Around the World in the Hetzel Kitchen

Area : About 83,000 sq km, slightly smaller than Maine Location : Central Europe, borders 8 countries, and is landlocked Population : 8.2 million, 92nd in the world Suffrage : 16, lowered from 18 in 2007 International disputes : A large number of Austrians petitioned the government to try to block the Czech Republic's entry into the EU unless a nuclear power plant near the mutual border was closed Official language : Germany Austrian cuisine : Mostly taken from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  According to Wikipedia, they borrow from so many other countries as well that their cuisine is some of the most international in Europe Some famous Austrians : Wolfgang Mozart, Sigmund Freud, Arnold Schwazenegger Lately, I have just been getting my country facts from the CIA Factbook, but I have decided to put some Wikipedia stuff back in.  It gives some more personal and interesting information, and has more freedom to talk on topics that don't fall under the standard CIA headings...

Size : Almost 8 million sq km - 6th biggest in the world         Slightly smaller than the contiguous 48 states Exports : World's largest exporter of coal Population : 21.5 million - 54th biggest in the world Capital : Contrary to popular belief, it is Canberra Australian cuisine : Very global - not necessarily a defining style Really, I have read Bill Bryson's book "In a Sunburned Country."  What else did I need?  Plus, Ryan studied abroad in Australia, so I just asked him for advice.  It all boiled down to one word: kangaroo.  He recommended I find some.  And make it rare...apparently overcooked kangaroo is not very good.  To make it even more appealing, Kevin ate some in France before and said it was very good. So I looked.  And I found . However, that is super-expensive.  Like whoa.  As much as I would like to do that, it seemed a bit ridiculous.  Plus, kangaroo isn't even the national di...

Sorry to those of you who are subscribing to this and got e-mails about a bunch of posts you have already read.  I moved over all of the old ones, so hopefully that should be the only time that happens. Armenia Armenia prides itself on being the first formally Christian nation. Location : East of Turkey Bordering Countries : Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia Total Area : 29,000 sq miles, slightly smaller than Maryland Population : Almost 3 million Net migration rate : -4.16/1000 population Military : Has occupied 16% of Azerbaijan since the early '90's.              6.5% of their GDP is spent on the military, which is 8th in the world. Cuisine : Often relies on freshness rather than spices for flavor. After the holidays, Sarah-Anne came back to DC with us to spend a few days.  On the day she was scheduled to leave, Ryan, one of my roommates from Madison, was coming up from North Carolina to vis...