What do people in Europe think of Brexit? As Theresa May prepares to trigger Article 50 on March 29, we sent 5 live presenter Chris Warburton to find out what people on the continent had to say. Here's his blog.
My trip started with 24 hours in Munich, Germany. It’s a wealthy city, famous for cars, football and beer.
Ludwig meets his friends at the city’s largest beer hall every week for a stein of beer and a roasted pig’s head. Sitting next to the oompah band, surrounded by Lederhosen, they talk politics.
He isn’t a fan of the EU and thinks Germany acts like a bank for poorer countries. He’d like Germany to leave too.
The majority of people I came across didn't agree - Doris told me she was sad that Britain had voted to leave, and doesn't think Britain will get a good deal
The view from Germany
Norway
City number two is Trondheim in Norway, which lies on a large fjord, surrounded by snow covered mountains and frozen waterfalls.
The fish shop sells dried cod, a local speciality, and has a huge pool containing oysters and crabs.And, as you’d expect, a lot of salmon.
Norway has an interesting relationship with the EU – being outside it, but inside the single market.
In Trondheim I spoke to both the older and younger generations.
Trondheim has a large student population, and at a cafe in the city centre, I met some students who were born in 1994, the last time Norway voted on EU membership.
For Sigvart, who turns 23 this year and it studying in Trondheim, life outside the EU is the only life he's known. He tells me he's perfectly content not being a part of the EU.
I meet him in a cafe in the centre of the city, along with another student Charlotte.
She would love to see Norway join the EU - she thinks at the moment they get none of the benefits.
The view from Norway
Netherlands
It was an interesting time to visit Amsterdam. As we arrived polls were closing in the national elections and I headed to an election party.
Geert Wilders’ Freedom party, which fought on an anti-immigration and anti EU stance, finished second.
Several people told me they’d not bothered going to an election party before, but this vote felt especially significant because they felt the world watching the result for some sort of sign of a trend across Europe.
The next morning I headed to the Albert Cuyp Market, the biggest in the Netherlands.
It has more than 300 stalls, and some of the stallholders, like Andre who sells Poffertjes (Dutch mini pancakes) voted for Wilders.
Andre was surprised and disappointed with the election result.
The view from the Netherlands
Spain
Onto the fourth stop, Valencia on the Spanish coast. I arrived in the middle of the annual fire festival, Las Fallas – celebrating the arrival of Spring.
I think it’s a problem for British people”
Emilio - Valencia
The city is full of giant statues celebrating popular culture and fantasy, there are fireworks, bonfires, lots of music and very loud firecrackers.
The perfect environment to ask people about Brexit!
The Spanish economy has improved recently, but youth unemployment remains stubbornly high at around 42%.
This means young people are looking for work outside Spain – many of them in the UK.
Jorge says he knows someone who had to go to England to work as a nurse, because he couldn’t find work in Spain. He says they’re all waiting to see how the UK treats EU citizens.
Antonio thinks the UK and the EU will reach a deal in the future, and both will benefit. He says his parents support Brexit because they have concerns about immigration.
The view from Spain
France
My final stop is Paris.
As French rugby fans meet for a drink at the imaginatively named “Le Rugby” bar ahead of their Six Nations match against Wales, some told me they thought Brexit would be a catastrophe.
But others told me they were envious, and hoped France would follow Britain out of the EU.
You can hear the podcast in full here and revisit the original article to see more pictures and videos here.
