Many people laud the countries of Eastern Europe for being cheaper than other European cities like Paris and Italy, but the truth is, there's so much more to the region than just being great for your budget. The area is so rife with historical sites and natural beauty that it's definitely worth a visit.
Of course, there are too many can't-miss sights in Eastern Europe to count, but here are a few to start with.
I never knew how oppressed we were in the US until I drank a beer walking down the street in Berlin. It seemed unreal that I could drink in public — and I was only 19!
Earlier, I asked you all to share the European ways of life you'd like to see stateside. I rounded up your answers, and now it's time for us all to vote on each tradition: would you import it or keep it out?
Incest is all the rage today. A well-respected Ivy League professor was arrested for having a three-year affair with his 24-year-old daughter, and now Switzerland is considering a law that would decriminalize consensual sex between parents and adult children as well as between siblings. A Swiss justice department spokesman explains: "Incest continues to be a taboo in our society, but it's not up to criminal law to stop every morally reprehensible aspect of behavior. Rather, the law should be for punishing behavior that's particularly socially damaging."
Of course many people would argue that incest is socially damaging, and our instinctual "ick" reaction tells us something must be wrong with it. People in favor of keeping it illegal often point to the risks associated with inbreeding. But using that logic, we should forbid sex between anyone with a known increased risk of passing on hereditary diseases. Plus, the genetic risk with incest isn't as high as people think. Putting aside the health concerns, there is an argument that incest is never consensual, especially in the parent-child sexual relationship. Like in the case of a boss-employee relationship, the power dynamic between a parent and child might mean that consent can never really be given.
Considering all this, do you still agree with the Swiss that the government should stay out of the bedroom, even in the case of incest?
The Netherlands has the lowest teen birth rate in the Western world. Teens wait longer to have sex (average age to lose virginity is 17.7 compared to 17.0 in the US), are more likely to use contraception, and aren't likely to lose their virginity spontaneously, since the majority of teens say "love and commitment" is the reason to do it.
The UK is trying to reform its own inadequate sex education by introducing Dutch sex-ed principles to its schools. The main tenet? Start young. Its government-subsidized sex-ed program was created in the '80s by a graduate of the International School for Humanities and Social Sciences, which suggests teen pregnancies can be reduced by exposing children to sex ed between ages 4 and 7.
Even if, by some sort of political amnesia, Congress made sex ed mandatory from kindergarten up, could the US go Dutch? Find out below.
Just because Europe's largest nudist community eschews clothing doesn't mean it has lost its sense of propriety. Nude sunbathing may be a-OK, but sex on the beach is where it draws the line in the sand.
Residents of the Village Naturiste in Cap d'Agde, France, are fed up with being Europe's number-one destination for public sex. Fingers are being pointed at Italians, who are largely the reason the community's Winter population of 300 swells to 40,000 in the Summer.
At first I had no sympathy for these "naturists." What else do you expect when your town is synonymous with nudity? But locals report witnessing orgies, voyeurism, genitals "waved in people's faces," and public acts of S&M. And all of Cap d'Agde is suffering while only members of Village Naturiste (five percent of the town's population) are nudists.
A local politician is writing to the state prosecutor, demanding public decency laws be upheld. A Swiss town banned hiking in the buff last year, but grocery shopping without clothes wasn't its town's pastime. Maybe this is just what happens when you start a nudist colony? An unfortunate byproduct of getting your way, like smog in LA. Or do these people deserve nudity without the sex?
Even wearing red, a color proven to attract men, can't help women in Latvia find a decent date. The European country has eight percent more women than men, and guys between ages 30 and 40 have a mortality rate three times higher than their female counterparts. Basically, the whole country is like a small liberal arts college with an imbalanced male to female ratio.
In the country of about two million people, men are more likely to commit suicide or die due to reckless driving, alcoholism, or workplace accidents. While men are out living dangerous lives, women are in school — 50 percent more women are enrolled in university than men. I'm sure every guy on campus must have an easy time finding a date.
The country's popular sex columnist explains the depressing consequences: "A man, having all this choice, doesn't need to be very perfect. He just sits in front of the TV and knows he can get a woman. And if she doesn't suit him, he will get another."
Source: Flickr User liber
With terror threats potentially making Americans wary of traveling to Europe, maybe it's time to bring European traditions stateside. The new 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll tells us which one to import first: longer vacations. The poll, which also declared Jennifer Aniston the world's most eligible single woman, ranked European traditions Americans would consider adopting.
Thirty percent of men and 41 percent of women dream of longer holidays, although only 9 percent of Americans would spend that time on a topless beach. At the bottom of the list: the great European tradition of extramarital affairs. Surprisingly, 0 percent of men (and 1 percent of women) said they want Americans to adopt a more lassez-faire attitude toward fidelity. Afternoon siestas have the support of 15 percent of Americans, while a royal family gets 6 percent.
If I could bring a little more European flavor to the US, I'd import longer vacations, a reluctance to leave your house in sweats, and high-speed trains. What European traditions would you like to adopt?
Source: Flickr User laurapadgett
"I see some of them looking for returns of 20 or 25 percent, at a time when fellatio is almost nonexistent."
Fellatio/inflation? They're both exaggerated! Rachida Dati, a French representative in European Parliament and former love interest of President Nicolas Sarkozy, confused oral sex with inflation on France's national radio. She was speaking in French at the time, but the word for oral sex "fellation" sounds an awful lot like "inflation." C'est la vie!
An underwater camera captures women swimming during the European Swimming Championships in Budapest today.
Yes, that's right — a new effort from the European Commission states that most cell phones sold in Europe will have the same chargers. So far, ten companies have signed onto the initiative, including Apple, RIM, Samsung, and Motorola. For consumers, this means not having to worry about a brand-new, potentially obscure charger with each new phone purchased. What's more, hotels will be able to stock chargers (maybe even one per room!) for guests, and most importantly, when you realize you've left your charger at home, you can ask a friend to borrow theirs — and it will work! The chargers will use a micro-USB connection.
So, when can we expect the same thing in the US? Find out after the break.
