How racist is Europe?

Question

Okay, so me and my girlfriend want to take a trip around Europe, as we both know how much beautiful cities it has. We are both EU citizens and live in the United Kingdom - London to be specific. We've travelled the UK already, with no problems or altercations (in terms of racism), it was nice.

I am white, but my girlfriend is mixed race. She has a white Mother and a... Mixed Father? I'm not 100% sure to this day what colour her Father is. His Mother is an Afro-Latina from Puerto Rico and his Father is from Morrocco (looks kind of Arabian). His paternal ancestors in the sixth generation were from Germany, though - they migrated to the Middle East... So he tells me. My girlfriend is "light-skinned", green eyes, long brown hair.

Okay, so more to the point - I know there are racists everywhere - some more than other, lots of places in Europe are homogenous people and aren't used to seeing people of different colours, other than white. We want to visit: Versailles, Paris, Bordeaux, Milan, Rome, Florence, Venice, Sicily, Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Valencia, Madrid, Barcelona, Luxembourg, Brussells, Geneva, Zurich, Bern, Warsaw, Vienna, Prague, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Malmo, Oslo, Bergen, Riga, Moscow, Amsterdam and we wanted to visit the Blue Lagoon in Iceland many more places. I'm not asking anybody to give me a check list of how "open" all of these places are (it'd be great if you could, though!), but just a rough idea, if it would be "safe" to visit these places. Please alert me if there are any places that you really wouldn't say it's a smart idea to go to.

Like I said, racists are everywhere - some more than others... I just want to know that my girlfriend (or us both as an "interracial" couple) won't feel uncomfortable or "targeted" in these places. What do you say?

Many thanks.

Answer 1

I think that they won't say a word.



But you won't get into Russia with only a EU citizenship whatsoever. Russia is not in the EU, you need a visa to travel there.

Answer 2

Just want to back up what Tom said, Russia isn't part of the EU so you'll need a visa to stay there if you're planning to stay any longer than the standard holiday length. Just look into the regulations for that one, but for the others it should be okay. But I also want to mention that Russia is actually on the brink of war with Ukraine at the moment, so it isn't the best place to go visit at the moment.



Actually Europe is a lot more mixed than you think, if not more so than America. The countries are all very small and you can even cross over into another country by car within an hour, and because of that there's lots of people who have traveled across borders and married people from other backgrounds. Not to mention there's a lot of people who traveled over from India and the Caribbeans around the 50's-70's so there's a lot of people from Carribean/Indian descent - it isn't unusual to see interracial relationships in most of the places you've listed. Paris is just wonderful - you'll really love it there. I come from an interracial family (my dad is black, my mother is white and I'm very much mixed race), and the only place we had any issue with was Cologne, but these were just a few odd looks, nothing was actually said to us - they were more curious glances then horrified stares. But if you don't mind the occasional glance then it's definitely worth a visit, personally I thought it was a lovely place and the transport around the city is dead cheap too, you can travel anywhere by tram which is awesome. I've never been to Poland, but I live in a city in England with a lot of Polish immigrants, and I have got quite a few muttered words about me and some quite nasty stares - and this is in my home place. So if you do want to visit Warsaw I would stick to the main city, but don't be surprised if you get elbowed a few times, if you stand your ground an keep out the poorer areas then you should be fine.



But everywhere else is okay, and if you're visiting the main cities then they're used to tourists and people from different backgrounds. I know this isn't on your list but Istanbul is just amazing. The stunning mosques and the city as a whole is lovely. Plus out of all the European countries, I felt most at home in Istanbul, they're very friendly people who always like to please. We stayed in a place called Eminönü with lots of great restaurants and friendly hotels.

Answer 3

It won't be an issue.



You will be pleasantly surprised to learn that most Europeans are fine with mixed-race children and relationships.



Europe? Homogenous? Are you kidding me? Europeans are the most mixed-race people you'll ever see. Some look white, but get a DNA test done.



I think the issue here is will you be able to visit all of those places in just one trip, and the answer to that is a resounding NO.

Answer 4

There is misconception that racism only exists in white communities. I would go so far as to say that it is far worse in other cultures. I really doubt you will encounter any issues in any of the cities you listed. Moscow is my personal favourite.

Answer 5

Anyone with a serotonin imbalance who feeds on negative energy from drug and alcohol use will be "racist"-that's negative energy-you call channel that if you want!! Lead the wino brigade-pied piper!!!