# Browsers and Foreign Country Web Sites
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-and-foreign-country-web-sites/441278
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 13, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-and-foreign-country-web-sites/441278 "2008-03-13T20:42:08Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-and-foreign-country-web-sites/441278/1 "2008-03-13T20:42:08Z")
Any advice on how I can stop my browser (IE) from directing me to the German web site of a company? I live in Germany but my German is nicht so gut. I’m trying to access the Cunard site but no matter how many times I type in [Cunard.com](http://Cunard.com), I get sent to [Cunard.de](http://Cunard.de). And there’s no button to change the language. Any advice would be appreciated!
Yes, I am a Luddite.
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### Author:  [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2008, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-and-foreign-country-web-sites/441278/2 "2008-03-13T21:01:45Z")
Try entering: [http://www.cunard.com/RegionSelect.asp](http://www.cunard.com/RegionSelect.asp)
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### Author:  [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2008, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-and-foreign-country-web-sites/441278/3 "2008-03-13T21:09:08Z")
[QUOTE=robcaro]
Try entering: [http://www.cunard.com/RegionSelect.asp](http://www.cunard.com/RegionSelect.asp)
[/QUOTE]
Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! It lets me go to every single country **except** the US - I get a “HTTP 400 bad request” message. Jeez, who would think that it would be this hard to spend $4000???!
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### Author:  [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-and-foreign-country-web-sites/441278/4 "2008-03-13T21:15:36Z")
[QUOTE=Surly Chick]
Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! It lets me go to every single country **except** the US - I get a “HTTP 400 bad request” message. Jeez, who would think that it would be this hard to spend $4000???!
[/QUOTE]
Hmmm… that is very strange. I have no problem getting the USA page. Try to reboot and then go again. Can’t help more than that… sorry.
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### Author:  [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-and-foreign-country-web-sites/441278/5 "2008-03-13T21:49:26Z")
[QUOTE=Surly Chick]
Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! It lets me go to every single country **except** the US - I get a “HTTP 400 bad request” message. Jeez, who would think that it would be this hard to spend $4000???!
[/QUOTE]
Interesting. It works fine for me too. The 400 error is strange too, and implies a problem on your end (not the server). Do you have any other web browsers you could try? Do you have any weird browser extensions (toolbars/spyware) installed?
You could use a web proxy like [Proxify](http://proxify.com/). You’ll probably want to uncheck the privacy options (like “Remove all cookies” and “Remove all scripts”) if you want to buy something (any kind of shopping cart type application is likely going to require the use of cookies and scripts).
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### Author:  [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2008, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-and-foreign-country-web-sites/441278/6 "2008-03-13T23:22:42Z")
This is an annoyance for me with Google. I am automatically sent to Google Australia, which is normally a good thing as it can be quite useful, but even when I make sure the “Search Australian sites only” button is unchecked, it seems to load up the first returned results with local content. Problem is, if I go to the American home site, it still seems to happen. Normally no dramas, but there are times when it is quite a hassle.
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### Author:  [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2008, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-and-foreign-country-web-sites/441278/7 "2008-03-14T02:27:01Z")
there is a way, a setting somewhere i think… try to delete all your cookies. let me try and remember.
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### Author:  [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2008, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-and-foreign-country-web-sites/441278/8 "2008-03-14T06:30:17Z")
No go on any of the suggestions. Damn Germans. It happens with a lot of other sites (itues, E!, etc.) but I’m always able to get back to the US one with some finagling. I’ll try the proxy server next but I’m gone for the next three days (unfortunately not back to the US where I can access the site!).
Thanks everyone!
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### Author:  [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2008, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-and-foreign-country-web-sites/441278/9 "2008-03-14T06:52:14Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog]
This is an annoyance for me with Google. I am automatically sent to Google Australia, which is normally a good thing as it can be quite useful, but even when I make sure the “Search Australian sites only” button is unchecked, it seems to load up the first returned results with local content. Problem is, if I go to the American home site, it still seems to happen. Normally no dramas, but there are times when it is quite a hassle.
[/QUOTE]
The url you are looking for is [Google](http://www.google.com/ncr)
I assume the ncr stands for no country redirect.
Don’t mention it 😉
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### Author:  [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2008, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-and-foreign-country-web-sites/441278/10 "2008-03-14T08:22:51Z")
The Cunard thing would be a boneheaded redirect on the server side, probably based on your IP.
FWIW I also get redirected from [http://cunard.com](http://cunard.com) to [http://cunard.de](http://cunard.de) (accessing from a German IP address), and I cannot readily find a link to the English language site.
But the UK site \*\* [http://cunard.co.uk/](http://cunard.co.uk/) \*\* does not redirect for me.
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### Author:  [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2008, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-and-foreign-country-web-sites/441278/11 "2008-03-14T12:09:02Z")
[QUOTE=Princhester]
The url you are looking for is [Google](http://www.google.com/ncr)
I assume the ncr stands for no country redirect.
Don’t mention it 😉
[/QUOTE]
Thanks, but…
It doesn’t help. I just tested it out by typing in the generic search “taxi”, and the second hit was for Taxis Combined in Sydney. Four of the ten first page results were Australian. I might have to go and take a sledgehammer to my cookies, but I can’t see that working for long either.
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### Author:  [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2008, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-and-foreign-country-web-sites/441278/12 "2008-03-14T13:38:53Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog]
Thanks, but…
[/QUOTE]
Are you logged into your Google account eg for Gmail or something? Try logging out, and then search via the ncr link.
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### Author:  [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2008, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-and-foreign-country-web-sites/441278/13 "2008-03-14T13:43:56Z")
[QUOTE=Struan]
Are you logged into your Google account eg for Gmail or something? Try logging out, and then search via the ncr link.
[/QUOTE]
Aaaaaah.
(Having a “D’oh!” moment here)
That might be the ticket. Thanks.
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### Author:  [@Baraqiyal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baraqiyal)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browsers-and-foreign-country-web-sites/441278/14 "2008-03-14T20:46:33Z")
You could try going through a proxy. Google “free proxy”, and try to find one that doesn’t load you down with ads.