How about, do you think to some degree a sense of pride in nation, maybe even destiny, has been revived in America?
excellent question Massrock.
Obama's a far more eloquent 'city on the hill' testifier than his predecessor, and the fact that there are some fine steps he's taken to cleanse some of the worst excesses - black sites, torture debates, intention to close Gitmo, respectful language toward other states - of Dubya, must mean many, many more Americans are re-energised? (though there's a vocal Tea Party minority busy cleaning their weapons, of course.)
the flip-side of my Swiss/Portuguese question is of course, in the 80s, which democracy had the most antipathy among its general population toward Iron Curtain countries?
USA - as Massrock and others discussing - must be a candidate, and also i'm sure the likes of Finland. (though i of course hear what P and Nomad are saying.) but again this is just me thinking aloud on a curio.
i didn't know that about their wine, T. sounds cool.
any recommendations spring to mind?
and how long did you live there for?
when was that journey undertaken, again, Ollie? i remember you mentioning before now.