Drive a few hours in any direction from virtually any , and you’ll run into some of these differences. First, Europe’s smorgasbord of languages is a recipe for tension. In Paris, they speak French. Three hours northeast, it’s Dutch, three hours east, in Switzerland, it’s German, Italian and French; a couple hours farther, in Austria and Germany, it’s all German. Drive south eight hours, and they’re speaking Spanish.
Consider as well the contrasts in topography. The Low Countries (particularly Belgium and the Netherlands), with their flat, fertile plains cut with networks of gently flowing canals, are easily penetrable—their vulnerability enticing to the imperialistic eye. Drive seven hours south, however, and the jaw drops and ears pop during the climb into one of the most spectacular, impregnable features in the world, the Bavarian and Austrian Alps.
The differences between the national characteristics of European peoples also undermine the idea of a united Continent. It’s fascinating how people so close geographically can be so noticeably different in both appearance and personality. In Belgium, the people are reserved, yet efficient and accommodating. Parisians seem less inhibited, more cosmopolitan and, from less efficient and obliging.
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