The figures are quite big over here. There area couple of guys in the model club i belong to who produce the most amazing work often of 18th and 19th century figures. There used to be a big show in the UK called Euro Millitaire but thats now stopped thanks in part i believe to bigger shows on the Continant.
There is a museum in the Netherlands that i have heard is a must to visit for WW2 enthusiats, at Overloon. Once a year they have a Litracks event whereyou can get to ride in military vehicles. One guy i know who went took great pleasure in telling me about his ride in a 251 and watching me get very envious as he told me.
Overloon is a DEFINITE “must see”! I have not been there for the annual Militracks event, but have been to the museum, and it is one of the best! There’s also a nice hobby shop near the entrance, where you can pick up some great kits. And as long as you’re visiting there, you might as well check out some of the Market Garden related sites, as Overloon is very close to Njimegen and Arnhem. The Airborne Museum at Hartenstein (Arnhem) is a standout attraction, and of course the John Frost Bridge (the “bridge too far”).
As an American who has been living in Europe (Bavaria) for over eight years now, I can tell you that military modelling is indeed very popular. However, in Germany you may get a lot of flak if you display the swastika on your models (they’re the reason why a lot of kits don’t include swastika decals any more). I would say that there aren’t as many shows as there are in the USA, where one chapter or another of IPMS-USA is putting on a show/contest seemingly every weekend! But there are indeed some nice ones, and they are huge. Plus, you can get a ton of new products that aren’t as easily available in the USA, from Eastern European companies such as Eduard, ICM, Mini-Art, etc. I would recommend highly the annual Moson Show in Mosonmagyarovar, Hungary (very near to the border of Austria and Slovakia, only about 25 km from Bratislava).
I spent 5 years in Germany and saw an awful lot of Europe. I agree with everything everybody else has told you already, but I thought the air shows were worth mentioning. I swear there’s one somewhere every month. My unit sent a helicopter to most of them, and what I remember most is how people from every country attending smothered us in alcohol. We’d give out bottles of booze also, but what they wanted most was Green Giant stickers. If you are interested in anything currently in the military over there, with plenty of vintage aircraft still flying, then go to a few airshows.
Also, one thing I remember about the Netherlands was they required you to know the language before you could get a job. Don’t know if that’s still true, nor even what your plans are there, but you might want to check on that if you are seeking employment.
I do recall a shop somewhere in Budapest that had a great selection of pre painted white metal soldier figures from the Imperial eras. They were about 54mm size and covers the various countries armies and soldier types. Dragoon’s, Grenadiers, Hussars, etc.