European Anagrams: Are Scant Duplications Quiz

Answer: Norway and oslo

Norway is both the northernmost and westernmost of the countries that make up the area of mainland Europe known as Scandinavia. It has land borders with Sweden, Finland and Russia, but its territory also includes over 50,000 islands, including the Svalbard Archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The country is noted for its scenic fjords, which were formed by glaciation during the last ice age, and its mountainous but sparsely populated terrain. The capital city, Oslo, was formerly known as Christiania or Kristiania and is located in the south-east of the country, at the head of the (imaginatively) named Oslofjord - which is technically a strait rather than a fjord.

Norway is home to many different species of owl, including the barn owl, tawny owl and snowy owl. However, visitors to Norway are not encouraged to attempt to adorn any of them - they have extremely sharp beaks and talons as well as a noted dislike of being decorated.

Answer: Spain and Madrid

Spain is located in south-west Europe and occupies the majority of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital city, Madrid, is located in the centre of the country on the Manazares River. Madrid has been the Spanish capital since King Philip II (of Spanish Armada fame) set up his centre of government in the Royal Alcázar of Madrid in 1561. The Alcázar was a fortress that dated back to the 9th century and served as a main residence for Spanish royalty until it was destroyed by fire in 1734 and replaced by the massive (135,000 square metre/1.4 million square foot) Royal Palace of Madrid.

Spain does not have any native panda species, but the Madrid Zoo Aquarium is noted for housing endangered giant pandas, the first of which arrived from China in 1978. While no evidence exists that Ailuropoda melanoleuca is capable of mind-reading, no one has yet managed to get one to confirm that it can't...

Answer: Germany and Berlin

Covering a land area of approximately 357,000 square kilometres (138,000 square miles), Germany is one of the largest countries in Europe. Following the Second World War, Germany was split into two separate countries - East Germany and West Germany; reunification did not take place until 1990 following the fall of the Berlin Wall in November of the previous year. Berlin was the capital city of East Germany, but became the capital of the new German state when the reunification took place.

Berlin is popular destination for tourists (both with and without their parents). Places to visit include the Brandenburg Gate, the Checkpoint Charlie Museum and the Holocaust Memorial in addition to popular street markets, particularly around the Christmas period.

Answer: Italy and Rome

Italy is located in southern Europe and occupies the distinctive 'boot-shaped' peninsula that extends out into the Mediterranean Sea. While the modern day nation dates back to the process of Italian unification that took place during the 19th century, its capital city, Rome, dates back thousands of years into pre-history. Legends date the founding of the city to the story of Romulus and Remus, while archaeological evidence exists for human occupation of the area back to around the 12th century BC. Visitors to Rome may not be able to see evidence of the very earliest years of the city's existence but many significant structures remain from the time of the Roman Empire, such as the Colosseum, the Pantheon, Trajan's Column and the Roman Forum.

Obviously, it's not mandatory for visitors to Italy to like - or pretend to like - pasta, but it might be handy given the prevalence of pasta in Italian cuisine. In fact, there are hundreds of different types of it!

Answer: Belgium and Brussels

Belgium may be a small country sandwiched between France and Germany, but it is at the heart of the European Union as it was one of the founding members and is home to one seat of the European Parliament as well as the European Council, European Commission and Council of the European Union. It also shares borders with the Netherlands to the north and Luxembourg to the south. Belgium has three official languages - Dutch, French and German - and the distribution of speakers of each of language within Belgium generally relates to proximity to the relevant neighbouring country; Dutch (or Flemish) is predominant in the Flanders region to the north, while the southern region, Wallonia, is largely French-speaking but with a significant German-speaking population in eastern areas.

Belgium has a coastline on the North Sea, but its capital is located inland in the centre of the country. Brussels has a small river with a few streams and tributaries, but does not have a major river like other European capitals. Therefore it may not be the best choice for a diving holiday...

Answer: Bulgaria and Sofia

Bulgaria is located in south-east Europe and covers the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula, an area of land bordered by the Black Sea to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Adriatic Sea to the west. Bulgaria's tourist industry is based around beach resorts and ski resorts as well as the cultural history of cities such as the capital Sofia, which is located in the western part of the country and sits at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, around 160 kilometres (100 miles) from the border with Serbia.

Generally speaking, all tourists from any country should "be on their best behaviour" and respect the laws and culture of the place they are visiting. It's very easy for a country to get a bad reputation thanks to the actions of its citizens abroad; football hooligans or littering sightseers are two examples that spring to mind.

Answer: Greece and Athens

Greece can be found in southern Europe on the Mediterranean Sea and consists of a mainland area on the Balkan Peninsula plus over 200 inhabited islands. These include the larger islands of Crete and Euboea as well as various archipelagos such as the Dodecanese, the Ionian Islands, the Aegean Islands and the Cyclades. The Ancient Greek civilisation was responsible for some of the most famous names in philosophy and the sciences, for example Aristotle, Plato and Pythagoras. The capital city, Athens, is located on the mainland and is home to various beautiful and striking reminders of the area's history. The Parthenon, located on a rocky hill overlooking the city, dates back to the 5th century BC and is dedicated to the goddess Athena.

Athens' international airport was named after a former Greek prime minister, Eleftherios Venizelos. It is located to the east of the city and travellers passing through it will likely find that they and their luggage are scanned in some way. Frankly you'd be worried if they didn't bother...

Answer: Portugal and Lisbon

Portugal is the second-largest of the countries that occupy Europe's Iberian Peninsula (the only smaller one is Andorra). It is located on the peninsula's Atlantic coastline and includes the westernmost point of mainland Europe; it stretches even further west if you count the island groups of Madeira and the Azores. Lisbon sits on the Atlantic coast at the mouth of the River Tagus but, like the rest of Portugal, has a Mediterranean climate with relatively warm winters where the temperature rarely falls below 0⁰C.

The 'advice' to avoid breaking the law should probably apply anywhere and certainly not just in Lisbon or Portugal; probation is probably more unpleasant than the word 'dull' would imply.

Answer: Hungary and Budapest

Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, is split by the River Danube with the formerly separate cities of Buda and Óbuda located on its west bank and Pest located on the eastern side. Hungary is centrally located in Eastern Europe with a total of seven neighbours - Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. The other main river of Hungary is the Tisza, which enters the country from Ukraine in the north east and then flows south and out into Serbia where its confluence with the Danube is located.

Tuna are large saltwater fish, some species of which can grow to around 4.5 metres (15 feet) in length. So, if you spot a tuna swimming around in the River Danube in Budapest then feel free to gape...and then go and look for an optician (the sign would say 'látszerész' in Hungarian).

Answer: Latvia and Riga

There are three countries known as the Baltic States, which all gained recognised independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Latvia sits in the middle of the three states, with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to south. The capital city, Riga, is located at the mouth of the Daugava River on the Gulf of Riga - a large inlet off the Baltic Sea, which forms the country's eastern boundary.

Thankfully, the modern conveniences of mobile devices and Wi-Fi mean that you can get your online trivia fix, including this quiz, wherever you are. There should be no need to pester the local population of Latvia with questions - unless you've got lost of course!