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Global Guide Traveler. Europe Destinations Guide for global traveler.

There is much here in Europe for global traveler to enjoy, lets guide you through a bewildering array

of diversity and cultures, cosmopolitan cities and spectacular sceneries.

Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to some dispute as to Europe's actual borders. Physically and geologically, Europe is subcontinent or large peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia.

Europe is the world's second-smallest continent in terms of area, covering about 10 390 000 square kilometres or 2.0% of the Earth's surface. The only smaller continent is Australia. In terms of population, it is the third-largest continent (Asia and Africa are larger) with a population of more than 705,000,000, or about 11% of the world's population.

Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south by the Mediterranean and, according to the traditional geographic definition, by the Caucasus. Europe's boundary to the east is vague, but has traditionally been given as the divide of the Ural Mountains and the Caspian Sea to the southeast: The Urals are considered by most to be a geographical and tectonic landmark separating Asia from Europe.

Europe defies easy categorization, with its compact size and complex history. The following are five European regions: Western Europe, Northern Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Mediterranean Europe.

Western Europe: All the countries of Western Europe are members of EU and NATO (bar Ireland). All but United Kingdom use Euro currency. All but Britain and Ireland are members of the Schengen Agreement, which removes border checkpoints. The notion "Western Europe" is sometimes confused with the "Western Bloc", which was a Cold War name for the market economy countries of Europe as opposed to the Eastern Bloc behind the iron curtain.

Northern Europe: The name Scandinavia come from the Skandage body of water between Norway, Sweden, and Jutland. The culture of Scandinavian countries are very close and the languages mutually intelligible. In writing, the difference between the Danish and Norwegian languages are not much bigger than the difference between English and American English, though it will often be harder in oral conversations.

Central Europe: Ethnically different, the countries of Central Europe share similar culture and history throughout the ages.

Eastern Europe: Eastern European countries except Bulgaria and Romania share a common recent history, having been republics of former Soviet Union. Eastern Europe is sometimes confused with the Eastern Bloc, which is a Cold War name for communist countries that were behind the "iron curtain". Eastern Bloc included all the countries of Eastern Europe, several countries of Central Europe and individual countries on other continents, particularly in Asia. Only the Baltic states are members of European Union. Bulgaria and Romania will join EU in 2007.

Mediterranean Europe: Mediterranean Europe is the name of the region which encompasses those countries in the South of Europe that are close to the Mediterranean Sea. They have a common climate, and they are similar in many ways: culture, food, etc.

 

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