IN some countries in Europe flags have a bad rep. You can use them if the national football team is playing or to remember the World Wars, but in any other way it is considered too nationalistic. Now are most European flags boring. In Europe they mostly use stripes of primary colors in combination with black and white in a vertical or horizontal way. But there are some cool ones that are always welcome on my flagpole.

Bretange
Pops up on your television screen when the Tour the France is hitting that part of the country. Far more stylish than his grumpy brother, the Bask flag. Also used by patriotic American goths.

California
Animals on flags are mostly ferocious. Eagles with spread wing and a fierce look in their eyes or lions on the hind legs, clawing an imaginarily, huge sofa. But not this bear on the flag of the State of California. ‘If you want to use me as a symbol of your state, that’s fine. But I’m not gonna pose. If you’ll excuse me, I was looking for some honey’, this grizzly most have thought.

Greenland
When the sun is gone for the half of the year, it’s nice to have it on your flag. In case you forget how a sunset looks like.

Estonia
When white is used in a flag is normally in the middle. Like some kind of policeman, preventing two groups of hooligans to clash with each other. In Estonia, no more. If blue and black want to kill each other, that’s OK with white. He is no longer standing in between.