Rick Steves Points Out Something Odd About European Flags Americans Are Sure To Notice

Flags in the United States are fairly straightforward. The nicknamed "Stars and Stripes" flag has stayed almost the same for more than two centuries, save for the addition of new stars for new states over the years. Each of the 50 states has its own flag too. This means that landmarks in the US might fly both national and state flags. Countries in Europe, on the other hand, have an extra layer of complexity when it comes to what flags fly and where.

European city halls or major cultural centers often have three flags. Europeans fly their country's national flag, but also the flag of the European Union if the country is a member. Lastly, there might be a flag representing a more regional identity. "Modern political borders are rarely clean when it comes to dividing ethnic groups," travel expert Rick Steves explains on his website. These identities may not be reflected in the national flag, but they come with a source of pride and desires to represent them often come from generations (if not centuries) of passionate separatist movements.

The staunch regional loyalties many Europeans hold are comparable to how Americans narrow their identities down to specific states, but only slightly. "Ask a person from Munich where he's from and he'll say, 'I'm Bavarian,' or 'I'm German,' or 'I'm European,' depending on his generation and his outlook," Steves explained. Bavaria is Germany's southwestern section, with a blue and white checkered flag and a culture that far predates the Germany we see on the map today. Steves cites Brittany, the northwestern portion of France, as another example. Instead of French, Bretons are Celtic, an ancestry linked to Irish, Welsh, and Scottish. Relations between the French and the Bretons are calm in the 21st century, but there used to be more friction between the two.

Other significant identities without a country reflecting their namesakes are Catalan (or Catalonian) in northwest Spain and Sicilian in southern Italy. Catalans and Sicilians also have their own flags and occupy territories different from the national political borders in which they reside. Aside from flags, you'll also notice significant language or cultural differences too.

Flags can be part of contentious odds between regional and national identities. Catalonia — with Barcelona as its capital — is an autonomous region of Spain, but many Catalans would like it to become its own country. Flying the red and yellow striped Catalan flag used to be a bold statement of protest against Spain, with Spain once even outlawing it entirely. In the 2020s, this relaxed. People can freely speak Catalan and wave their flags. Even still, there are protests for Catalan independence, and ignoring the differences between Catalonia and Spain is among the things tourists should never do when visiting the country.

The concept of an identity without a sharply visible border on the map is a global phenomenon. You might see flags representing indigenous peoples across the United States, especially around tribal headquarters like that of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana or the Osage Nation in northwest Oklahoma. There are also major pushes for Palestine and Kurdistan to be separate countries in Asia. Both have their own flags and cultures too. All of this is to say that having some background knowledge before visiting is Rick Steves' unexpected secret to fully appreciate any new place and all of its complexities.