Bilbao2

Galician and Basque - the great scrabble conspiracy

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February 25th 2006
The sudden change to dual names on the 'next station' display on the evening train from Santander to Bilbao marks the transition to the Basque country, well that and Frank Sinatra being piped through the carriage speakers for some reason. It appears that the Basque and Galician languages are both based on the premise of crow-barring as many random Zs, Ks and particularly Xs (and that's a whole ... read more

Europe » Spain » Basque Country » Bilbao

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Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in ... ... read more