Did You Know ... ? Bulgaria’s King Simeon II, in exile during communism, returned and served a stint as prime minister. The Cyrillic alphabet was created by a Bulgarian monk in the ninth century. Bulgaria produces about 30% to 40% of the world’s attar of rose, which is used in
Did You Know …? The pirate Blackbeard based his operations at Soper’s Hole on Tortola between 1715 and 1718. Anageda has more than 300 shipwrecks because the island is so flat sailors sometimes could not see it. The rum drink called Painkiller originated at the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost
Did You Know...? Until 1967, the country’s official name was United States of Brazil. Brazil occupies 47.3% of the South American continent. Native Indians are about 0.15% of the population and speak 180 different languages. More than 37% of all slaves taken from Africa were brought to Brazil. Voting is
Did You Know ... ? For three centuries, Bonaire provided salt for most of the Caribbean; the mines are still active. Hotel Zeebad is a converted World War II internment camp for German POWs and Dutch and British Nazi sympathizers. Bonaire has no rivers. Because it has thousands of flamingoes,
Did You Know...? Bermuda is about half the size of Disney World (21 square miles compared with 43). The island was first inhabited (1609) by shipwrecked Jamestown-bound settlers. By law, Bermuda shorts can be no more than six inches above the knee. Bermuda is really 181 islands, with the eight
Did You Know...? Belize’s first permanent European settlers were British buccaneers and shipwrecked British sailors. Part of “The Mosquito Coast,” based on a Paul Theroux novel, was filmed in Belize (1986). Archaeologists estimate more than a million Maya lived in Belize 2,000 years ago, triple today’s Belizean population. Forty percent
Did You Know...? More than 450 type of beer are made in Belgium. The saxophone was invented around 1840 by Adolphe Sax, a Belgian instrument maker. The word spa comes from the Belgian town of Spa. The country counts more castles per square mile than any other. Belgium produces 172,000
Did You Know...? More than half of Barbados’ arable land is used to grow sugar. George Washington slept here, the only foreign country he ever visited. Ferdinand Paleologus, last claimant to the Byzantine throne, is buried on Barbados. Barbados is entirely made of coral. Bridgetown was first called Indian Bridge
Did You Know...? When Columbus sighted land on Oct. 12, 1492, he saw San Salvador in the Bahamas. Only about 20 of the 700 Bahamian islands are inhabited. Abaco Barbs descend from Spanish horses brought in at the time of Christopher Columbus. The Bahamas does not have an army; it
Did you know ... ? Austria’s Lipizzaner horses are bred on a state stud farm in Piber. Stiftskeller St. Peter in Salzburg is central Europe’s oldest restaurant (803). The Austrian engineer Ferdinand Porsche, who gave his name to the car, also designed the Volkswagen Beetle. Enthusiasts can ski year-round on
