A Trip Around Europe Trivia Quiz

Answer: Liechtenstein

In 1985, the Swiss miscalculated the trajectory of rockets during a training exercise, and caused a forest fire in Liechtenstein, for which they paid compensation.
Then in 1992, members of the Swiss army on a training exercise set up a command post in Triesenberg. Unfortunately, Triesenberg is in Liechtenstein. They apologised for their mistake.
Finally in 2007, 171 Swiss soldiers, training in bad weather, entered Liechtenstein, marched into the country for almost three kilometres, before they realised their mistake and turned around. A Liechtenstein spokesman later said "It's not like they invaded with attack helicopters. No problem, these things happen", which is quite probably the most laid back response ever to an invasion, even if it was accidental.

Answer: Belgium

They are originally from the town of Duffel in the province of Antwerp, circa 1820, and are based on the Polish military frock coat. The coats are made from a coarse woollen material called duffel and are characterised by their toggle fasteners in place of zips or buttons.

Answer: Isle Of Man

It is believed to be the oldest continuous parliamentary body in the world, and consists of two Chambers, known as the Branches of Tynwald. The lower branch is directly elected and called The House of Keys. Elected members are known as MHKs or Members of the House of Keys, while the upper branch is the Legislative Council and consists of 11 members, eight of which are chosen by MHKs and the remaining positions are filled by The Bishop of Sodor and Man, the Attorney General and the President of Tynwald.

In 1979, the Manx people celebrated the millennium of their parliament; although there is no evidence that such an assembly was in place in 979, the earliest record of the assembly is from the 15th century.

Answer: Spain

Legend has it that a dragon was attacking the region of Catalonia and in order to reduce the attacks and placate the dragon, the people decided to give a gift of two lambs each day. Soon, lambs were in short supply, so one of the lambs was substituted with a person, who was chosen by the drawing of lots. Eventually the name of the region's princess was drawn and she accompanied the lamb to the dragon's lair where, by chance, she came across a dashing knight named Jordi or George. Jordi slew the dragon for the princess and as its blood pooled on the earth, a red rose grew, which Jordi, ever the gentleman, picked and handed to the princess. Thus arose the custom of women receiving flowers and men receiving a book, usually by Miguel de Cervantes who died the day before St. George's Day or William Shakespeare who died on St. George's Day.

Answer: Norway

When the Norwegian King's Guard regiment went to Edinburgh in 1961 to take part in the military tattoo, one of their number was interested in the zoo's penguin colony. So interested that when they returned to the city in 1972, he arranged for the regiment to adopt a king penguin, which was given the rank of lance corporal and named Nils Olav in honour of Nils Egelien (the soldier who arranged the adoption)and King Olav V of Norway.

Whenever the regiment returned to the city, the penguin was given a promotion, so although the original Nils Olav died in 1987, each replacement penguin is given the same name, the same rank as his predecessor and the same promotion honours. Nils Olav quickly rose through corporal, sergeant, regimental sergeant major and colonel-in-chief until in 2008 he was awarded a knighthood by King Harald V.

In 2016 he was promoted to brigadier at a ceremony attended by over 50 members of the regiment.

Answer: Andorra

Andorra is jointly ruled by two people, neither of which is Andorran - the President of France, who is elected by the people of France, and the Bishop of Urgell, who is chosen by the Pope. Andorra is also the only country in the world with Catalan as its official language. With an area of just 468 square kilometres, it is the sixth smallest country in Europe, with only Malta (316 square kilometres), Liechtenstein (160 square kilometres), San Marino (61 square kilometres), Monaco (2 square kilometres) and Vatican City (0.44 square kilometres) being smaller.

Answer: Czech Republic

Czech Republic is composed of two ancient kingdoms, The Kingdom of Bohemia and the March of Moravia. As such it was a duchy until 1198 when it became a kingdom, and just 150 years later in 1348, the University of Prague was formed, the oldest university in Eastern Europe.
The countries that start and end in "A", if you were wondering, are Austria, Albania, Andorra and Armenia.

Answer: Spain

Construction on the church, in Barcelona, started in 1882 but just a year later the chief architect quit. When his replacement was killed in a tram accident in 1926, after 43 years on the project, the church was less than a quarter complete. The Spanish Civil War (1936 - 1939) also slowed down progress but by 2010, 128 years after work started, the church was half built and consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI.

It is hoped that the church will be completed by 2026.

Answer: Austria

References to these sweet, buttery, flaky pastries can be found in Austrian literature dating back to the 13th century, when they were known as "kipferi."
The kipferi being shaped into the classic crescent shape of the croissant is first documented in 1838 or 1839, when an Austrian started a Viennese bakery in Paris. Personally I think the perfect breakfast is warm croissants and strong coffee.

Answer: Scotland

Nessie, the monster found in Loch Ness, gets all the headlines but Morag in Loch Morar is just as feared by locals. The first recorded sighting of Morag was in 1887, and there have been several more throughout the years. although opinions vary on her appearance.

She has been described as a mermaid-like character with flowing hair, or a humped serpent-like creature similar to Nessie or even a black heap, deliberately rising in the water and moving along like a water-logged boat. However she appears, all accounts agree she is a portent of an imminent death in the local community. Before you ridicule the idea of this lake monster, you should know that in 1948 nine people in a boat all claim to have seen her up close and in 1969, she reared out of the water after two men accidentally hit her with their boat.

She quickly disappeared under the water though after one of the men hit her with an oar. Whether the men were sober or not is not documented but it sounds convincing to me.