Lucky, I´m not sure how the situation is where you´re from, but in the past years ETFs became a really big thing in Germany. Almost all brokers offer a whole host of them (I wouldn´t be surprised if there´d be ETFs that replicate the water level of the nile) and at costs that are almost zero.
I´d not just focus on Vangouard, though it´s a bit of a holy grail, but there are other well-established and well-stocked ETFs available from different European countries. In fact, both of my funds are from Luxembourg. Maybe you´ll find a for an investment even in a fringe part of Europe?
The reason I prefer ETFs over single-issue investment is risk allocation. The more you spread the risk the easier it is for you to avoid losing too much money. There were some really shady investment deals going on in Germany in the early 2000s and that scared off alot of people, especially those who´ve put "all of their eggs in one basket", as we say. If you have saved enough money to deal with daily financial issues (car maintenance, household equipment that might need replacement, a short-notice move etc.) then I´d find some broad investment that yields good returns and builds your wealth over time. If you then still have some "play money" left I´d find an interesting single investment where a complete loss wouldn´t hurt too bad. But not earlier.
Real estate. Boy, don´t get me started. It´s also a lottery game where the risk of loss can be quite large. Besides, it´s THE most concentrated form of risk I can think of. I know, it´s probably not a popular argument, but I see more risks in RE than benefits, atleast for most folks with a normal income.