Austria
It's the spectacular, snowcapped mountains of regions like the Tyrol that
provide the most familiar images of Austria - a landscape of jagged peaks
and rampaging rivers, giving way to green pastures studded with onion-domed
churches. Yet Austria is by no means all alpine vistas: the country
stretches across central Europe for some 700km
Belgium
Nestling between the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France, Belgium
occupies 30,518 square kilometres and is home to 10.2 million people.
Belgium is Europe in a nutshell, multicultural and multilingual. Flanders in
the north, a flatland criss-crossed by canals, is proud of its great art
cities
Bulgaria
Bulgaria is an attractive tourist destination with a most beautiful, scenic
nature and friendly, hospitable people. Here is a land of mountains and
hills, valleys and plains, forests and beaches, cities and villages, gardens
and malls, rocks and rills, rivers and springs, towns and farms.
Croatia
After more than a decade of civil and ethnic unrest, Croatia is once again
emerging as an attractive tourist destination. With its magnificent
coastline, 1,185 islands, islets and reefs, Roman ruins and picturesque
medieval villages, it is fast becoming a rival to the magical Greek islands
- alluring for lovers of fun, sun, local colour, great food and a little
history.
Cyprus
There is a great deal packed into a small space on the island of Cyprus in
the eastern Mediterranean. Not only does it abound with good beaches and
holiday resorts, but its relatively tiny landmass is riddled with the relics
of ancient history, from the beehive huts of primitive man to classical
Greek and Roman ruins, and everything imaginable in-between.
Czech Republic
The Czech Rebublic is a landlocked country in central Europe. Before World
War I part of Austria-Hungary, in 1918 the Czechs and neighbouring Slovaks
joined together and formed the independent republic of Czechoslovakia. In
World War II occupied by the Germans in 1939. After World War II,
Czechoslovakia fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a
member of the Warsaw Pact.
Denmark
Delicately balanced between Scandinavia proper and mainland Europe, Denmark
is a difficult country to pin down. In many ways it shares the
characteristics of both regions: it's an EU member, and has prices and
drinking laws that are broadly in line with those in the rest of Europe. But
Denmark's social policies and its style of government are distinctly
Scandinavian: social benefits and the standard of living are high, and its
politics are very much that of consensus.
Finland
Finland is a country for the discerning vacationer; a country that offers a
wide array of holiday options for the special-interest traveller looking for
something original, something not likely to be found elsewhere.
