Croatia is rather...

[rothaer]

I voted for Croatia being Central Europe rather than Balkans as its parts Slavonia and the Zagreb area seem like that to me. If it only would have been about Dalmatia, I'd say Balkan, because Dalmatia to me is incompatible with what is Central Europe.

[Teutone]

Germany was never considered „Western Europe“ before the Western Allies occupied Western Germany, tried to tie it to themselves by framing phrases and at the same time draw a line within Germany itself (divide et impera).

Till this event the English openly cursed the Germans „Huns“ both in WWI and WWII. This is not exactly to express the diversity of „Western Europe“.

What I state here has nothing directly with "Wessi" and "Ossi" to do (I'm a "Wessi"), but with how much people know and how much they got effected by this western occupation power's framing.

Do you think to me as partly Frisian, the Visegrad states are closer to me in terms of genetics, culture, history, language and customs than the western European BeNeLux states? I doubt it.

[rothaer]

Do you think to me as partly Frisian, the Visegrad states are closer to me in terms of genetics, culture, history, language and customs than the western European BeNeLux states? I doubt it.

No, and a meaningful grouping would also not imply that.

Considering a cline in most aspects (but language) you could pseudo-disprove every bigger grouping by pointing out that one fringe area is closer to another fringe area of the neighboring group compared to the most distant region in the own group. So your objection - as you have formulated it - is an irrelevant banality.

(You could suggest having Benelux as a part of Central Europe as well instead of Western Europe and I think there are some reasons for that. I think that Dutch/Flemish are closer to Germans than to French.)

[Teutone]

No, and a meaningful gropuping would also not state that. Considering a cline in most aspects (but language) you could pseudo-disprove every bigger grouping by pointing out that one fringe area is closer to another fringe area of the neighboring group compared to the most distant region in the own group. So your objection - as you have formulated it - is an irrelevant banality.

Its not a banality, Pan Germanism always showed a affection towards BeNeLux and Scandinavia. We are Germanics and not slavs. The only time central-Europe as term made sense, is when our royals ruled over the slavic land, this stopped after ww1.

[Jana]

If Germans don't wish to be grouped with West Slavs, I don't see reason why should than Serbs for example be grouped with Albanians.
Different language, faith, origin, and a big dislike as everyone knows it.

In "Balkans" most countries loathe each other, but I didn't notice anyone cares about that and has no issue to lump them all together.

And unlike in western and central Europe, here cultural and historical barriers are obviously much larger (clash of western and eastern Christianity, later Islam).

[Teutone]

If Germans don't wish to be grouped with West Slavs, I don't see reason why should than Serbs for example be grouped with Albanians.
Different language, faith, origin, and a big dislike as everyone knows it.

In "Balkans" most countries loathe each other, but I didn't notice anyone cares about that and has no issue to lump them all together.

And unlike in western and central Europe, here cultural and historical barriers are obviously much larger (clash of western and eastern Christianity, later Islam).

Central Europe is a defacto dead term I never read or hear anything about outside ww1 and TA.

Balkans is not a dead term at all.

Terms change with time and our current grouping is still based on cold war, here everything east of Austrian and Germany is simply easterm Europe, that goes for most nations in the west.

[Jana]

I voted for Croatia being Central Europe rather than Balkans as its parts Slavonia and the Zagreb area seem like that to me. If it only would have been about Dalmatia, I'd say Balkan, because Dalmatia to me is incompatible with what is Central Europe.

Dalmatia is fully southeastern Euro, but culturally and climatically a mix of Med (near the sea) and Balkan (interior).

I live on the Island and my lifestyle is more close to Cyprus, Malta or Balearic Islands than to Macedonia or Kosovo.
but it's complicated since people on the Islands partly have origins from further east, from west Balkan dinaric zone.

We still have some dinaric / Balkan cultural traits despite being culturally heavily Med.

So yeah, a fusion of Med and Balkan, kind of like Greece just Catholic.

Southern parts of Panonnian Croatia have strong Balkan influences however, because it was part of Military Frontier, had a large Serbian population etc.

In Croatia basically the rule is this: closer to Slovenian border and more central European it is, closer to the BiH border and more Balkan it is, and closer to the sea it's more Med.

[rothaer]

Its not a banality, Pan Germanism always showed a affection towards BeNeLux and Scandinavia. We are Germanics and not slavs. The only time central-Europe as term made sense, is when our royals ruled over the slavic land, this stopped after ww1.

Nobody considered the German Empire Western Europe in 1938 f. i.

Agreed to that there must not be a grouping with Slavic countries except Czechia that is extremely HRE-influenced. So Central Europe could be parted in an eastern and a western part. But the more details we take into account the smaller areas we then get. There could as well be reasons to distinguish between the Bristish Ilsles and France etc. etc.

[Jana]

Central Europe is a defacto dead term I never read or hear anything about outside ww1 and TA.

Balkans is not a dead term at all.

Terms change with time and our current grouping is still based on cold war, here everything east of Austrian and Germany is simply easterm Europe, that goes for most nations in the west.

Yeah, that's completely true. But I think Rother is right regarding Germany, it was seen as central Euro in the past. Mittleleuropa is a German term.
But Poland for example was seen as east Euro in the past, because it streched much more to the east

I think central Europe meant German and Austro Hungarian Empires (Habsburg) basically.

[Jana]

Nobody considered the German Empire Western Europe in 1938 f. i.

Agreed to that there must not be a grouping with Slavic countries except Czechia that is extremely HRE-influenced. So Central Europe could be parted in an eastern and a western part. But the more details we take into account the smaller areas we then get. There could as well be reasons to distinguish between the Bristish Ilsles and France etc. etc.

You forgot Slovenia.

to other Slavs these two countries stand out.