Northern Europe

Iceland has been one of the countries hardest hit by the economic crisis, but it remains a draw for American artists, writers and musicians.

By every index, the Danes are some of the happiest people in the world — sociologist Peter Glindelock explains why.

The Irish language used to be a symbol of Catholic nationalism. But it’s gradually becoming de-politicized, morphing into just another minority language in need of saving. You can see evidence of that change in community halls in Belfast.

Latvia is on the path to adopt the euro starting in January 2014. Trouble is, most Latvians don’t share their government’s enthusiasm and they don’t want to give up their own money; the lat. Gederts Gelzis reports from Riga, Latvia.

In Denmark, restrictive family immigration laws often prevent young Danes from marrying and living in the country with non-European spouses. One of the consequences is that it has forced many second-generation immigrants to leave Denmark.