Luxembourg

[Churchill]

Because it's even smaller than Holland?

Sorry, just my little joke. It obviously struck a chord though.

[Euro-commuter]

Sorry, just my little joke. It obviously struck a chord though.

Indeed, primarily because I rather like Holland, and would rather be there than in some countries that are bigger than it.

[Churchill]

Indeed, primarily because I rather like Holland, and would rather be there than in some countries that are bigger than it.

The standing joke about Holland is that a lot of dutchmen will say "Well, at least we're bigger than Belgium!".

[snaw]

I did some work out there last year (Couple of week long stints so hardly conclusive), seemed fairly dull to me, especially on the weekends when most people pissed off back home. However the local expat guys with families loved it and you've got plenty of countries around all within easy driving distance ...

[Joe Black]

Luxembourg does not actually exist. It is a made up place used by MEP's to inflate their travel expenses.

HTH

I thought that was Strasbourg?

"Strasbourg is the home of, among other things, the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights, the European Court of Justice, the European Ombudsman, the Eurocorps, Europol, the European Commission, and, most famously, the European Parliament, though the latter sometimes holds sessions in Brussels"

[Euro-commuter]

The standing joke about Holland is that a lot of dutchmen will say "Well, at least we're bigger than Belgium!".

That's funny, because that's exactly the pull-up-the drawbridge relativism that gets my goat. Americans think that all European countries are tiny principalities that can't really be serious. Brits French and Germans think that others are below the "normal" size. I suppose that Holland scoffs at Belgium and Belgium at Luxembourg.

I suppose my thing is that I don't see anything strange about, say, Holland. I don't see it as small, actually I see it as a decent-sized place that has got its act together.

With a population about 16 million or so, an economy of about 400 billion dollars, trade with most of the world, a long history of freedom and democracy, and a distinctive culture that many find attractive, it seems to me to be an interesting country and people, important in itself, and a long way from being some sort of small ruritanian backwater.

Sorry for the lack of SOH here, but that's just the problem: I've never found it funny when people make somewhat ignorant fun of something that's not funny.

[padinka]

It's not as bad as people make out.

I worked there for a while (at the EEC HQ) and had a good time. It takes a while to dig out the best pubs etc and you'll need to spend time finding the places that aren't full of whining poms & expats.

Another good thing is (was?) that the European institutions have rather more women working for them than men. Even an IT jockey can get laid...

Padinka

[Churchill]

That's funny, because that's exactly the pull-up-the drawbridge relativism that gets my goat. Americans think that all European countries are tiny principalities that can't really be serious. Brits French and Germans think that others are below the "normal" size. I suppose that Holland scoffs at Belgium and Belgium at Luxembourg.

I suppose my thing is that I don't see anything strange about, say, Holland. I don't see it as small, actually I see it as a decent-sized place that has got its act together.

With a population about 16 million or so, an economy of about 400 billion dollars, trade with most of the world, a long history of freedom and democracy, and a distinctive culture that many find attractive, it seems to me to be an interesting country and people, important in itself, and a long way from being some sort of small ruritanian backwater.

Sorry for the lack of SOH here, but that's just the problem: I've never found it funny when people make somewhat ignorant fun of something that's not funny.

Oh Dear!

[The Lone Gunman]

I worked there for a while (at the EEC HQ) and had a good time. It takes a while to dig out the best pubs etc and you'll need to spend time finding the places that aren't full of whining poms & expats.

Another good thing is (was?) that the European institutions have rather more women working for them than men. Even an IT jockey can get laid...

Padinka

Racist.

[padinka]

Racist.

Nope, it's cultural. It doesn't matter what race they are.