Normalcy is not coming back soon. Across Europe, restaurants and tourist destinations are resorting to candlelight as electricity costs become too expensive.
It was only hours ago that one of our writers was discussing the sudden and immense increase in energy prices across Europe. The cause is Russia aggression with them making the decision to cut off gas supplies to Europe. As was pointed out in that article, however, it’s also clear that part of this blame should fall on European leaders and politicians who chose to put their countries in a place where they’re dependent on Russian fuel. It’s foolishness to tie your existence to the whims of communism, dictators and oligarchs.
Now, videos are beginning to trend of just how bad things are getting in Europe. I’m not here to tell you that it’s the apocalypse or we’re going back into the awfulness of the lockdowns. But it is bad nevertheless.
Restaurants and businesses across places like Italy and France are being forced to use candles to provide illumination as electricity and gas bills are rising so quickly that they can’t afford to keep the lights on. As was said in the previous article, it’s bad enough that we’re thinking of putting out an advisory to our readers that they reconsider traveling to Europe this winter.
Worse, though we’re not ready to make a pronouncement quite yet, staff and editors at That Park Place are considering putting out a recommendation against travel to Europe this winter depending on how bad this gets. It’s not that we’re at all against going to Paris or Rome, but if hotels start being rationed on heating and transportation is dramatically impacted due to a stranglehold on various fuels, we’ll be left with little choice but to bring that to our readers’ attention.
— Manu Lopez, That Park Place
Let’s go beyond just reacting to what we’re seeing in the video above. The next thing we should think about is how long until there’s a shortage on candles? How long until people are trying to make their own?
Energy affordability in Europe is reaching a “tipping point” that could peak next year, with total spending on bills across the continent growing by 2 trillion euros ($2 trillion), a Goldman Sachs research team, led by Alberto Gandolfi and Mafalda Pombeiro, said in a note published Sunday.
Many European households are already feeling the bite of a steadily worsening energy crisis, brought on by Russian natural gas producers intermittently pausing flows along the critical Nord Stream pipeline following Western sanctions this year.
Energy bills at some restaurants and coffee shops have already more than tripled this year, but with threats looming that natural gas supply from Russia could become even tighter as the Ukraine War rages on, analysts warn that Europe’s coming struggles are set to rival some of the worst energy crises on record.
— Tristan Bove, Fortune
So just be aware of the challenges you might face traveling to Europe this fall and winter. Things can change fast when dealing with wars and conflicts, so we all pray that this ends quickly and things can improve economically. The best way to improve the lives of citizens is lower energy prices. Until they start to go down, quality of life will decrease. It’s a very sad situation and I feel no good will towards Russia for their efforts in creating hardship.
For all the latest news that should be fun, keep reading That Park Place. As always, drop a comment down below and let us know your thoughts.
