I'd visit the Netherlands to see their characters, but I'd actively avoid Sesame Street in Brazil because of how terrifying that version of Big Bird looks.
From school lunches to squirrels, I love seeing different countries' take on the same thing. Enter Sesame Street. I had no idea there were different characters in international versions of the show! Here are characters from 16 different countries:
1. Samson the Bear lives on Sesamstraße, the German version of Sesame Street. He's a brown bear, and according to his wiki, he lives in his cave and lays on his hammock. I love him.
2. Plaza Sésamo, the version of Sesame Street in Mexico, has Abelardo Montoya, Big Bird's cousin. Abelardo is a parrot, whereas Big Bird is a canary.
3. Sesame Park, Canada's version of Sesame Street, debuted with a polar bear character named Basil.
4. The Netherlands' Sesamstraat has a character named Ieniemienie, and it's a mouse. I would 100% buy a stuffed animal of Ieniemienie.
5. Iftah Ya Simsim, the UAE's version of Sesame Street, has a camel named No'man. He's the UAE's version of Big Bird.
6. Moishe Oofnik is a brown grouch that lives in a recycling can in the Israeli version of Sesame Street. A cousin to Oscar the Grouch, Moishe also enjoys off-key music, being grumpy, and sour, rotten things.
7. Sesam Stasjon, the Norwegian version of Sesame Street, is set at a train station. Bjarne Betjent here is the ticket taker.
8. Alam Simsim is Egypt's Sesame Street, and it has the only Muppet I can recall having facial hair, a monster named Filfil.
9. Great Britain's Sesame Street, Play with Me Sesame, has two characters named Kit and Domby. They apparently live in a castle.
10. The Bangladesh version of Sesame Street has a bengal tiger named Halum. His wiki page says he can be a bit soft and sentimental, which makes sense because he's perfectly hug-shaped.
11. Georges the Penguin lives on 5, Rue Sesame, the French production of the show. He arrived to France in an ice cube, and, I have to say, I love his enthusiasm and his propellor hat.
12. Boombah, a lion who's on the Indian production of the show, Galli Galli Sim Sim, was descended from maharajahs.
13. Sesame Tree, the production in Northern Ireland, is set in, you guessed it, a tree, and has a rabbit named Hilda.
14. South Africa's version, Takalani Sesame, has a giant meerkat named Moshe. Moshe is bilingual, speaking both Zulu and English.