Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
This Tirolean archaeologist funds his vision with money from Brussels.
Europe's “stateless nations” live in solidarity with each other. The Catalan people find
Basque or Galician bars a little more appealing than the run-of-the-mill Spanish ones.
They even make a point to include the other languages on their ATMs: In Barcelona,
you'll see Catalan first, then Spanish, Galego (the language of Galicia, in northwest
Spain), Euskara (the Basque tongue)…and then a button for all the rest (Portuguese,
Swedish, and so on). While all of these groups—Catalan, Galician, and Basque—speak
the common language of Spanish, they respect each other's native tongues as a way to
honor their shared ethnic-underdog status. These groups' affinity for each other even
factors into where they travel. On a recent trip to Northern Ireland, I was impressed by
how many travelers I met from Basque Country and Catalunya. Because the Basques
and Catalans feel a kinship with the Catholic minority in Ireland's Protestant North, they
choose to vacation in Ulster.
