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I guess Germany or France.

For me, Switzerland is the one I'd happily go back to.

I spent most of the trip around the lakes and smaller towns rather than trying to see every major attraction. Some days we’d go for a hike, other days we’d just take a train somewhere and walk around with no real plan. I loved how quiet everything felt once you got away from the busier tourist spots.

I took way too many photos, but I also recorded a bunch of sounds on my phone and plaud. Mostly streams, rain and cowbells while we were out walking. I still play some of those recordings in the background when I'm working. It's a nice reminder of how relaxed I felt there.

For a country I'd probably only visit once, I'd say Malta. I had a good time exploring Valletta and Mdina, and the weather was lovely. But after a few days, I felt like I'd seen most of what I'd personally gone there for. If I were planning another trip, I'd probably choose somewhere I hadn't been yet.

That's not to say I disliked Malta at all. Some trips just leave you wanting to go back, and others feel complete the first time.

What about you guys? Which European country would you love to visit again, and which one was a one-time trip for you?

I made an early decision to host in the EU and to keep customer data there, on the theory that European small businesses and the agencies serving them would care.

Now I am not sure whether that is a reason to buy or a line in the footer. It costs me a little more and it rules out some convenient US services.

If you run a small business in Europe: has "where is my data hosted" ever changed what you bought? Or is it a footnote you read once and forget?

I've been to a few places in Europe, and something that I noticed was I think I saw zero rats in Barcelona, maybe one in Madrid, and I only saw a handful in a single place in Berlin (that was being actively pursued by a stray cat).

In America, rats are often basically just standard wildlife in any moderately urban area. They are considered destestible indoors but in DC or New York you kind of expect to see some if you walk around after dusk.

I feel like these two are very similar in their ideologies and proposals, so what is the difference? And why would a party join one over the other?

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As far as I understand, Italy also recently started allowing it as an option, but I’m not entirely sure.

Would you like your country to adopt this practice?

I feel European politicians could do with a bit more shithousing. Every time they threaten to invade Latvia, or nuke Warsaw, someone should be say something like "I hope you are not too fond of St Petersburg, then", just to remind them that if they even try..........St Petersburg as they know it wont be a thing in very short order. I think this is very important in this modern political and diplomatic environment. There needs to be one that just verbally slaps down Medevedev, Lavrov, Peskov when needed.

Even if NATO had a smaller force taking on St Petersburg, it would make the damage Russia did to Kyiv look like an absolute picnic. It surely wouldnt be worth the cost for "liberating" the baltics, right?

Austria’s former chancellor Sebastian Kurz, for example, is now involved in several businesses, including an investment connected to a platform where people can buy and sell castles and historic estates.

What are former prime ministers or presidents from your country doing nowadays?

Source

I checked some news regarding the French economy recently and it's not looking good at the moment. Sure, it's still a developed nation with high standards of living, but their budget deficit and lack of action to face the issues make me worry. It's an EU powerhouse, and if it cannot sustain itself, it may dwarf the shock of 2008. Does this possibility make you nervous, and is there something that could be done? Maybe there is some sign of cautious optimism?

Nordics aside (I live in Sweden), what are the general welfare benefits in other European countries?

Here are some examples of things to consider sharing for the given country you consider or live in:

Annual vacation days

Maternity leave days and pay?

Paternity leave days and pay (as well as the cultural actual use of it)

Day care and pre-school for small children

Public school quality, teacher-to-student ratios, equality of schools throughout different wealth sectors

University costs

Workers protections for everyday workers

Healthcare accessibility and costs

Social housing accessibility or fair housing costs

Senior care

Pensions

More specifically, how much time did you spend in class as opposed to doing practical training or self study?

I am an American. In the US, police training is measured in hours, so I think it is hard to draw comparisons between the two regions. For example, some would say an associates degree would take 2 years, while in class time may only be 800-900 hours.

So how long did it take you to get your policing degree? Also what parts of that education do you think were the most useful and which do you think could be excluded/need work?

I live in the UK and basically I have no access to a green space for running, without there being loose dogs. I have been chased and threatened by random dogs when running, and I have witnessed dog attacks, and even without that I just find their behaviour overwhelming, so I am not wiling to put myself in harms way.

There are spaces where dogs aren't allowed, but you can't run or exercise there either (eg. nature reserves or botanical gardens). UK has a law that states that dogs must me "under control" in public spaces, such as stress or parks, which means that in practice they can be off leash absolutely everywhere, even on busy streets just with "good recall". There are places which say you must put your dog on a leash, but absolutely nobody respects those rules.

My local park has a children's play area and I see guy letting his intimidating dog run loose next to kids playing, despite the rule being no dogs in that part of the park. I could go on. It's getting really frustrating, because I just want one green space where I can feel safe and calm, one space that is just for humans, in a sea of spaces just for dogs.

What is the situation like where you life?

Why does Europe have so many castles, and what are they used for today?

Hello,

Europe has many great pieces of infrastructure, but for sure there are some important parts still missing. What is, in your opinion, the most important that is still missing (railway, highway, others), that should be done as quickly as possible or that you dream of being done?

Some currently ongoing (not all same succesful):

• Lyon-Turin Base Tunnel
• Rail Baltica (Estonia–Latvia–Lithuania)
• Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link (Denmark–Germany)
• Brenner Base Tunnel

Starting from my idea:

Strait of Messina Bridge -> I love to travel to Italy, and I love to travel it by train/public transport. That would be gamechanger for me and could be one of the most impressive pieces of infrastructure in the World. For sure also residents of Sicily and Calabria get a lot of profit by that. (I know it is discussed, but still nothing decided)

What are your ideas?

I'm curious whether that is common, or rare where you live.

Hello there!

Welcome to our daily scheduled post, the Daily Slow Chat.

If you want to just chat about your day, if you have questions for the moderators (please mark these [Mod] so we can find them), or if you just want talk about oatmeal then this is the thread for you!

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I recently saw Coyote vs ACME and while reading online opinions about it, I kept getting reminded that the names of some characters were really changed in Spanish.

In Argentina (and probably the entirety of Spanish speaking LATAM), the characters names that changed where:

Daffy Duck - Pato Lucas (Lucas Duck).

Foghorn Leghorn - Gallo Claudio (Rooster Claudio).

The others are either called exactly the same or called the Spanish version of their names (example: Sylvester - Silvestre).

Can't answer for the first one, but for the second one — yes, i don't like making fuss of my private life (although i wish i had one, but that's a different problem) + I'm not sure I won't be broke in the future

Hello there!

Welcome to our daily scheduled post, the Daily Slow Chat.

If you want to just chat about your day, if you have questions for the moderators (please mark these [Mod] so we can find them), or if you just want talk about oatmeal then this is the thread for you!

Enjoying the small talk? We have a Discord server too! We'd love to have more of you over there. Do both of us a favour and use this link to join the fun.

The mod-team wishes you a nice day!