Dublin: Viking hotdogs, Swedish furniture, Romanian crafts, Hungarian wine and glorious sunshine. Dublin's Merrion Square was transformed into a thoroughly free European market on Saturday afternoon and evening.
Thousands of people made their way to the European Fair to sample the delights on offer from 28 marquees, each representing an EU member-state, accession state or candidate nation, which lined the square.
Foods, wines, beers, crafts, technologies and tourism trivia typical of all countries gave the curious or the homesick glimpses into the many distinctive cultures that make up the European Union.
Unsurprisingly, it was the culinary delights and beverages that proved to be the most popular. Those manning the Dutch tent said that they handed out 30,000 samples of cheese and 2,500 pints of Heineken. In the Spanish pavilion, when the 5,000 plastic glasses had run out, soft drink and mineral water bottles were used.
Traditional breads and sweets from Latvia, and hotdogs from Denmark were also very popular. For grown-ups, European stars were in demand from the face-painters on patrol for the afternoon. For children, it was the countries with the most colourful flags that were a big hit.
Mingling stilt walkers, clowns and papier-mâché giants were a source of great delight as were the Tyrolean thigh-slapping group.
Organisers estimate that between noon and 8 p.m. some 88,000 people, 11,000 an hour, attended the event. Sheila and John Staunton from Stillorgan, Dublin said they were proud to be Irish at the event that was so full of "good feelings".
On the music-front, 26 acts on two stages kept the crowds swinging. Trebunie Tutki's mix of Polish highland music with reggae went down a treat as did Amadeus, the Romanian string quartet whose marriage of Romanian folk, European dance music and very short skirts caused quite a stir.
"May all the 10 new countries benefit as much as we have from the EU," declared Colm Ó Snodaigh from the band Kila.