The European Union has 28 member countries. And kinda like Captain
Planet, when their powers combine, they make for a pretty great place to
live.
But that doesn't mean each country is without its flaws. It's like
the Planeteer who controlled the element of Heart. Sure, he helped make
Captain Planet. But he was the worst at getting haircuts.
Anyway, here's what every European country is the worst at.
Travel + Leisure just released its
World's Best Awards for 2015.
The awards are based on a survey that includes responses from thousands of experienced travelers.
Along with hotels, islands, airlines, and airports, Travel + Leisure also ranked the
10 best cities in the world.
The results span the continents, but Italy is the only country to have two cities make the list.
Here are the 10 cities travelers are most excited about traveling to now.
9. Cape Town, South Africa
6. Bangkok
Shutterstock/SantiPhotoSS
2. Charleston, South Carolina
Chancellor Angela Merkel was almost lost for words on Wednesday
when a Palestinian girl among a group of schoolchildren she was meeting
confronted her about the fact that she and her family were close to
being deported from Germany.
“It's really difficult to see that others are really able to enjoy
their lives and you yourself can't enjoy it with them,” Reem told the
Chancellor as she explained that her hopes of studying in Germany would
be crushed if she were forced to leave.
Iraq,
Iran, and
Russia
find themselves in the headlines daily because of their ongoing
military conflicts, human-rights violations, and oppressive regimes.
Unsurprisingly, a report issued Thursday by the
Reputation Institute ranks those countries among the least reputable countries in the world.
On the other side are the most admired and reputable countries, of which Canada leads the pack.
The Reputation Institute's Country Reptrak report "
measures
the reputation of 55 (largest by GDP) countries based on levels of
trust, esteem, admiration and respect based on an online panel of more
than 27,000 people representing the G8 countries."
The report looks at 16 attributes for each nation. Evaluations
include the country's safety, whether the residents are welcoming,
whether the government is effectively progressive socially and
economically, and even the beauty of the countryside.
Given these criteria, here are the 20 most reputable countries in the world:
The Reputation Institute's Fernando Prado
told CTV,
"We all love Canada because of several things ... absence of corruption
... a high level of welfare for the inhabitants, and with friendly and
welcoming people."
Eight of the top 10 nations are very far north, seven of them (all
European nations) are or have been militarily neutral in the past, and
five are NATO members.
Who: Jeremy Jacobson, 40, and Winnie Tseng, 36, retired, formerly of Seattle
Our Early Retirement 'Aha!' Moment: "In 2002, I took
my first real vacation, to the Philippines. After three weeks of scuba
diving and eating great seafood, my goals were completely transformed — I
wanted to do this every day for the rest of my life!
Over the next few years, I sold my house, car and motorcycle so I
could ramp up my savings. A few years later, I met my future wife,
Winnie, who is also a great saver and travel lover.
We moved in together in late 2005, and by keeping our expenses low,
we were able to save over 70% of our income from my job as an electrical
engineer and hers as a project manager.
No matter how aware people are of the harmful ingredients in
cigarettes and how they are the number 1 cause of lung cancer, they
still can’t quit smoking. Well if you recognize yourself in the sentence
above, the least you can do is clean your lungs of nicotine and tar
build up and decrease your risk of infections.
There’s no magical formula that will cleanse the lungs instantly, but
here is a list of foods that works best at throwing out the nicotine
and tar.
The
Humboldt University of Berlin was illuminated during the 10th annual
Festival of Lights in Berlin in October. (EPA/PAUL ZINKEN)
Since 1985, U.S. college costs have
surged by about 500 percent, and tuition fees keep rising. In Germany, they've done the opposite.
Attention Eurotrippers! As you know, it’s always been our mission to help you find the best budget accommodation going. Now we’ve decided to take it a step further. To keep you on the road and enjoying your trip for longer, we’ve found at least one thing you can buy in each country for just one (yes, one!) measly dollar. We’ve tried our best where we can to have each purchase reflect the country – and to ensure we get at some of the lesser known gems, we also asked our Facebook fans to help out with a few bargain suggestions from their home countries. Here’s what you can buy for $1 in each European Country:
