how do i invest in the European stock exchanges?

take a look at http://4xgenie.com/ , it is worldwide. There is everything you need to get you started. When you sign up as a new member type MSMS555 as a code.

European companies are awesome compared to US. Their accounting is cleaner, they pay higher dividends, shareholder rights are stronger, many have fixed dividend policies where X% of net income is paid out to shareholders so shareholders are true business owners. I was sickened by these US companies that pay little dividends instead insisting management can better reinvest the income when in reality they pay out a lot to management instead through options or overpriced acquisitions. And many of these Euro companies are global brands too, expanding into Eastern Europe and Asia. A large international bank should be able to access the European exchanges for you (you'll need to convert from your local currency to euros to do so). Or you can come to Europe and open an account with a bank using your passport, and that bank should give you access to the exchanges here.

If you're in the US, you can invest in Europe through ADR's (American Depositary Receipts) which are denominated & traded in US$ so you don't need to exchange -- but then, you're limited to only the largest issuers.

Through ADRs on AMEX or through ETFs. For ETFs, check out Yahoo finance for info. I've doubled my money in the Austria ETF in 3 years! WOW!