germany, when I was in Hungary you can see influence from the austro hungarian empire
for some reason the Russian influence in their societies are seen as negative, they really hate that part of their history because rather than wanting to be part of russian sphere of influence, they were FORCED via occupation.
if you look before the communist regime in those places, you find much more links to Germany and austria than to the Russians.
Historically, over a period of some 1,000 years, they are part of the western European fold. Don't take my word for it, just ask Vaclav, of blessed memory.
The Soviet dictatorship period was relatively brief and will become just as brief a footnote. However, it is within living memory, so it still seems like a big deal. Give it time.
In the meantime, different types of businesses and various other organizations, including governments and Wiki, classify and organize things according to their own purposes.
I once read a book on European history, considered a classic maybe fifty years ago, in which Italy is classified as central Europe, probably because of its association, or regions of it, with the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Go figure.
Actually it's not that far-fetched: my favorite central European itinerary is Trieste, Prague, Vienna (Prague is west of Vienna), Bratislava, Budapest. They all share commonalities. One could include a few others.
The other definition is to leave Germany, Switzerland, and Austria in Western Europe with UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Benelux, Italy, and Greece. Northern Europe is Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. Central and Eastern Europe are taken from the remains of the Warsaw Pact and the non-aligned nations in Europe.
The other definition is to leave Germany, Switzerland, and Austria in Western Europe with UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Benelux, Italy, and Greece. Northern Europe is Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. Central and Eastern Europe are taken from the remains of the Warsaw Pact and the non-aligned nations in Europe.
The answer is very simple: Hungary, Czech Republic, Croatia are Catholic & Protestant countries while the other mentioned are Orthodox.
In Romania, on the line of Carpathians, there is the border between Catholic-Protestant on one side, and Orthodox Europe on other side, though in Transylvania the Catholic-Protestant and Orthodox Europes overlap.
We see very clear in our country the difference in mentality, lifestyle, urban landscape etc. Each of the two Europes has advantages and disadvantages, about I and others spoke on other threads. The Orthodox society is more corrupt, more disorganized but on other hand more natural, pleasantful and healthy. Is not about the present belief of people as, e.g., in Czech Republic most are Atheists, but about a social evolution that was marked by the respective religions in past and the type of individuals it created, that perpetuated a certain way of seeing things.
And with that if we can understand their histories it is very evident that as time moves on from that period the countries involved are of two minds , one in remembrance and another of trying to move on in spite of the damage it caused to the political, economic and social structure of their societies.
I think for the most part the countries have done well in the past few decades to get past that terrible history but yet we do get a surprise where the foe now sees its previous oppressor as a country to be emulated particularly in the political sphere. This is now going on in Hungary where she thinks Mr. Putin is striking the right note in how governments should behave and set themselves up as well as comporting themselves to their countrymen and their neighbors. Amazing how countries can change.....perhaps to their detriment.
Op, I'm actually visiting Prague and Germany in a couple of weeks. Would you recommend any place to visit? I'm very much into hiking so I'll def be looking for trails outside the city but I'm open to any suggestions! Thks
This is now going on in Hungary where she thinks Mr. Putin is striking the right note in how governments should behave and set themselves up as well as comporting themselves to their countrymen and their neighbors. Amazing how countries can change.....perhaps to their detriment.
Given the revelation that eurosceptic and populist movements like FN seem to get sponsored by Putin, I wouldn't by surprised, if Fidesz is on his paycheck as well.
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