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So maybe you know nothing about Portugal or Spain.
Yes, If he thinks that Bordeaux area looks like Belgium and Netherlands, it means that he definitly do not nothing understannd nothing about European cultures... poor delisional guy.
Last edited by french user; 08-24-2018 at 07:55 AM..
So maybe you know nothing about Portugal or Spain.
Yeah I do, I have a Spanish side to my family (Galicia), a truly beautiful part of Spain - again reminds me a lot of Cornwall, green, lush, nothing like the South coast of Spain, (still further south than France though!). Galicia is where Spanish people go on holiday when holidaying in Spain, they leave the South coast to the French, Britons, Germans and 'other' northern and central Europeans.
I have travelled extensively across France, often camping, whenever I go it always strikes me how 'blond' the country is
If you can read french, this is an interesting and a quite funny article about the fact than most french campings are full of Dutch tourists in summer. The article talk funnily about «*the invasion of the blonds*»; about that many campings are up to near to 100% Dutch...
Yes France is MUCH more like Germany than Spain or Portugal - but then again it would be wouldn't it because France is next to Germany but north of Spain right!
France has a much longer border with Spain than it does with Germany, it is «*next*» to both Spain, Italy, Switzerland, germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco and Andorra.
France and Germany are the two countries that are pretty much THE archetypal Northern European countries, Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal are THE archetypal Southern ones. The UK is nothing like the rest of anywhere in Europe.
As an American, I found England to be pretty similar to the Netherlands.
That's not what France looked like to me - it was far prettier, France reminds me quite a bit of Devon and Cornwall - I guess that's because they share the same type of weather
Really, Devon has the same weather than France ? You said you have been extensively in Bordeaux region, let’s see how it match with the previsions highs temperatures for Plymouth next week (that is Devon, the region of the «*English riviera*» in the far south west part of the UK?). Both localted in the Atlantic shore, the climate should be exaclty the same:
Being lush and green does not mean to be in northern Europe. There are a lot of lush areas in southern Europe (or maybe you consider Galicia to be in northern Europe!...). Galicia is at the same level as Lazio (region of Rome)... Half if Italy is further north than Galicia...
Actually many of the rainniest regions of Europe are in southern Europe : northern Spain, Galicia, Croatia, Montenegro... much of Italy is quite rainny. Albania and Western part of Greece also.
Portugal, Italy or Greece are not less rainny than France. Central and south-eastern regions if Spain are a particular case, it is not the rule at all.
The stereotypes you have un mind are just wrong. Southern Europe is diverse in rain regimes.
And the most rainy area in Spain is in Andalusia, Sierra de Grazalema.
Probably he arrives into some aldea in Galicia and between el orujo and la empanada y el caldo gallego de la prima..he looses his bearing.
As an American, I found England to be pretty similar to the Netherlands.
As a french too, the netherlands are england have a very similar feel. Den hague, Delft, Groningen, Rotterdam..., I could hardly tell the difference with an English city: london, Birmingham, Manchester, or York is the same "nort sea" kind of feel to me.
Red brick buildings (ancient and modern), large big windows without chutters to help light enter, bikes everwhere in the city, the quintessential northern european ambiance of England, Nerherlands or Northern Germany.
Last edited by french user; 08-26-2018 at 08:30 AM..
I am sorry if My village did not reached your expectations. Not all France is as pretty as Devon I am afraid.
Where is the part of France where you have been ? I guess Northern Britanny ! Or Normandy !! ... This part of the coast it quite chilly for us, it is like a warmer version of devon (which is considered as the «*english riviera*»), but it is very pretty and beautiful (south-western England seems beautiful too)
I appreciated your joke about the blondness of french people. Very fine British humour, coming from a country where 56% of native people are fair haired...
I do not u drstand your obsession of linking Germany with blondness, the areas of Germany athat border France (bade Wurtemberg) are much less blond than most of England actually...
It is in the north of Germany that this stereotype of nordic looking german is the most true. People there look as nordic like British people...
As for the exoticness of Britain, well I felt the same exoticness in Netherlands or Germany. It is a germanic vs romance thing.
Those maps of blondness look like a work of 5 years old with MS paint.There is no way on mother earth 56% of British ISlanders are fair haired, the standard looks all over the UK,england included is a light eyed brunette.
Anybody who has traveled to the UK can realize it has nothing in common with Germany or The Netherlands in terms of culture and social dynamics, and people look nothing alike, most britons have dark hair, just like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Rowan Atkinson, Orlando Bloom, Cheryl Cole, Sean Connery,Catherine Zeta Jones, Tom Jones, Russell Brand, Simon Cowell, Richie Blackmoore, Brian May, Gordon Brown,countless examples.. there are some blond brits but I would be surprised if they are anything above 15-20% of the population, and that includes England aswell. I live in Germany and for me its crossing the Border from baden württemberg to Alsace to see the big contrast between Ethnic Germans and Ethnic french. British People have their own looks, but in terms of Pigmentation and "northern-ness" they are nowhere close to Dutch or Germans (let alone northern germans) who tend to resemble Scandinavians (particularly Danes and Southern Swedes) in pigmentation, only with less "infantile" features. Regarding the brits... They tend to be more similar to people in North-West France and on the whole the atlantic French seaboard. Brits are also more extroverted than Germanic people, more chatty (they enjoy small talk, something that is pretty unnatural for Germanic peoples).
Both France and UK are far less egalitarian and have a far more complex social structure than nations such as The Netherlands, Denmark, Germany or Sweden. Both UK and French people are also far less direct in communication, with a much more complex sense of humor, Germanic people, more so Dutch and Germans will often tell you straight away their intentions.
Average Englishman looks like Robbie Williams, not like a viking or whatever you want to paint in your mind.
Yes, If he thinks that Bordeaux area looks like Belgium and Netherlands, it means that he definitly do not nothing understannd nothing about European cultures... poor delisional guy.
You think England is like a carbon copy of the Netherlands, When england is more similar to Belgian Wallonia and to Northern France in architecture, character, etc.., speak how much know about European cultures. Netherlands has more to do with Northern Germany and with Denmark than it has to do with countries like England or the British Isles countries, who are very different to anywhere in Europe other than Ireland in terms of culture.
Quote:
Originally Posted by french user
As a french too, the netherlands are england have a very similar feel. Den hague, Delft, Groningen, Rotterdam..., I could hardly tell the difference with an English city: london, Birmingham, Manchester, or York is the same "nort sea" kind of feel to me.
Red brick buildings (ancient and modern), large big windows without chutters to help light enter, bikes everwhere in the city, the quintessential northern european ambiance of England, Nerherlands or Northern Germany.
Dutch cities are quite different to English cities. Dutch cities have better sense of architecture. For example Hamburg, Amsterdam and Copenhagen share many things in common, but are different at the same time, they are all cities of the hanseatic league of which the UK was never part of.. You have an obsession separating the French and the British, Rowan atkinson (mr bean) could perfectly be british, what about the singer of Muse, Matt Bellamy? he looks extremely french, a lot of common lastnames between Uk and France aswell, you want to portray England as being Denmark and France as being portugal, when both countries are far closer to eachother than you would like to admit, both are true atlantic/western European nations.
Those maps of blondness look like a work of 5 years old with MS paint.There is no way on mother earth 56% of British ISlanders are fair haired, the standard looks all over the UK,england included is a light eyed brunette.
These numbers seem to be similar in all the sources avalable. They fit quite well my experiences and trips in England and Germany. I have not been in Wales and ireland, maybe that would have been different.
I have been numerous times in england as well as in Scotland, and most native people look light featured to my point of view. With a noticeable contrast with central/north-western France where I live. It does not mean than everyone in the UK is blond. There are blond, red haired, brown haired people (like in Netherlands of Germany by the way); but the overall proportion of light featured compared to darker is significatively different from what it is in northern France, which is logical since the north half of France is located further south than England (the same way, the southern french and northern Italians tend to have statistically darker features than northern french. Southern french and northern italians tend at their turn to be lighter than southern Italians, etc.
Light features in Europe follow a gradient. The countries located at similar latitudes tend to show statistically more similar levels of dark/light features than they would do with countries located further south of further North. As a french I do not mind that my country is darker than countries located further north (UK, Netherlands, northern Germany) and lighter than countries further south (Spain’ Portugal, southern Italy, etc.)
I do not understand the obsession of some British to be not thought as northern Europeans, which this country obviously is (more than germany by the way) and their wish to pass for being french... (while often dislinking us in the same time)
There are British than can pass for being french, or even pass for being Spanish; like there are Germans or Dutch who can pass for being french or ven being Spanish... bot there are a lot of Germans, British or Dutch people that have looks that could hardly pass for being usual in France, and obviously even less in Spain or Italy. It is not a big deal... but i have always the feeling that British can’t just stand the idea to be a country of northern Europe, like if they wanted at all price being somehow like french.
You can obviously cherry pick many exemples of British and Germans that can pass for being french (we all are europeans after all), but I am sorry, but there is a tipical english or german kinds of looks that is almost inexistant in France (I am sorry if this affirmation will give a heart attack to «*easthome*». many of the first English or British people I can think of will look like what would be northern European looks (this not means scandinavian to me)
Etc.. to my point of view, these people have tipical British looks, because they would be notiçed as foreign here. Which does not mean that everyone has this kind’of looks, the same way not every German or Dutch is tall/blond/blue eyed.
Even most of the «*brown*» haired British I can think of are usually light brown with general features not unlike The numerous brown haired Dutch, German or Scandinavian people. I think in particular to former prime minister David Cameron, which still have what is (from my point of view) a quintessentially northern European look.
Brits are also more extroverted than Germanic people, more chatty (they enjoy small talk, something that is pretty unnatural for Germanic peoples).
I know a lot of Germans that are very extroverted. This’is an individual characteristics . As a whole, during all my trips I never noticed any huge difference between England, Netherlands and Germany, excepted maybe that england is a little bit less maintained. similar eating habits, pub and beer culture, early time for dinner, short lunchs... human contacts are very different from french culture. Especially Greetings, for exemple, as a french person I would sponteanously do the «*bise*» to my British or German, or American friends, they uniformely took it for a real strange thing. While this is just the common way of greeting with which people of Italy or Spain do all the time. Also, Distances between people in all over northern Europe, and especially in the UK were so difference than here.
One the the most striking thing from my point of view is the way also people respect the rules in germanic countries, especially in England : follow the queues, not try to pass above other persons, neighbour whatching, follow the lanes when driving, follow and denounce a thieft or someone that commited an incivility.... all these these are unfortunally very foreign manners in France, where the follow of the rule and the respect of other persons is seen by most people as compulsary.
I can understand that seen from inside northern Europe, you moght seen some cultural differences that I have not felt automatically during my numerous stays in English of Germans families. You would naturally tend’to see more what differenciate you. From my perspective, even if I recognise that Britain, Netherlands, Germany’or Denmark are different culture, they clearly belong to a same group with lots of similar culturals aspects that are very foreign from my french point of view. There is nothing bad’about it, this is’actually what I like about northern European cultures.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BeatenPath
Average Englishman looks like Robbie Williams, not like a viking or whatever you want to paint in your mind.
«*Northern European*» isn’t synonym of Viking to me, nor synomym of scandinavian. Northern Europe is a geographical part of Europe and a cultural area where germanic languages and protestantism had led a common cultural layout.
Last edited by french user; 08-27-2018 at 06:49 AM..
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... This part of the coast it quite chilly for us, it is like a warmer version of devon (which is considered as the «*english riviera*»), but it is very pretty and beautiful (south-western England seems beautiful too)