explaining europe to americans
Europe. Where you might have to pay for public toilets (not everywhere), where eggs are stored on shelves, and where chocolate is actually good.
I think this is a fun basic crash course of how 'europe' is. I mean each country has its own quirks, but this is my general overview of the place. If you have anything to add let me know in the comments.
I'm not an expert and I don't know everything, so if you know more about something I dont, feel free to let me know :))
If you would like to support & donate my silly little videos:
ko-fi.com/helloerika
00:00 europe
00:20 geography
05:18 history
08:00 economy
10:23 culture
13:13 food & restaurants
16:44 also europe
17:20 final thoughts
instagram for aesthetics: @helloerikapeanut
tik tok for tiktoks: @helloerikapeanut
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/helloerika
Sources:
Geography
open.lib.umn.edu/worldgeograp...
www.nationsonline.org/oneworl....
euro
economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/...
• Twenty years of the eu...
Eu
• The European Union - S...
european-union.europa.eu/prin...
European currencies
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Sweden history
• The Territorial Evolut...
Evolution of europe
• The History of Europe:...
Europe vs usa size
www.worldatlas.com/articles/u...
Some countries not in the eu
• Switzerland, Norway an...
Typing in europe
www.ricksteves.com/travel-tip...
Shopping on sunday
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_...
Racial discrimination
www.euronews.com/2023/10/25/s...
Crimes in sweden
• Why is Sweden’s Crime ...
Tipping in europe
lovethemaldives.com/faq/do-wa...
Italien meatballs:
thecookful.com/meatballs-real....
additives:
wellwithrae.com/food-chemical...
Funny maps from reddit
/ how_americans_see_europe
tosabarbell.com/2013/03/27/am...
/ map_of_europe_but_the_...
Disclaimer: Sorry if you see misspellings, it happens more often than i notice. Thank you for watching and I hope you enjoyed the video!
✨ And see you soon! ✨
As always happens in such videos, only Europeans will watch it to listen to what she said about their country
yup :D
True
and she's quite spot on
Still better than listening to any Murians and their ignorance
Yes and 0:03 stop right here, the metric system was literally accepted by the rest of Europe only after they did unjustified wars against France for 30 years straight and France kept winning making Europe adopt the metric system and the Napoleonic Code of law. It's France achievement on Europe and the world not Europe achievement.
Nobody likes to be called Eastern Europe except Turkey because that means we're in Europe 😌
as a citizen of turkey, i lol'd that.
I'm half-Turkish and this is the funniest comment I saw this week 😆😆😆
As a European person living in EU since 2003, I say no to Turkey being Europe. :D
Turkey is asia minor
Turkey is very much European. I was visiting Turkey first time in 2015 and I was astonished how European it was and with quality of services I experienced. Turkey should be in EU much more than Ukraine.
I felt so called out when she said "I do not even expect people from France to know the capital of Latvia", because I am from France and can confirm I don't know it. Searched it, it's Riga
Yep same. I knew Lithuania (Vilnius) but always forget Latvia (Riga) and Estonia (Talinn). I mean, it is weird that they are expected to know that the capital of France is Paris but we are not expected to know that the capital of Latvia is Riga... I wish there were more expectations towards us.
So now that you found it how would you spell it?? Ri-gah or Rai-gə?
@@papercuthappinnes4468 In Latvian it is pronounced as Rīga: starts with a hard "r", "ī - ee" as in "meet", "g" as in "gift" and "a" as in "appeal". Hope I helped! ❤️🇱🇻
Bravo you looked at the map before opening your mouth , through written words :P
et bah je m'en fous, t'en a déjà vu un un lituanien toi ?
" Maybe we are not even better than you but we certainly think we are." Thank you for that
She said out loud what we all secretly think 😂
I got into a Facebook argument with an American about Europe. He thought you could drive one side of Europe to the other in 2 hours.
You should have told him: try it ! That would have been fun to watch ; )
He's probably Superman.
That would be kind of convenient and kind of dangerous at the same time 😅
@@faequeenapril6921 he said that many Americans drive at least 30 minutes to work and that you could cross 3 European countries in an hour!
@@Nickbaldeagle02Even crossing Belgium can take more than one hour, what the fuck is he on? XD
Just a little correction; currency you’ve shown with tag of Poland is actually Czech. But hey, we’re still bros, so close enough 😊
Was just looking for this comment :)) Polski złoty looks different and has different value.
as a Pole: damn, i've only been paying with my phone lately, but did our paper money change? ;)
Yeah, would be acceptable mistake to change czech, danish, swedish, norwegian or islandic crowns...but with zloty?😛
Not until they leave the illegally occupied chapel
Poland and czech should use something called ,,zlota koruna" or sth. Czech makes money in czech republic, but spend in Poland. We dont care about germany and their Euro. We need Poland to supply us 😂😂
Great video, just a small correction: United States is approximately 9,833,517 sq km, while Europe is approximately 10,180,000 sq km, making Europe 4% larger than United States.
Europe minus Russia* in the video
Maybe only landmass
Oh I see... but it's not said in the video unfortunately.@@shivdeepsingh6597
@@bneshel1514 Not only. More peoples too: USA: 320 Mio. Europa 500 Mio. (without Russia)
@@markusengelhardt1020as Europe isn’t a well defined country (as the Us) the numbers vary! You can include Russia and the Caucasus or you don’t, you can include the whole of turkey, only the Balkan part or no turkey at all! You can include only the part of Russia west of the Ural mountain range (the most popular definition for Europe being everything west of it) and so on. This makes, as you pointed out, a difference of +/- 200 million people.
Malaysian here. You inspired me!!! I hope I can make a sophisticated video about Southeast Asia and maybe Asia in the future like yours !! :D
Im would want to see it😊
Do it! Good luck
Would be fun. Southeast Asia might be 60 % Thailand, 30 % Vietnam and 10 % Philippines for most of Europeans, I suppose. :D And all of these countries speak Chinese or eat sushi while riding their tuktuks or house boats :D
French, here. I wich I could move to malaysia. :/
@@MAO-sz3wr je vous le souhaites en tout cas. Pourquoi pas un jour!??
I like how Americans saying Europe has bad Mexican food really stuck a nerve for her😂
Well, it's not like Europe can get fresh ingredients to make the best mexican food, just requires some common sense and know geog.... right, Americans 😂
To be honest "bad Mexican food" is literally bad...I mean it is really bad, bad, bad...
In the United States, more Americans no longer eat as much taco Bell starts eating real Mexican food
@@randomcamus9445 do you have small independent Mexican restaurants everywhere or just the chains?
@@TheYCrafter There is this one reeaaallly good one in Old Messia (a place in Las Cruces NM) called Andeles it is a small "franchise" as it has a sister restaurant the next street over. 10/10
There should also be one about Africa. The lack of knowledge in western society about African countries is crazy and I myself am included on knowing nothing.
Tbf it would be a feat to understand all the complicated borders and tribe affiliations.
It's an incredibly diverse continent but the least known worldwide. I am also guilty of not knowing a lot about the continent even after living there for years (Morocco doesn't really like being called African) and being generally very curious about the world. Just like Americans with Europe, as Europeans we often say "I went to a safari in Africa" OK, but... which country? I doesn't matter for most. To be fair, because of colonization, borders in Africa do not necessarily reflect the nations and people that live there, so it gets confusing with multiple cultures and languages that span across multiple countries.
@@PowerSpirit50 And a funny thing is that most of those borders were drawn by European colonizers back in the day.
Africa is the most diverse continent and I doubt any European even knows anything about Africa
@@youtuber-tg1pu Anything?? yes, I know something about Africa. I have never been on that continent and don't pretend to be an expert, but I know quite a bit about geography.
I love that about KZhead that a random person can make a video essay about anything in their attic or wherever and follow their passion and it gets shown to other random people via a complex algorithm that nobody really seems to fully understand. I really loved that video and the energy that was given of. Very fun to watch. Also I, as a German also want free public bathrooms, not Sanifair.
Do the French way: *piss in the street*
Schau mal bei Google nach der "Netten Toilette". Dieses Programm gibt's allein hier in meiner Stadt schon seit 2006 und hat sich über die Jahrzehnte in DE verbreitet. Lustigerweise kennen es aber die wenigsten :D
Even just in Germany every state has its differences. My family originates from two different states and we moved down. Basically my life has the worst combination of the most joked about dialects there is. My moms side is from Berlin and REALLY sounds like it, my dads side is from saxony and we moved down to bavaria. I consider myself resistent to any dialect barriers lmao I grew up with SO many different words to refer to Semmeln.
And you choose to call them Semmeln, props to you!
a guade Semme hoid
Brötchen > Semmeln but that's just my opinion
@@Kyonari I use both, but I differenciate them between two types. For me Brötchen are the ones that are a bit elongated with one lengthwise cut on it to rise into and Semmeln are round with the cross cut
@@KyonariBerliner > Krapfer > Pfannekuchen
No matter if you count the UK a "separate thing" it is still western Europe. The fact that UK isn't part of European Union anymore doesn't mean it's not Europe or western Europe.
*furious Anglo rowing noises*
@@rorychivers8769nah. there is a huge ancor holding that thing ashore. ireland, you know ;)
It's geographically debatable since it's not connected to or surrounded by other land. The UK isn't as strongly affected by what goes on in the mainland. Even in the worst parts of the world wars, as the nearby allies capitulated, it stood strong because it's separated by sea. Culturally it's also quite different. It's heavily nationalist and still maintains a monarchy despite most of Europe abolishing theirs and pushing democracy.
@@Zaire82So what? It’s its own continent? Its history is tied to the rest of Europe via, invasion, language and wars as well as monarchies coming from mainland Europe. So your statement is not making historical sense.
@@Zaire82 It isn't 'geographically debatable' in any way whatsoever, unless you failed your Geography GCSE
Thanks for giving Poland Kaliningrad 😂
Królewiec!🤣
@@kajosan79 Może być i Królewiec mi tam jeden chuj
That's another world war right there 😂
Königsberg!
It’s a map from the future. ;)
Thanks Erica for such a useful video. I myself am from Russia, but I live in the most Asian part of Russia (right next to China and Korea). It was very interesting to hear about Europe, because for me it is also very far away (about 7 thousand kilometers)
Word of warning, Erika. Your introduction to Southern Europe saying these countries that are not doing well economically (compared to the rest of Western Europe) made me scoff a lot. Spain and Italy may not be economical powerhouses like Germany but Spain has a decent textile industry, lots of agricultural exports as well as Italy and that latter has managed to safeguard more factories than its french neighbour (just saying this as a french btw). And both Spain and Italy are major touristic destinations with the hospitality industry to support it.
Italy is also the tenth largest economy in the world and the fourth largest in Europe - and I say that as a resident of a country where traditionally no joke about Italy is missed. Spain, on the other hand, is ranked 15th among all economies in the world and fifth in Europe. So "not doing well" is pretty vague.
Well I guess there is a reason why Catalan wants to become independent... and Italy is kinda the same. There are some places in Italy which are doing fine, but there is a big chunk of area which is not. Italy's economy is closer to Hungary's than German's. Iatly is luckier since it has high montains and a lot of beaches...
Economy may be good but as soon as winter comes people start starving
@@joomz794 Where, exactly?
I mean, being poor part of Europe is still super rich for rest of the world... (except Russia)
Hello Erika, one note on the currencies: What you display as Polish money is actually Czech crowns, in Poland they have zloty :) I enjoyed the video a lot, even though I'm not the target demographics. You have a nice way of explaining things and you also sound and look good.
I see a small mistake: Královec is annexed to Poland when in reality is a part of Czechia since 2022 referendum
Kralovec have been annexed to Poland by Russia on the Sochi Winter Olimpics' 2013, during the opening ceremony, on the screen animation, and then it have been passed over to the Czech Republic, because you guys need a sea access badly, since you greet each other with Ahoy! (PS. You should somehow share it with Slovakia tho) :D
pravda
It wasn't a funny meme at the time. Still not funny
@@faequeenapril6921sochi Olympics were in 2014
Ř
I love how raw it is ! Continue creating amazing content !
I'm from asia and this video is very helpful, i love the way you present it 👍👍
This is hilarious, yet so accurate. Europe is chaos, a chaos we love. We're all different, yet so similar. Thanks for the video. Great job.
You might wonder why Turkey is considered European on some maps but not others. This is because Turkey has some unique quantum properties. When you're looking through a raki glass, you will see it on the map. But when you're looking through a glass ayran bottle, you will not see it--it will reappear if you look at a map of the Middle East.
Underrated comment
Is this some culture reference that I'm to uncultured to understand?
Bulgaria literally has better and more popular sour milk that Turkey Very famous in Japan and even Greeks based their greek sour milk on the bulgarian one by stealing
Bulgaria also has ayran tho
Turkey, not part of Europe according to Europeans, but part of Europe according to themselves.
Thanks Erica. I enjoyed your take on Europe. There is a lot a I agree with.
Paldies par šo izskaidrojumu, ļoti labs un informatīvs video. Tā tik turpināt! Ar mīlestību no Latvijas ❤❤🇱🇻🇱🇻 Thank you for the explanation, a very great and informative video. With love from Latvia!
9:32 You put Czech Crowns (Koruny české) over Poland instead of Polish Zloty lol.
I may not have paid in cash for a long time, but they are definitely not Polish banknotes :D
@@jdam9520 They are, but not contemporary ones. They were used up until 1997.
This is how the wars started
it's złoty you peasant
@@gantz1978I looked it up and yes, we did use to have different banknotes, but those aren't it. As the guy said, they are likely a Czech currency because the Polish currency had really high numbers like 10000 and 20000.
All Scandinavian countries and, in addition, Spain and Portugal would normally also be considered to be Western European countries from a cultural and political perspective.
so they are LIKE western europe, but not western europe. She could have included that bit in the video but if we remain factual europe, just as any other land mass, is very much divided into western, eastern, southern and northern. Saying western europe is typically the area people want to migrate to does not exclude any other region necessarily, although it has considerable historical and cultural implication that don't fail to trigger at least someone in any one of these countries, we simply have to see past that to see the facts.
@@sombrero4316 It doesn't really work like that. You cannot blindfold yourself to how the term "Western Europe" or "Western World" is used and just decide to override it with geographical meaning. It is true that "west" is a word connotated with the geographical direction, but saying "Western Europe" or "western countries" means countries that are developed in a way "western society" is developed. So yes, Scandinavia can be considered Western Europe altough it is situated in the North...
@@czarlito_ geographic location of the west and the term “western world” should be separated in this case. We are talking about factual location not the connotations of the word.
how is scandinavia and spain/portugal culturally even similar?????????? and politically?
its the North west or North of europe which includes britain...
A great video! As a Polish person, I really enjoyed watching it, despite the small mistakes, and I agree with most things said here. Poland is totally a part of Central Europe 😂
Your Pullover matches the topic! 🤘 Great Video! Thanks
8:50 small correction, Croatia has adopted Euro in 2023. The slide is a little bit outdated.
well, how is it going, better with kuna or euros?
@@OperatoreDelMiniCalcolatore Eh money is money. People adjusted and while it was nice to have our own currency. It's honestly so convenient to spend my money without having a need to exchange it when I visit another euro country.
@@OperatoreDelMiniCalcolatore everything is approx. 10 times more expensive since switching to euros.
Here Spanish guy, we love our Portuguese neightbours! often we called them brothers/cousins along with italians. of course there's always dumb ppl but in general no beef down there) Paldies Erika un priecīgus Ziemassvētkus!
O mesmo em Portugal 🥰🇵🇹❤️🇪🇸
even brothers have friendly beef sometimes!
we slavs have it the same! we might hate each other by culture,but we do get along suprisingly well
French and Romanians systematically getting ignored of the latin brotherhood 😢
@@maxrolland3148 unfortunately Romania is too far away and the french are a pain in the ass
I saw so many videos recting to this one and I finally found the original! Is amazing as always ✨🇮🇹🇪🇺
Erika - I really appreciate the combination of facts and your dry humour - both informative *and* entertaining!
It would be really helpful to show a topographic map of Europe - the mountain ranges and seas imply a lot of the national boundaries
And rivers! Everyone forgets rivers nowadays, but they were essential to every part of life for almost all of history
yeah and from that ppl would understand why and what USA does with EU , Russia and with Germany... basically USA owns Germany (still the biggest NATO base is there) and EU, so Russian resources and Germanian engineering should never meet otherwise USA would be 2nd power, but like this we will disappear and the whole world will be China they just have to wait, not much...
It is so fun watching her perspective on Europe with her northern Europe bias 😂😂
I quite learned something from her perspective and really liked it! :D
Yeah and that even she calls nordic and Scandinavia as synomys when they are totally different thing
@@avatara82Not really, she did point out that that Finland belongs to "The North", but not to Scandinavia.
Soooooooo bias!
I think someone has a superiority complex.
As a Polish guy i'd like to mention that the pics of our currency is outdated ;) Currently Polish Zloty (PLN) in paper form starts with 10 and ends with 200 i believe. If we're talking coins it's 1,2,5 pln. Besides that, great video!
Up to 500 actually
And grosz. 100 groszy (groszs? groszes?) is 1 złoty. Grosz has coins 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50. "Sz" sound read like English "sh".
Well, its not outdated, its just wrong, the currency shown there is a Czech Crown
You should definitely teach kids at school 🔥 Your explanation is so much more interesting than any teacher I've ever had!
Portuguese here! The "beef" between Portugal anda Spain is History. Nowadays we just deslike to be catalogued like spaniards because we have an ancient culture and identity, about 900 years as state nation and an impressive past, so just call us for what whe are, Portuguese of course!
You pesky "iberian" :)
Portuguese are not Iberian at all - just the East of Spain has been colonized by the Iberians, a people of the North of Africa that invaded the area of the actual Catalonia in the sixth century BC
@@silveriorebelo2920 That is false. Iberians are the ones who inhabit the Iberian peninsula, the name of which was derived from the river Hiberus, nowadays called Ebro.
@@silveriorebelo2920 the people from northern africa that colonized spain and other parts of europe we're the carthagenians, then the moors
@@peterszabo-toth2063 And how did the river Hiberus get its name? Wouldn't it have been from that Iberian people? I'm not saying, just asking!
I find it interesting how "western Europe" doesn't include Portugal and Spain which are more western than any other Western European country 🤣
Because it is a political division, not geographic one. Western Europe is basically just Britain, France and the Netherlands, including Belgium. Even Germany is not fully accepted as Western European.
@@pavelsanda3149 Germany used to call itself central European, and tried a tad too hard to make that more obvious. Since then, it's dicey for Germans to call themselves central European.
They're also more southern than the rest, though. But the real reason is obvious when you look at the mountain ranges and climates. Those drove historic realities that persist today.
Western Europe actually include Portugal and Spain of course
@@pavelsanda3149 as said its political and based on the old iron curtain devide.spain and portugal had western germany and france as buffer between them and any soviet invasion hence they did not really matter as much in the context of defending against teh red threat from the east.
Great video, but as Spaniard I must say that our economy has improved a lot in the last decades and it is an honor to be the south of Europe in terms of culture (or mediterranean Europe) but we are Western Europe in terms of social and economic indicators. We are not only a country to visit in summer but a very cultural diverse and leading in the renewable energy. Our economy has little in common with that of Greece, the Balkan countries or even Italy.
Exactly!!! Italy in particular is much richer in art, culture, tourism, industry and economics than all the countries of southern Europe! Our north is at the same level, if not higher, than Germany in terms of industries, exports, technologies, manufacturing, fashion, etc...unfortunately our problem is stil the south !However Italy Is much more advanced of Portugal, Spain, Greece etc!
Western does not Mena wealthy at all. It means part of the capitalist block as opposed to the communist block. Even geographically we are the westernest together with Portugal. Spain is both western and southern Europe and this vídeo is a disgrace.
@@gabrielesantucci6189Italy is more wealthy, yes. But not more advanced, sadly. Please come and visit us so you know more about other countries.
@@gabrielesantucci6189 If Italy is more advanced than Spain, why are there so many Italians emigrating to Spain?
What an excellent video! Plenty of great info, well done. Good sense of humor 🤣. Subscribed👍
As a Dutchie: Love to all my brothers and sisters from Europe!
Go Dutchies !
🇩🇪🤝
As a dutchie I dislike all countries equally, including our own.
But Max Verstappen is the best thing that's ever happened in the history of the universe!
@@mathijsfrank9268 Who?
I don't think most Eastern Europeans would like to be called Slavic. Especially not Hungary, Romania, Albania and the Baltics.
In the video I refferd to ukraine and belarus as slavic. Not all east of europe is slavic, indeed
Not most but significant part of them
@@helloerika amazing decoration around your TV. Your vid is also promising (definitely better than some similar ones), albeit somewhat random. Good luck with your channel!
Don't call Georgia Slavic. I'm gonna cry 🇬🇪🇬🇪🇬🇪
Most would
Solid presentation, braliukė.
Wonderful video, excellent production and even better research. Keep going you woman, really good presentation. From San Francisco, CA
"We dont have good mexican food, because mexico is in america." i love that hahaha
Yes, she is right: The continent is called North AMERICA
The thing about Central Europeans not enjoying being called Eastern European is not just because they don't want to be associated with countries like Russia, Belarus and Ukraine like you've briefly mentioned. It is in fact, for multitude of reasons. If anybody is interested, here's my take (being from one of those countries): Reasons for them to be called Eastern European: 1. they were on the Eastern side of the Iron Curtain back when Europe was divided into 2 parts only. And that only lasted for a certain period of time. Reasons against them being called Eastern European: 1. they are part of the Western culture (unlike countries east of them) 2. they have democratic political systems (unlike countries east of them) 3. they are part of the European Union and NATO (unlike countries east of them) 4. their lands were called Central European before the Iron Curtain was established - like The Austro-Hungarian Empire was always thought to be in Central Europe. These countries are just descendants of that Empire + Poland. (unlike the land areas east of them) 5. geographically, they are in the center of Europe. (countries east of them are on the eastern edge of Europe) 6. culturally, they are not western european, nor eastern european. (they are their own cultural group that shares similarities in cultural traits with both the westerners and easterners) 7. in terms of religion, they are mostly Roman Catholic and Protestants just like western Europeans, but on the other hand, they tend to be less secular and more conservative just like the eastern Europeans. (maybe because they are their own group of countries?) 8. freedom of speech, more liberal and relaxed and progressive than the easterners but at the same time a bit more slow and careful & conservative than the westerners 9. more relaxed, laid back and less punctual and more hospitable than the north europeans but at the same time more reserved & careful around complete strangers and calmer than the south Europeans. 10. they are just in the center, Karen. Just look at the map darling. Also, the Balkan people are just Southern Europeans. But just because these lands were for a certain period of time on the Eastern side of the Iron Curtain, people have problems calling them Southern Europeans, the Greeks, the Italians, the Spaniards, the Turks, they'd have a problem if these countries would be grouped with them just because of the Eastern side of teh Iron Curtain rep. But the history is much richer than that. They were part of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine, the Ottoman etc. It's not just the period of communism that defines their entirety. it's a set of different historical imputs that shape their culture and identity. You can't isolate one specific event or period and fix that upon them as the only trait. This is still a pretty good video for non-Europeans
So according to the self-proclaimed Central Europeans (Poles, Chezks, the rest) the Eastern Europe consists only of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine (plus Moldova I guess)?
@@fm0363 Yes, because the territory of Russia (European part of it) is almost 40% of the area of all Europe. If you add Ukraine and Belarus, it will be logical that this is Eastern Europe.
@@fm0363 just zombielands and bulbastan. ukraine is southern or central europe
@@fm0363Why self proclaimed? The term is centuries old and Mrkva explained its characteristics quite nicely. Also, the term central Europe is used by organisations such as CIA. To further illustrate the difference between central and eastern Europe: based on the average salaries, Czechia is to Ukraine what Norway is to Czechia. There is nothing self proclaimed here. This is purely about some people not knowing that history didnt start in 1945.
@@therewasoldcringe There is nothing central or southern about Ukraine. In fact, its probably THE eastern European country, as the Kievan Rus obviously originated in Kyiv, and with Kievan Rus being the starting point of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, with the whole region being deeply orthodox an culturally completely different to what you would in for example in Bohemia or Italy, there is really not any reason to believe its central or southern.
Just saw your video on a rection site, so I am just here to leave a like and comment. Have a nice day. Greetings from Germany
You are amazing! The way you presented it was very educational, but made me laugh a lot! (I'm from Europe)
There are a lot of mistakes in the video but it is a pretty good tutorial video for Americans
This is like an inexperienced europeans intro to europe
Which American's? Canadian's? Mexican's? Argentinian's?
@@stever285 americans meaning the US citizens
@@user-de4mr7uk8d Yeah I got that, I was being obnoxious, I read somewhere that Europe isn't a country...neither is America.
@@stever285 But there is a North America and a South America so yes u can told like that bc they live in their own "small" world, without knowledge abt this Earth. So in this situation i can also said that u cant told that Poland is in the Eastern Europe bc its obvious that we are in central europe like germany, czech rep., hungary, slovakia, austria slovenia and switzerland. There are really a lots of mistakes in this video and later everyone talking stupid things abt Europe or smth XD
Cool video. From a Portuguese living in Estonia, I feel like it's a decent summary. Some minor mistakes, but that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.
Perfect video, very entertaining and educating. Greetings from Pilsen, CZ
hello erika, very good video! love the humour!
3:05 A small correction here, Hungary is not considered to be part of the Balkans but instead Central Europe. But, it's shown correctly on the graphic seen at 3:45 - with Germany & Austria also being part of the Central group - even with their association with Western Europe.
It's not Southern Europe either, but there is plenty of other inacuracies here, take it as an oversimplification meant to illustrate to Americans that things are complicated...
in my country, we like to call that part of Europe, Mitteleuropa
I might have fallen a little bit in love with you. Simplistic format, but very informative, nice visualization. But most of all, fantastic humor! Definitely earned a sub right here.
GREAT VIDEO! As always
Again, you've done a great job!
I am French. Regarding tips, we don't usually leave money after paying; the tip is included in the price of the dish. Some restaurants may add a service charge, such as 10% or similar, to the bill.
I like the concept.... makes it easy and removes the akwardness for some people "of did I give enough or to little?" That is if the waiter/waitres gets somewhat payed fairly.
@@danimayb In the U.S. we tip. And it's extremely rare that we receive poor service, unlike what many of you attest to in your own countries. In the U.K. you don't tip normally and, after looking over your menus, it's easy to understand.
Same in Denmark, we usually don't tip, service charge is already part of the dish price. You can tip but it isn't expected 🙂
tipping is insanity...quit yer job if ya aren't getting paid a proper wage
@senshi1571 alors enfaîtes en France en nous avons toujours la culture du pourboire, mais juste à des occasions avec pas mal de conditions. Par exemple restaurant gastronomique il y a des pourboire donné au serveur. De même dans des petits restaurants ou salon de thé, si se sont des jeunes, les personnes donnent des pourboires. C’est juste pas obligatoire.
"Scandinavia" is a relic left over from the Kalmar Union between Sweden, Denmark and Norway. It has four criteria: 1) Mainland nation (which disqualifies countries like Iceland and the Faroe Islands). 2) History and traditions. 3) Mythology (which disqualifies Finland). 4) Language (which disqualifies Finland). Denmark, Sweden and Norway are the only nations in Scandinavia. Finland is considered an honorary member of Scandinavia in terms of military and economic partnership but isn't actually an official "member". Also, Europe and the EU are not synonymous. Europe is a continent and the EU is a membership club. Europe has 44 nations but the EU only has 27 members.
The name "Scandinavia" was first used by Romans who came with boats. "Scandinavia" means "Dangerous island" for the Romans. This was back in the Viking days. The Kalmar union includes all the Nordic countries while Scandinavia includes Sweden, Denmark, Norway and sometimes Fennoscandia (Finland). Iceland and the Faroe islands is not included at all in Scandinavia.
How about Greenland then? Is it Scandinavian through its Danish-influenced history?
I would say no. Scandinavia is a place. Neither is Jan Mayen or Svalbard part of Scandinavia because the Norwegian influence. But the people who live there may be Scandinavians if they come from the Scandinavian peninsula. But it will not change the place. The annoying thing is this, Denmark isn't on the Scandinavian peninsula at all, so why are they Scandinavians at all? They used to have some land areas in southern Sweden so that could be the reason why they are counted as Scandinavians.@@kissingen007
Very cute video! Enjoyed watching it!!!😂
If you are confused, this is not because of her explanations, but because of Europe. 😄
As an Estonian, I felt nostalgic seeing Latvian lats :D I remember going on bus trips to Riga and exchanging Estonian kroons (crowns) to lats and thinking what's up with the fish :D
Fellow latvian that sounds so funn:))
I first was sceptical about you vid here, BUT i began to love your dry humor about the whole world....dry but true. I am totally with you! love it! Greetings from Germany!
I love your videos so much and as well as informative,interesting and I hope you will make new videos in near future...♥
I would love this type of video on Asia.
The reason people here don't like the name "Eastern Europe" is because we understand based on the questions we get from Western Europeans, that they basically see us as all the same and basically Russia, while Poland or Czechia in many cases have more similarities with Germany or Austria, nevermind the geography of Czechia which people call Eastern, while calling Austria Western. BTW 9:45 that's not Polish money, just a small nitpick
Well Western Eastern division is more about development because geographically Eastern part was occupied by soviets and well it wasn't great (but not that terrible). Nowadays many so called Eastern block countries caught up with the west while some like Hungary remained a shithole country and remained "east"
Yep! That Czech money 😅
Nothing wrong with East. Are you racist?
as a central European (German) I think of Eastern Europe as EU-East and Russia and Belarus are Eastern, but not European. Subjective as hell, but in that case Eastern European is more about including than excluding :D
@@JPaulFoxYou completely misinterpreted what they said. It's not about what WE think Eastern Europe is. It's about how the west perceives it as inferior and uses that to shame us. And of course I'm ot talking about everyone, but I've been in enough situations lile this to know that they do indeed happen.
Those subtle burns were divine :D Very well articulated and presented - well done!
I loved this video, I would have loved a video like that about every continent, made by people from those continents
The one about Australia would be easy. "It's all one country and it's big!"
you´re so funny thanks alot for that video!
Representing 🇮🇹 here, this was a great video! Bravissima!
Finally, the approach that makes this topic funny and entertaining. Pozdrav iz Slovenjije - central south Europe :)
i always enjoy your videos erika, please upload more next year ❤
Geographically the Baltic countries are already considered in the northern Europe. Especially Estonia and Latvia, I think the line would go somewhere from Lithuania. I am an Estonian and I always say I'm from the northern Europe lol! It is true that when you use the word 'Eastern European' people expect you to have Slavic background, actually even if I don't say it, people often think so..I live in South Korea and that's the kind of reaction I've got when I say I'm from Estonia! (tho there are people who know the Baltics very well!!) but the truth is Estonian (similar to Finnish) and Russian languages and cultures are very different. Estonian culture and traditions do share many similarities with the Nordics so I'd say that culturally I feel more close to the northern countries
*Slavic languages
@aradcohen4309 geographically it's in North east of Europe. Estonia is the same as Greece, both east just one happens to be in the south and the other in the north with same time zones
As a swede I did not expect to be called out so many times in this video. Also, I don't know either what's happening over here. Please help.
Our hearts are with you good friend.
I think the same was happening like here in Germany. In Poland and Hungary nothing happens.
It's funny though how she named Swedish crime rates and discrimination right next to each other. Because if Swedes distinguished (=discriminated) a little more they would not have the crime problem. Im not even Swedish but we all know it's not the Swedes who are doing the crimes.
To many foreigners i would guess as a German...
@@Verbalaesthet that is a flawed assumption. Afaik Sweden faces the crime problem because of a lack of integration opportunities. That could be seen as discrimination. So, at least if you see it that way, discrimination is the reason for the problem, not the lack of it
"And Russia with..... everybody in the world" that's the funniest truth i've ever heard in a geography video ... That joke was so spot on...
As a Russian I haven't even smiled
I've even cried
Yeah but that's not true at all. Russia is bad with Europe, USA and their allies which are not the whole world, not even half of it.
@@aglxru Why is Russia "bad" with Europe?
we're so lucky to have so much cultural diversity. Like, Estonia is SMALL (smaller than most states in the USA) but the south, north, west and east cultures are soooo different from eachother. We have so many dialects and i cannot understand some.
Plus it has a lot of nature and wild places left. So good. It's not overcrowded like Belgium of the same size with some 10 million people. Probably estonia has more wild preserved natural places than Belgium or the Netherlands. Other countries like finland too has a good population for its size which may allow for wild place preservation
What a sparkling, funny and educative video! You are clearly a natural entertainer, Erika :-) Many of your sharp-eyed comments and verbal and facial expressions are hilarious! Btw, I have travelled throughout the Nordic and Baltic states and have not found people unfriendly - perhaps less expansively expressive than southern Europeans, i.e. less obviously outgoing, more gentle perhaps. The stereotype of Finns being dour & unresponsive I found quite untrue, apart from ONE person in 6 weeks of travelling! Riga I loved too btw, apart from getting lost all the time, but that's me... 🙂
The school I was learning in was in Peoples Republic of Poland and I was told there about 40 years ago Poland lies in central Europe. There is also a German word Mitteleuropa which means central Europe. It is a geographic, political and historical term, so... It just suprises me a bit that nowadays people in internet try to change my mind on where I live, suggesting me I make some funny and silly claims on that matter 😅
Seeing Poland and co as Eastern Europe is quite West-Centric, I agree, but it was (is?) quite common, especially if you consider Russia its own thing.
Hi from Poland. I don't quite understand the oversensitiveness of my countrymen when being called "Eastern European" (you'll be corrected every single time regardless of context), but it all stems from not wanting to be associated with Russia or the part you called "Russia soon to be" 😄. This tradition is at least a few decades old, but only recently did people start interpreting it as "oh, OK", instead of "strange obsession with a Russophobic overtone". 😊
In my opinion, also as a Pole, it stems from the fact that Poland for the vast majority of its history was a part of the Catholic Church, not the Orthodox one (which constituted one of the most important ways of categorization). Our Commonwealth was far more tolerant than the West, comprising of Poles, Jews, Lithuanians, Germans & Ruthenians. Also, French culture left a great impact on us, hence the reluctance towards this nomenclature (usually with the negative overtone), which is primarily a result of communism (which we were forced to accept since Churchil didn't want to upset Russia after the war).
What's wrong with Russophobia? 🤔 It should be at the all time high rn anyway...
Becaouse for many people it is more important to live in truth, rather then lie for sake of inclusion (unless you want to be a doormat) Poland is in Central Europe (used to be central/Eastern European) Norway is a Nordic country, part of Northern Europe. Spain is south-western country Italy is southern country France is a Western country Greece is south-eastern. It’s not that complicated, but yes. People want to simplify things (especially with Cold War mentality) Poland especially was “forced” in to eastern block, there have been many comments from any non-Pole suggesting or thinking that Poland “chose” to be part of eastern bloc. It was occupation…
@@movement2contact Until recently it was seen by many, if not most, in the West, as an irrational resentment, all that was bad was supposed to be history and "we're all friends now". But it was never irrational, it was knowledge about how it's all likely to turn out. We all know how. Anyway, of course the aversion to being called "Eastern Europe" also stems from serious cultural differences, larger than N Europe vs W Europe or W Europe vs S Europe, as a previous poster mentioned.
@@movement2contact We shouldn't be any-race-phobic.
Missed my favorite youtuber ❤ Happy 2024 Erika
That a was a very honest and thoughtful video. It's a shame that you've had some criticism. I feel that you had the best intentions and came across as very engaging:)
Finland is honorary Scandinavian. Sure, their language is completely different, but they have the same struggles and ideologies as us.
It's my belief that "Nordic" just refers to the places where the winter is so dark and long that it become a psychological hazard. It partially explains why the community spirit tends to be stronger (and why they may seem colder to outsiders at the start). If you live as an adult in a nordic country, and you stay of your own free will there for more than a few years (without moving south for winter), you're as nuts as everyone else there, so you're in.
Different language? Finns have a different language but also a different origin and ethnicity. Their physique is also different from Scandinavians -- some of them have very visible Asiatic facial features. They have been also influenced a bit by Russia, in contrast to Scandinavian countries, and in some aspects they are more similar to Russians (look at the alcohol consumption in Finland and compare it to Scandinavia). They are more introverted and conservative than Scandinavians. Culturally and politically, today, they are indeed the most similar to Scandinavians.
Finland was also a part of the Swedish kingdom for 650 years so a lot of shared history. There still are a Swedish speaking minority in Finland and a Finnish speaking minority in Sweden.
@@hanszickerman8051 Yes, I know that, and what about that? Kosovo was also a part of the Serbian Kingdom and of post-Ottoman Serbia, there are many native Hungarians in Serbia and even Slovaks and Romanians... So?
@@lacdirk Why isn't Russia on the list then?
As a German living on Austria, this was very entertaining to watch. Love your dry humour. 😄
As a Pole studying in Austria I can say that we don't take Sunday shopping restrictions that seriously as people here 😂 (finding anything open in Vienna is nearly impossible)
I see no difference between Austria and Australia. You have to be the same country. I think Austria is in the West of the country and Australia is in the East. So making your country is really Austriaaustralia and means from West we go East for greatness. That's what the European nation of Austriaaustrali means.
as a latvian (and living in latvia) i assure you, latvian humour is quite like german. dry and almost tasteless. ,-)
Funny and amazing explanation!!!
Love the memes/ jokes, really funny video 😬I think most of it is correct.
Its always funny to see Austria labeled as western and Czechia as eastern Europe, when the name "Austria" literally means "eastern realm", with Prague being some 300km further west than Vienna, both nations being genetically related to each other more than to anyone else and both countries being basically right in the middle.
This
Thats true, i dont want to be western european, dont want to be classified the same as germany in any shape or form really
@@lulin3331 and why?
@@SamuelSouza-di6nq stupid question
Österreich
Hello, you were brave to make a Infovideo on European culture, almost impossible not to tread on someone's toes. Some Irish don't like the islands of Great Britain and Ireland described as the British Isles - as you can imagine 😅
She also called Scotland and Wales "regions", which I guess is not very alrigt for people from those places...
By the political division (country borders), half of Ireland is a part of the British Islands, and other half is an independent country :)
I was wondering where you are from when I was watching the Utrecht video. Initially I assumed you were Dutch, but then you said that you had only lived there for 5 years. So, in this video you said that your are from Latvia when talking about the Euro. We have visited a lot of Europe and the closest to Latvia we have been is Estonia and Russia. You are doing a great job with your videos!
Wow, this 'Yurp' place is so fascinating :))
Fun video. A lot of semplifications but nothing complex can be also fun so who cares! Slovenia is very beautiful: is a kind of Switzerland but with acceptable prices.
A poet once described it as “the land where you can see the beach from the mountains” While it’s beautiful and offers a lot of variety it’s still very small
Swiss explaining how your arm and leg are not enough for this month's rent:
That's what I always heard about Slovenia, even though I haven't actually ever been there. Many years ago I've heard about Slovenians that they are "traitors of the Slavic sh*t show", but it doesn't seem to work anymore, because also other Slavic countries seem to organize themselves way better than they used to. Someone also once described Slovenia as a Slavic country with Austrian mentality. I'm very curious how things really work there, I have to visit it one day.
@@feandil1713 Todays Slovenia and Croatia spent a longer time in the same "country" with Austria than with Serbia. For Slovenia: Big parts of todays Slovenia were part of the duchy of Styria since 1180. (and before that they and the rest of styria were part of the duchy of carinthia). So at least from the middle ages until WW1 they were under the same rulers with the same laws rulesets and mix of cultures. And those areas, if i am not mistaken, are still caled Stajerska in Slovenia. (the former duchy of styria without the slovenian parts transformed into the federal state of styria when austria changed into a republic) Since their independence many northern Slovenes commute to work into southern austria. (due to a little higher salaries because of the bit more expensive living standards in austria, so for them it works out as they can buy more at home and even get their reitirement pays sent home to slovenia when they reach retirement age in austria) Also austrian companies and banks invested heavily in facilities in Slovenia after their independence. (they saw a new market, the slovene government(s) saw work and opportunities for their population...)
Slovenia doesn’t exist. British and Americans can go to stinky Paris
I find your almost total neglection of southern European countries interesting, Italy and Greece account for much of the foundations of the concept of Europe and Spain and to a lower extent Portugal for the creation of most countries in America, but yeah, southern Europe is that place where it’s hot and they’re not that rich. You have more in common with Americans than you think, at least regarding a great deal of Europe lack of knowledge and misconceptions
What is annoying in Europe is that they are not motivated and always complaining. But poland and the rest of eastern europe have more vitality and feel more compatible with USA 🇺🇸
10:46 "In some ways, we're not that different from you. And maybe we're not even better than you. But we certainly think we are." I CACKLED 😂😂😂😂
Wow!! Great video ✌🏼✌🏼🌼
In the UN geoscheme, the following countries are classified as Northern Europe: Denmark Estonia Finland Iceland Ireland Latvia Lithuania Norway Sweden United Kingdom as well as the dependent areas: Åland Channel Islands Bailiwick of Guernsey Bailiwick of Jersey Faroe Islands Isle of Man Svalbard and Jan Mayen
I love that you've incorporated Kaliningrad to Poland on the map. Greetings from Kralovec!
I hadn't even heard of Kaliningrad until a few years ago and I'm in my 60's. When I saw that it was part of Russia, but didn't share a border, I was dumbfounded! My education didn't include anything about what was then called Easter Europe, or more usually Warsaw Pact countries and The Soviet Union.
Found you, love you, thank you. Subscribed.
There are actually buildings on the US/Canadian border where the international boundary divides the structure somehow, and there are markers to denote which country you're standing in or sitting in or whatever within that building. Most of these situations are in the eastern most part of the border area.
Das hast du schön gemacht 😊
Hello Erika - and everybody else! Sweden 🇸🇪 is still one of the most peaceful countries in the world. 2023 Sweden was rated the 23rd most peaceful country (Iceland on the top). USA was rated the 131st. With that said I think you've done an accurate and really good explanation. All the best! 🕊🌿// Nikki from Sweden
Sure but it’s not as peaceful as other Nordic countries, which is what Erika was pointing out. Denmark, as an example, is ranked number 2 on the list and Sweden has gone down a lot in the past decade.
It is just that some people did not think crime even was committed in Sweden before this gangs.. hahahaha! Yeah well class structure has changed in Sweden over several years now and this is the consequence. With populism and lies being our new currency the actual fact of the matter is hard to find and get circulated. This is not just a problem in Sweden but many other countries as well. It is very sad that we have been so easily corrupted by it.
Unfortunately the immigrants took over and now our country is fucked… Shootings, stabbings and explosions every week… it’s a shame
@@lovisalindstrom7920 Well, populism only caught on because we decided to shoot ourselves in the foot. We invited hundreds of thousands of refugees without any plans to integrate them. They were left to rot in the suburbs and out sprang a generation of criminals, intent on bringing the violence and suffering their parents escaped from to the suburbs of Sweden. Now, after a decade of madness, people are finally beginning to realize what a mistake we've made.
@@wywen9876That’s wrong, Finland actually have a higher murder rate than Sweden. Making Finland the most violent country in the Nordics. And Latvia (the home country of the video author) has a murder rate more than 3x higher than Sweden, making Latvia the most violent country in the EU. Sure, Sweden has problems just like every country and compared to maybe 10 years ago it is relatively a bit less safe today in certain isolated neighborhoods. But only comparing ourselves with the Nordic countries and having like 40% more murders compared to the in the top 5 safest countries in the world doesn’t really make Sweden a dangerous country at all, it is still in fact in the top 30/25 safest countries worldwide and at about the EU average.
I’m new 2 your channel- is wonderful- greetings from Chicago Illinois ✌🏼🌼
Nice video, just one thing - I know it takes a lot of time to research every country, and I don't know when you started to make this video, but things change, several things that you put have changed, probably they were like you said but some things are more than a year changed.