# Your countries bucket list



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

What five countries you have never been to are highest on your bucket list?

If you like, you can also list the countries you've been to (which might put your bucket list in perspective).


For me: Norway, Ireland, Chile, Iceland, Japan

Been to*: Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Monaco, Spain, Portugal, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, China, Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Canada, USA, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Grenada, South Africa, Eswatini (=Swaziland).

* Airports don't count......


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

I've only been into Canada (Vancouver) and Mexico (as far south as Ensenada).

I'd love to visit Ireland, Scotland, England, Italy, Spain.


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## Dorsetmike (Sep 26, 2018)

At 87 I've no longer got a bucket list.
Ireland, (do Wales, Isle of Wight and Scotland count as separate from UK?) France, Italy, Egypt, Iraq, Cyprus, Aden, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia. (Most of these were whilst serving in the Royal Air Force)


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## Luchesi (Mar 15, 2013)

We were recently reminiscing at a get-together for us workers. We've all worked on six of the seven continents. ...Unless Panama is considered South America instead of North America, then it was all seven.

added;
Oh, I'd like to see all of New Zealand.


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## SuperTonic (Jun 3, 2010)

Bucket list: Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, UK (Scotland in particular), Spain, Greece, Argentina, Tanzania, Vietnam, Singapore. 

Been to: Mexico, Hungary, Poland, Taiwan, Hong Kong (before the British handed it over to China)

My wife and I are planning a big vacation for our 20th anniversary in 2023. We are still deciding on a location, but I'm hoping to knock off at least one of those from the list.


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

I don't really like travelling, but I'd love to visit Antarctica! Don't think my aging unhealthy body can endure the journey though. Also, I know, Antarctica is a continent, but trying to name the countries who have made territorial claims is futile, while I have no idea who has made claim to where anyway.

Given that I don't like travelling, be it for work or for pleasure, still I've been to a few places/countries,

Belgium
China
Denmark
Dubai
England
Germany
Hong Kong
India
Ireland
Japan
Luxembourg
Macau
Netherlands
Norway
Northern Ireland
Singapore
Sweden
Taiwan
Thailand
USA

(Some might dispute separating China, Macau, HK and TW into four entries. I don't want to go into politics, so let me just say that 1) It is a fact one takes an international fight instead of a domestic flight to travel among these places; and 2) please don't take everything you saw on TV for granted. On the other hand, I believe separating Northern Ireland and England into two entries is quite reasonable?)


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

I've been to a lot of countries covering all seven continents. Reached the Arctic Ocean in November (technically - Hudson Bay is part of the Arctic Ocean).

I want to visit:

Israel, the Middle East, and North Africa generally
The Eastern Adriatic coast
Cambodia and Vietnam
I haven't been to India (but for some reason, I can't work up much enthusiasm for going)

There are plenty of countries I'd like to return to.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

I've been to:

Canada
Mexico
Turks and Caicos
Saint Lucia
Peru
Argentina
Antarctica (I know)
Great Britain
Ireland
France
Spain
Italy
Greece
Germany
Luxembourg
Belgium
The Netherlands
Poland
Czech Republic
Switzerland
Austria
Hungary
Denmark
Sweden
Norway
Finland
Russia
China
Hong Kong
Japan
Indonesia
Bhutan
The Maldives
Korea
Uganda
Kenya (only slightly more than a stopover)
Tanzania
South Africa
Zimbabwe
Botswana

Probably missed 1 or 2.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I've always had a hankering for Uruguay - it's been politically stable for some time now and it's almost like a well-kept secret in Europe. My dad was in Montevideo for a while when he was in the Royal Navy and it's always sounded an intriguing place.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

I've been to Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, and Italy.

Countries I'd most like to visit: England, Australia.

City - Istanbul.


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## verandai (Dec 10, 2021)

I'm interested in more countries, but those are my Top 5 countires I want to visit. This list can change in the long run (hopefully), but has been like this for a couple of years:

New Zealand, Colombia, Ecuador, Canada, Kyrgyzstan

I've been to Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Guatemala, USA, Japan, Nepal, and about half of the countries in Europe.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

In France we didn't visit Bretagne, the Loire castles, Bordeaux and parts of the Alsace yet. The German isle of Rügen and the Polish/Prussian coast is on our bucket list as is Lake Constance at the Swiss border. The Italian flower-coast at San Remo we would like to see. Venice we did visit, but there is still a lot of Venice we didn't see. In Spain we did visit Catalonia, Barcelona and San Sebastian. Madrid, the Prado, and all those other grand old cities of Spain we hope to see one day. Of Great Britain we know touristic hot spots like London, Brighton & Oxbridge from visits by train, but we didn't visit the countryside yet with our own car.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Art Rock said:


> What five countries you have never been to are highest on your bucket list?


Shamefully, I have never been to Austria which tops my bucket list of 5. Followed by Italy, Iraq, Thailand, China.


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## Chilham (Jun 18, 2020)

Canada, Chile, Iran, Syria, New Zealand

Been to UK, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Andora, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Monaco, Italy, Malta, San Marino, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Serbia (Kosovo), Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Austria, Leichenstein, Switzerland, USA, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, UAE, India, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

The Galapagos Islands, with or without mainland Ecquador
India
China
Russia
Australia

Most of the above would be birding (birdwatching) trips, although cultural aspects would be prominent in many of them.

If I ever finish the above (seems much less likely now "post" COVID) then the following are lesser priorities:

Czech Republic (booked trip originally for Sept 2020, but COVID had other ideas!)
Hungary (booked trip originally for Sept 2020, but COVID had other ideas!)
Belgium (more of a Lambic Beer tour!)
Austria
The Netherlands
New Zealand
Chile
Brazil
Norway
Iceland

Also return trips to Spain, Costa Rica, Italy, England.

I used to travel a lot in the past, but being very risk averse in the COVID era, despite full vaccination with a booster, I am now much more hesitant, so a lot of these trips are receding further and further into a murky future.


I have been to England several times (I should visit the rest of the UK, while it is still a United Kingdom!), France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland (very briefly), Costa Rica (6 trips), Panama, Trinidad, Belize, Mexico, Canada, Egypt, UAE, Lebanon, Greece, and Cyprus. I am probably forgetting a few.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Germany
Italy
Spain
Scotland
Sweden


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

My bucket list:
Five in no particular order: India, Peru, Argentina, Kazakhstan, Japan, Israel

Another five on my bucket list: Jordan, Thailand, Madagascar, Bolivia, Spain

Yet another five on my bucket list: Portugal, Mali, Indonesia, Mongolia, New Zealand 

Chronological order: Been to UK, Canada, USA, Brazil, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, China, Australia, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Ireland.


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## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)

Been to:

England
France
Belgium
Netherlands
Senegal
Bali, Indonesia
Canada

Bucket list:

Germany
Austria
Spain
New Zealand
Thailand


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

My bucket list focuses more on cities than countries. I've been to Germany, twice, but I can't say that I've yet got a feel for either the place or the people since the first was a flight into Frankfurt where I never left the airport (a disatrous trek) and the second was to go to WB Movie World nr. Dusseldorf!

So, I want to go to Berlin and stay long enough to soak up what it is to be a Berliner. I'd also like to visit Vienna for the classical highlights and the cake.

I've been to the US - Boston for a day and Hartford for a week, on business - and on a theme park holiday in Florida. Can I say that I "understand" Americans better as a consequence when I've never ventured further west?

For the rest, I favour the Nordic countries. I'd like to return to both Sweden and Finland, having already done the capitals, and explore the lesser known parts. I'd also like to go to Oslo and Reykjavik, but get out of both cities to sample the countryside..

I'm not a great flyer, so I'm unlikely to try further afield, and anyway, my wife wants us to go to Dublin and back to the Western Isles of Scotland (me too - utterly beautiful).

I have also enjoyed trips to Paris (my homeymoon), Boulogne and Calais (duty free day trips), St Omer and Ypres (school trip) Amsterdam (New Year holiday, and I'd like to go back there), and family holidays in Wales (St David's, Tenby, Cardiff, Snowdonia and Portmeirion.)

I've lived in England all my life, so Scotland and Wales, within easy reach, are not foreign places to be visited in the same way as 'going abroad' to Europe. I bought my clan kilt in Fort William and enjoyed both the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the Fringe festival when I had just finished college.

Apologies to anyone living in parts more far: I have no wish to go to South America, Africa, Australasia or Asia.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

My top five would be ... 

Italy
Egypt 
India 
Spain 
Turkey 

I've been to China a few times but I haven't gone to Beijing yet, so if we did cities.... 

Rome 
Cairo 
Istanbul 
Beijing 
Florence


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

jegreenwood said:


> I've been to:
> 
> :
> :
> ...


Please enlighten me! How's the journey? What did you do there?


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

Chilham said:


> Canada, Chile, Iran, Syria, New Zealand
> 
> Been to UK, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Andora, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Monaco, Italy, Malta, San Marino, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Serbia (Kosovo), Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Austria, Leichenstein, Switzerland, USA, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, UAE, India, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan


Kazakhstan before or after Borat? Not much of a country to visit now, I'm afraid


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## Chilham (Jun 18, 2020)

TxllxT said:


> Kazakhstan before or after Borat? Not much of a country to visit now, I'm afraid


2015 so post-Borat. Three days on motorcycles from Rubtsovsk in Russia to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan. Seemed to be dodging potholes, thunderstorms and the Kazakh police road checks all the way but succeeded with all three.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Corona has made all trips in the last two years only domestic for me, it sort of reduced my appetite for adventures as well, and I doubt there'll be anything non-European for yet at least 2-3 years.

I hope to see more of Norway (the middle section coast) or go to the Scottish Shetland islands maybe-maybe in 2022. I tend to go a lot to south-European areas too; Malta is then easily reachable and on the bucket list, possibly the Azores, Gomera/Canary Islands and some further Greek islands too.

Am less inclined to go overseas, but China would probably come first on the list.

Have been to (almost all have been several visits; I travelled about 4 years of my life):
Austria
Bosnia
Croatia
Czech Republic
France
Germany incl. 'GDR'
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Latvia
Lichtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Monaco
Morocco
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom (England & Scotland)
USA
Vatican state


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Kiki said:


> Please enlighten me! How's the journey? What did you do there?


I did it by cruise ship, which is most common, although it appears you can opt to fly over Drake's passage. Nine days including four days' crossing. We were lucky as the weather was calm both ways.

The cruise ship held 200 passengers. We didn't dock; twice each day we'd go out in Zodiacs, most often reaching the shore, occasionally remaining offshore. They are very careful about contamination. On our most adventurous Zodiac trip we were following a whale. After a while (s)he went under and we headed in a different direction only to have the whale resurface about six feet from the boat. Sorry - no pictures: I was hanging on for dear life.

What do you see? Penguins. Then a seal. More penguins. Other bird species. More penguins. But the penguins never stop being lovable. There are also stunning seascapes and coastal landscapes.

We had sun every day. The temperature reached 40F. I have a photo of me standing outside in my shorts.

Edit - we sailed from the southern tip of Argentina. The trip took place in Dec./Jan.


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## Guest (Jan 9, 2022)

Luchesi said:


> We were recently reminiscing at a get-together for us workers. We've all worked on six of the seven continents. ...Unless Panama is considered South America instead of North America, then it was all seven.
> 
> added;
> Oh, I'd like to see all of New Zealand.


I promise you wouldn't be disappointed in New Zealand; it's a wonderful, compact country full of diverse natural phenomena and super friendly people.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Dorsetmike said:


> At 87 I've no longer got a bucket list.
> Ireland, (do Wales, Isle of Wight and Scotland count as separate from UK?) France, Italy, Egypt, Iraq, Cyprus, Aden, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia. (Most of these were whilst serving in the Royal Air Force)


That sounds interesting. In case you're reading the thread, could you tell maybe a little more about it? For instance, many years ago, the BBC documentary series about the UK aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal (1976), obviously more navy-related, was a big, international hit I think, also here in Denmark, where I watched it.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

Brazil
Thailand
Peru
Norway
Russia

Next 5:
Egypt
Afghanistan
Germany
Japan
Philippines


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist said:


> Brazil
> Thailand
> Peru
> Norway
> ...


11-15:
Indonesia
Czech Republic
Spain
Mexico
China (Taiwan specifically)


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

Forster said:


> Apologies to anyone living in parts more far: I have no wish to go to South America, Africa, Australasia or Asia.


I have very little interest in going to most of Western Europe, so we can divide and conquer.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist said:


> I have very little interest in going to most of Western Europe, so we can divide and conquer.


I should say, relatively little interest compared to most people.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Chilham said:


> 2015 so post-Borat. Three days on motorcycles from Rubtsovsk in Russia to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan. Seemed to be dodging potholes, thunderstorms and the Kazakh police road checks all the way but succeeded with all three.


You might be my actual hero.


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

Forster said:


> Apologies to anyone living in parts more far: I have no wish to go to South America, Africa, Australasia or Asia.


This is chiefly because I can bear flights of no more than 2-3 hours. Were I a better flyer, I'd like to visit the 'Ancient' bits of Egypt, India, China and perhaps Peru.


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## Chilham (Jun 18, 2020)

science said:


> You might be my actual hero.












Edit: If you're interested, here's a link to the ride report of the whole trip (I have a different user-name but the same avatar there). At 13:40 in this vid, we briefly meet some guys on the Mongolian leg of the same trip, heading in the opposite direction:


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Art Rock said:


> What five countries you have never been to are highest on your bucket list?
> 
> If you like, you can also list the countries you've been to (which might put your bucket list in perspective).
> 
> ...


I noticed that people who live in Europe tend to have visited more countries than people who live elsewhere.

Maybe that is because Europe is about the size of the USA and visiting other countries is roughly equivalent to visiting other states in the USA?


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Also, the diversity found in Europe never stops to surprise. Obviously there's a lot of diversity elsewhere, but in Europe, distances tend to be smaller, and differences, including culturally and scenically, more marked.


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## Chilham (Jun 18, 2020)

joen_cph said:


> Also, the diversity found in Europe never stops to surprise. Obviously there's a lot of diversity elsewhere, but in Europe, distances tend to be smaller, and differences, including culturally and scenically, more marked.


Europeans think 500 miles is a long distance in the same way that Americans think 500 years is a long time.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

I think one could perhaps even reduce it to 200 + 200


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

eljr said:


> I noticed that people who live in Europe tend to have visited more countries than people who live elsewhere.
> 
> Maybe that is because Europe is about the size of the USA and visiting other countries is roughly equivalent to visiting other states in the USA?


Longer holidays. The labor movement achieved more in Europe than it did in the USA.


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## SuperTonic (Jun 3, 2010)

science said:


> Longer holidays. The labor movement achieved more in Europe than it did in the USA.


I'd also add a common currency and the relative ease of crossing borders between EU member countries.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Chilham said:


> Europeans think 500 miles is a long distance in the same way that Americans think 500 years is a long time.


The American road trip is a pretty well-established tradition, and most of those cover at least two thousand miles, and five thousand miles isn't unheard of.

It's interesting to think how big the US and Canada are. My wife and I took a 2-year-long road trip through the US and Canada from 2015 to 2017, and we probably did 500 miles in on some days.

We saw a lot of stuff from Fairbanks to Key West and San Diego to Prince Edward Island -- but only two countries. (We did go to Mexico briefly too, but not driving.)


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

SuperTonic said:


> I'd also add a common currency and the relative ease of crossing borders between EU member countries.


And the popularity of 'city breaks', plus border-crossing shopping.


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

If you've tried to travel 500 miles across the UK's road network, you'll realise why it's such a long distance!


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

science said:


> Longer holidays. The labor movement achieved more in Europe than it did in the USA.


Ray-Gun squashed labor in the early 80's.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

joen_cph said:


> I think one could perhaps even reduce it to 200 + 200


10 years is a long time.


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## Aldarion (Feb 9, 2016)

Bucket list: Antarctica, New Zealand, Japan, Peru, India.

Been to: Netherlands, Switzerland, USA (New York), Bulgaria, Turkey, Hungary, Czechia.

Been to more than once: Italy, France, Austria, Germany, UK.


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## Luchesi (Mar 15, 2013)

Dickinson and traveling to her far-away lands..

The things we thought that we should do 
We other things have done 
But those peculiar industries 
Have never been begun — 

The Lands we thought that we should seek 
When large enough to run 
By Speculation ceded 
To Speculation's Son — 

The Heaven, in which we hoped to pause 
When Discipline was done 
Untenable to Logic 
But possibly the one —


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Very good news in the life of Mr. and Mrs. science -- we might be spending up to 5 weeks in Germany and at least 3 in Italy in the near future, depending on how some job opportunities and logistics work out. That would enable me to kick quite a few things out of the bucket list....


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

That sounds very nice - congratulations!


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Knocked one off the bucket list today -- I went to the Thomaskirche and Nikolaikirche in Leipzig. Pretty good day...


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## KevinJS (Sep 24, 2021)

eljr said:


> I noticed that people who live in Europe tend to have visited more countries than people who live elsewhere.
> 
> Maybe that is because Europe is about the size of the USA and visiting other countries is roughly equivalent to visiting other states in the USA?


Quite likely. When I worked in Europe, it was nothing unusual to hit 5 countries in one day. I'm currently further from home than I ever travelled in Europe and am still in the same country.


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## KevinW (Nov 21, 2021)

I have been to (mostly Eastern Asian countries/regions):

United States
Japan
Singapore
South Korea
_Hong Kong
Taiwan
Macau_
(You can probably infer where I am originally from. Not my location on TC.)

And I want to repay visits to _Taiwan_, Singapore and Japan.

I want to travel to:

1. Germany 
2. Austria
3. Netherlands
4. Australia
5. Italy/UK


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## KevinW (Nov 21, 2021)

KevinJS said:


> Quite likely. When I worked in Europe, it was nothing unusual to hit 5 countries in one day. I'm currently further from home than I ever travelled in Europe and am still in the same country.


We should probably count Europe as a whole country instead of tons of countries, thanks to the European Union.


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## KevinW (Nov 21, 2021)

In that way my top five dream destinations would be:

1. European Union
2. Australia
3. New Zealand
4. Some kind of Middle Eastern country but hopefully a peaceful one
5. Canada


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

KevinW said:


> We should probably count Europe as a whole country instead of tons of countries, thanks to the European Union.


Definitely no, no and no ! ... the variety there is huge. 24 official languages/national/historical backgrounds/governments in the EU alone, for example, besides just the scenery. Add to this non-EU countries (UK, Norway, Switzerland, Ukraine, etc.).


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## juliante (Jun 7, 2013)

Dorsetmike said:


> At 87 I've no longer got a bucket list.
> Ireland, (do Wales, Isle of Wight and Scotland count as separate from UK?) France, Italy, Egypt, Iraq, Cyprus, Aden, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia. (Most of these were whilst serving in the Royal Air Force)


Dorset Mike from Bournemouth - are you seriously asking if Wales, Isle of Wight and Scotland count as separate from UK? Genuinely interested.


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## KevinJS (Sep 24, 2021)

KevinW said:


> We should probably count Europe as a whole country instead of tons of countries, thanks to the European Union.


History tells us that we probably should not do that.


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

If I had to choose, I'd likely go with all the English language countries first:

*Ireland
Scotland
England
New Zealand
Australia*

There was a time I thought that *Thailand* looked pretty interesting. Now I might consider *Africa* . . . I have an dear old friend that books Elephant tours there twice a year.

*Canada* might be nice too.

I realize that my choices here are rather English-language-centric. I've tried learning Spanish for well on 40+ years now, and am abysmal at it. But I have no yearning to visit Mexico, or any other Central or South American country. Maybe *Spain*, but, well, whatever.


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

Some interesting views on geography (especially political) emerging.

Africa is not a country.
EU is not a homogeneous political entity (though it is a political entity)
Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Wight are all part of the UK (the latter also being a part of England.)


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

Forster said:


> Some interesting views on geography (especially political) emerging.
> 
> Africa is not a country.
> EU is not a homogeneous political entity (though it is a political entity)
> Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Wight are all part of the UK (the latter also being a part of England.)


Yes, you're correct.

My married friends who run *Arte For Elephants* plan two trips for a limited number of people per year: One to *Kenya*, and the other to *Thailand*. She's an artist that specializes in elephants, he's an extraordinary wildlife photographer and writer. So, yeah, the continent of Africa, specifically Kenya, but only because I'd be able to count on a safe and well organized journey.

So the whole British Isles/United Kingdom vs. Great Britain vs. Ireland/Scotland/England thing is just doggone silly. Americans don't care, although I made it a point years ago to figure out the logistics and differences:

*The British Isles *are the two big islands and all the little islands, including the Isle of Man, Guernsey, and Jersey.

*The United Kingdom* (the "*UK*", but is actually the nickname for *The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland*) is the same, with the exception of most of the island of Ireland and the Isle of Man.

*Great Britain* is the big island.

*Ireland* is the next biggest island, and is shared by the *Republic of Ireland* (usually referred to as just "Ireland"), and *Northern Ireland*, which is part of the *UK*.

The Isles of *Man, Guernsey*, and *Jersey* are "Crown Dependencies".

*The Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey* are part of the Channel Islands, which are part of the British Isles. But they're surrounded on three sides by France.

*Northern Ireland* is part of the geographical Island of Ireland, _*AND*_ the political entity of the UK. ​
Of course, it doesn't help matters to consider that *Scotland* used to be an independent entity, and that most descriptions of *Scotland* AND *Wales* refer to them as "*a country* that is part of the United Kingdom". *

Are they countries or not?
**
And Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom that is variously described as a country, province, territory or region. 


Oh, and people from the Isle of Man are called Manxmen. Thank you, Alfred Hitchcock.
LOL. "Bailiwick."

*
Also, most non-Brits seem to use all of these phrases interchangeably whether the name is geographical or political.

As do I, because it really doesn't matter all that much, even though I'm _*usually*_ pretty much a stickler for detail and accuracy.

So, in my mind, "*Scotland*" is a "_*country*_" I'd like to visit. Hey, some of my ancestors were from the Campbell clan. And not the "nice" Campbells, but the Campbells that went around looting and pillaging.

And *Ireland* is an _*island*_ I'd like to visit.


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

You might as well argue that it doesn't matter much if we fail to distinguish bewteen North and South Korea; China, Tibet and Mongolia; and Hawaii (clearly nothing to do with the USA) and Alaska (obviously part of Canada).

Or between Russia, Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk. 
What matters - if it matters at all - is the _current _status of a country, including whether there is a _current _dispute about its integrity and ownership, as recognised by the membership of the UN. National identity is important to many people, even though allegiances to sovereign territories can be a foggy matter. I am (and I mean I identify as, not just that the current map says I am) English, British and European, and each of these things means different things.

In a thread where the specific question is about _countries _on your bucket list, I'd say it matters a lot.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I try to be careful when using the terms England, Britain, UK, etc.

I'd like to know why England and Scotland can field different teams in the World Cup of Soccer (if they both qualify), yet compete as one team in the Olympics?

It seems a bit unfair that someone from Europe may have visited a dozen countries by only traveling a few hundred kilometers, yet a person from Canada or USA, or Russia might never visit another country ever in their lifetime. But those are the rules set out in the opening post. What countries are on your bucket list, not what regions or geographic features, or how far away from your hometown do you want to visit, etc?

By the way, 90% of Canadians live within 100 km of the American border, so it is so much more likely that a Canadian has visited another country than an American. My parents live within 50 m of the border.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

TxllxT said:


> In France we didn't visit Bretagne, the Loire castles, Bordeaux and parts of the Alsace yet. The German isle of Rügen and the Polish/Prussian coast is on our bucket list as is Lake Constance at the Swiss border. The Italian flower-coast at San Remo we would like to see. Venice we did visit, but there is still a lot of Venice we didn't see. In Spain we did visit Catalonia, Barcelona and San Sebastian. Madrid, the Prado, and all those other grand old cities of Spain we hope to see one day. *Of Great Britain we know touristic hot spots like London, Brighton & Oxbridge from visits by train, but we didn't visit the countryside yet with our own car.*


There is the story of the guy who was driving in the countryside near London when he picked up a hitchhiker who said that he was visiting England, he had done London that morning and was doing the rest of the country in the afternoon.


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

senza sordino said:


> I try to be careful when using the terms England, Britain, UK, etc.


I love a Venn diagram!



senza sordino said:


> I'd like to know why England and Scotland can field different teams in the World Cup of Soccer (if they both qualify), yet compete as one team in the Olympics?


So would I. Doubtless there's some kind of explanation in Wiki or Quora...



senza sordino said:


> It seems a bit unfair that someone from Europe may have visited a dozen countries by only traveling a few hundred kilometers, yet a person from Canada or USA, or Russia might never visit another country ever in their lifetime. But those are the rules set out in the opening post. What countries are on your bucket list, not what regions or geographic features, or how far away from your hometown do you want to visit, etc?


"Unfair"? Well hardly. We're all subject to accidents of birth. It's "unfair" that I have travel over sea if I want to visit somewhere outside the UK, while someone living in the EU can visit 25 other countries without getting their feet wet. That's geo-politics for you.



senza sordino said:


> But those are the rules set out in the opening post. What countries are on your bucket list, not what regions or geographic features, or how far away from your hometown do you want to visit, etc?


Well quite. My last trip abroad was to Finland...well, Helsinki and Lahti to be more precise. That left the vast bulk of the country unvisited.



TxllxT said:


> Of Great Britain we know touristic hot spots like London, Brighton & Oxbridge from visits by train, but we didn't visit the countryside yet with our own car.


London has lots going for it, and I've lived close enough to visit it many times - theatres, cinemas, museums, history etc. I wouldn't live there however.

If I was recommending to a visitor where to go in England, neither Oxford nor Cambridge nor Brighton would be on my list. I'd recommend areas of the country rather than towns or cities (unless you're here for cathedrals or shopping!) such as the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, the Lake District (Cumbria), Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors, Hadrian's Wall...

The best beach anywhere in the UK is, IMO, in Scotland, on the Isle of Harris, at Luskentyre...and not an ice-cream or merry-go-round in sight.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

senza sordino said:


> I try to be careful when using the terms England, Britain, UK, etc.


My wife recently bought something from Guernsey, and she was like, what country is that? 

I told her to mind her own business and let the Queen mind hers. 

(Of course I never said any such thing to my wife because she would have murdered me in my sleep.)


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

There are still a lot of things I want to do in Germany but in the past few weeks my wife and I have managed to hit Leipzig, Dresden, Wittenberg, Halle, and Berlin pretty well, except that we missed everything musical in Dresden because of bad timing.

I've bragged elsewhere about catching the St. John Passion and then the St. Matthew Passion in the Thomaskirche in Leipzig. We also heard Oper Leipzig perform _Lohengrin_.

I caught three operas here in Berlin in the past week: the Komische Oper performing Monteverdi’s _Orpheus_ (as re-worked by Elena Kats-Chernin), the Staatsoper performing _Don Giovanni_ (which is the best opera ever and I will fight you if you disagree), and Deutsche Oper Berlin performing _Elektra_. I enjoyed all three immensely.

I've been hitting the museums pretty hard -- a cynic might say I'm on my way to having quickly glanced at every painting and sculpture in Berlin -- and to my surprise the musical one I've most enjoyed was the Handel Haus in Halle. Another great one is the Museum of Musical Instruments in Leipzig. In terms of art, the Pergamon Museum was incredible, but the Kunstgewerbemuseum was surprisingly interesting.

Tomorrow my wife and I plan to hear the Staatskapelle Berlin perform Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos with Andras Schiff. I will frown and glare at the piano the entire time like a true HIPPI -- where are Mahan Esfahani and a Ruckers when you need them? -- but maybe I'll enjoy it a little in spite of myself.

I'll be leaving Germany for a while but I'll be back for another week soon, so we'll see what I can grab at that time....


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## Ludwig Schon (10 mo ago)

science said:


> There are still a lot of things I want to do in Germany but in the past few weeks my wife and I have managed to hit Leipzig, Dresden, Wittenberg, Halle, and Berlin pretty well, except that we missed everything musical in Dresden because of bad timing.
> 
> I've bragged elsewhere about catching the St. John Passion and then the St. Matthew Passion in the Thomaskirche in Leipzig. We also heard Oper Leipzig perform _Lohengrin_.
> 
> ...


As a well travelled German, what do you consider the 3 ugliest and 3 most beautiful of your country’s dialects?
Give reasons, if possible… I will do Irish dialects, in return…


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## Tero (Jun 2, 2012)

Most of Europe. I covered the North, Germany, Spain and one quick trip to the alps and back to Germany via Paris. never did a proper trip to the UK. That is likely to be just London for a week next time I go to Finland. Also, Norway I have not been to since I was 10 other than briefly to Tromsö in 85.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Ludwig Schon said:


> As a well travelled German, what do you consider the 3 ugliest and 3 most beautiful of your country’s dialects?
> Give reasons, if possible… I will do Irish dialects, in return…


I'm American, but it seems like that flag next to my name changes everywhere I go. I'm in Prague now -- saw Yuja Wang's performance tonight. 

The three best American dialects are Western, Appalachian, and African American. The three worst are New York City, Boston, and California.


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

I've been to Canada, Mexico, Italy, Austria, Hungary, The UK, Denmark, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Guatemala.

Bucket list includes Australia (Sydney), Germany, and France.


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## Disco (Mar 19, 2020)

Most from South America


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I just got home (back to South Korea) from an 88-day trip through Germany, Czechia, Austria, Netherlands, Italy, and Switzerland, during which I was able to tick off quite a few bucket-list items, such as hearing the VPO and BPO perform, seeing an opera at La Scala, and so on. I already mentioned hearing Bach's John and Matthew Passions at the Thomas Church in Leipzig.

Quite a few dreams come true, although some things didn't work out (for example the Concertgebouw was out of town when I was in Amsterdam, I didn't get to attend any concerts in Dresden or Munich or Rome, and so on).

One of the most moving experiences for me was seeing the RAI equipment at the Museum of Musical Instruments in Milan (edit: not Berlin). I went to several such museums, and they all have a few gems, but that one felt really special.

I am now extraordinarily envious of anyone who lives in western Europe, with so many great concerts to attend. A lot of you guys act like music is dying but my god you're lucky to have so much of it living right around you. I never want to hear any of that crap again from anyone living in Europe. Maybe it's dying in the US -- everything decent is -- but it's alive and well and flourishing in Europe. Perhaps especially in Berlin, where I stayed on and off for about five weeks. 

Anyway, it was a great trip and I feel very privileged that I was able to take it.


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

35 years ago I visited Victoria,BC,CA on a Seattle trip and in the winter of 1988 visited London and that was the last time I left the country.

I am so poor and so broke I likely will never leave an area of a two hours drive from my house never mind ever again leave to US


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

bagpipers said:


> 35 years ago I visited Victoria,BC,CA on a Seattle trip and in the winter of 1988 visited London and that was the last time I left the country.
> 
> I am so poor and so broke I likely will never leave an area of a two hours drive from my house never mind ever again leave to US


I am not sad because I do love where I live!


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