A few months ago, we did a piece on a viral thread that had Europeans revealing their biggest WTF moments while traveling in the US. But since planes fly both ways across the Atlantic, let's turn the tables, shall we?
Turns out, Reddit user Cyber-Gon submitted a question to r/AskReddit, asking: "Americans who visited Europe, what was your biggest WTF moment?" and their answers are just as entertaining as the Europeans'.
From divine German tap water to the number of bicycles in the Netherlands, here are some of the most-upvoted replies!
This post may include affiliate links.
Y'all get how many days of paid vacation?! And sick leave? And public healthcare?! And you don't live in a socialist hellhole like I've been told? America, you lied to me!
Tripped on an escalator in England. Got stitches. Was laughed at when I offered to pay the bill. "What bill? This is the civilized world."
In Toulouse, France, I went to a nice restaurant and ordered dinner. When it arrived, I was like, 'Where's the rest of it?' The waitress laughed, as she grew up there and in Canada. (I'm from Brooklyn, New York, where portions are huge.) She calmly told me to eat it and if I was still hungry to order another one. By the last bite, I was stuffed. That was my WTF moment: when I realized how rich and high quality the food was over there.
I am always overwelled by American portions, and I was born and raised here. American portions are ridiculous. Where else in the whole world would you have contests to see who can eat a 2kg (72oz) stake the fastest?
It boggled my mind how old everything was and how it was still integrated into everyday life. Like in the UK, drinking in a pub that had been in the same spot since the 11th century or eating dinner at restaurant in an 18th-century cathedral. Or in Prague, staying in a hotel that had been operating since the 15th century
My biggest WTF was coming back to the States. Seemed like such a downgrade.
lol it kind of is... Ive always dreamed of going to Germany, but the cost of living there is a ton.
Not American, but Canadian.
First time I went to Ireland, I go through customs and the agent says to me...
"business or personal"
"personal"
"oh yeah, what's up?"
"Visiting the Inlaws."
"first time in Ireland?"
"Yes sir"
"feck*ng eh... Well, why ya standin around. go get pissed.
We were driving through Spain, and to the side of one of the roads, we noticed these MASSIVE bird nests in the high power electrical towers. They were at least twice the size of eagles nests that I had seen. And there were so many of them!
Then we saw these giant birds in them! We stopped by the side of the road and tried to take some pictures (didn’t have a great zoom lens, sadly). But no one else was stopping. It was so odd. We are accustomed to at least a few people stopping to watch the osprey, eagles, or other birds where I’m from.
So a few days later, we are chatting with a German tourist, and we bring up the birds...
I think she thought we were joking until we pulled out the pictures. Then she started laughing.
Storks. Those are storks. Of course, don’t you know that? They are everywhere and such a nuisance. Don’t you have storks in America?
Well...no?
Then she looked confused. Well, if you don’t have storks, who brings the babies in kids stories?
Storks.
Um...how does that work?
And that was when we realized that the story of the storks makes a whole lot more sense when storks are nesting on every chimney, tree, or tall place...
In Poland the storks are believed to be noble birds and are extremely regarded and respected. Some people would purposedly build starting of the nests for them just to have them in the neighbourhood.
French butter made me stop and reflect on the beauty of being alive. I didn't think butter could be improved upon, but holy sh*t. So creamy."
If something costs five euros, it's exactly that. Tax is included.
In Europe, wait staff are paid a living wage so they do not need tips. The eating experience is much more laid-back and slower in Europe, relative to America. It also seems like [European] wait staff is never trying to force you out of the restaurant once you are done eating.
This shouldn't be a European thing... It should be a worldwide human decency thing.
It's an experience, indeed! One time I was sitting with friends in a Restaurant and we were eating, talking and forget time. The waitress had to remind us it was closing time! But we had finished our meal ages ago. It's pretty normal around here if it's not to busy.
A friend‘s Dad who spent most of his life in the USA went to our favorite coffee shop here in Germany and started flirting with the waitress. It was AWKWARD!! We apologized and packed everything and left. Service staff here are paid living wage and doesn’t depend on weird uncles flirting with them to pay their rents.
I can't speak for other European countries though I suspect it's the same but in France, eating at a restaurant is a social outing, especially dinner. We go for the food but also spend time with friends, colleagues etc. It would feel strange to stop our discussions just because we finished eating and need to leave.
😅😅😅😅😅same in Greece!! You can't kick a Greek out of a restaurant after food...we can stay even 3-4 hours but we also order a lot
Load More Replies...
Once in 'murica, we went on a short flying tour over the Grand Canyon. We paid roughly $ 200 per head. A piece of paper was glued to the back of the pilot’s seat asking us to pay the pilot a $ 50-100 tip. Pay a tip for a pilot??? Completely unthinkable in Europe, these kind of staff are properly paid.
200€ per head for the flight and the pilot gets nothing of it? WTF?
Load More Replies...
Yes - when I went to England we sat for LONGGGG time in several restaurants waiting to get the bill before realizing that over there, you have to ask for the bill because apparently they find it rude to just give it to you because it seems like they are rushing you out. Makes a lot of sense actually!
In America they bring the bill without asking??? Wow we would find that rude in Greece...
Load More Replies...
No, because we aren't desperate to serve as many customers as possible to collect tips. Cos our employers *gasp* pay us
Well if you depend on tips for a living more customers = more chances for money so rushing them to get the next folks in makes sense. If you're paid the same regardless of the amount of customers, making the ones you have stay longer decreases your workload.
I live in the north of Spain and I know that a restaurant which tried to get rid of the customers as soon as they've finished their meal would be forced to close in two weeks, because people would not go there a second time. We love eating, chatting and relaxing, and when we go out to a restaurant we are ready to pay, but we wouldn't tolerate being rushed.
Load More Replies...
They do need tips, but not as desperately as the ones in the US do.
In some European countries you do tip the waiter, and sometimes in some restaurants there is a note in the menu that tips are included in the prices.
we tip 10% of the bill in Romania. just to thank them for their service. and we relax too, no rush.
Load More Replies...
1. Waitstaff do need tips, here, just not massive amounts. 2. A restaurant calculates to serve a table only once, maybe twice in an evening and the most amount of meony is made with drinks. That's why there is no free water and that's why you are allowed to linger - because you'll end up drinking more.
I hate it in the US: Immediately after you finished your meal you get the check.
I waited tables in a bar restaurant in Hawaii in the '80s. Our supervisors always got on our asses to get the people who had already eaten out the door. Their belief was that they were sitting there wasting time on expensive real estate. Our international guests hated it there.
Certainly in Spain, the ‘sobremesa’ (sitting around the table talking and drinking after dinner) is as much a part of a meal as the food. Good luck trying to get a Spanish family out of the restaurant before they’re ready ;)
The only restaurant I was forced out of was an all you can eat Buffet but it was me and a bunch of friends when we were in high school and we were all trying to keep up with my friend who was Samoan. He was the largest human I have ever met but not fat. The guy was built like a tree.
Bit of a rose tinted view. I've worked in numerous restaurants in the UK, Spain and France and in pretty much all of them there were times when you had to "push" the table so you could get a second cover in, then at the end of the night you'd try to hurry them along so you could get out sooner. Tipping is very common and although not needed in some places, in others waitstaff earn a very low wage and the tips help them earn something closer to normal. In busy tourist places though, tips can be a serious bonus. At a beach restaurant I'd make around 200€ a week (undecared and therefore untaxed) on top of my monthly 1200€ post tax salary.
yes here in the US we can barely get thru half our meal when they bring us the bill. Don't they want us to order more "drinks"? maybe?? I feel once I get the bill, we pretty much done, I box what's left and leave.
Lol, you don't get forced out of tables when you're done eating . If we monopolize a waiter's table for the evening we tend to leave a very large tip. I don't like the way some service employees have such a low actual income , and they need to rely on tips. That being said , making tips can make your income far higher than it would be on minimum wage . 20 years ago I was a waitress at a popular restaurant. It was a restaurant that mostly served bushels of crabs, so it was really lucrative in the summer during our busiest time. I made $6k in two months . We'd often get tips for over $100 . Tips aren't so bad.
no, wait staff isnt paid a living wage, they're paid barely above minimum it is just accepted as a shitty job.
I've been asked to hurry up a few times in European restaurants, but it makes sense because I am a solo traveler. I understand because there is no point in making a group wait if I am almost done...then they always offered me free booze or a to-go snack, and I am like, "oh heck yeah!"
Okay, I looked it up. It's actually true, if you convert $ to €, you have about 100-200 € less on average as a waiter in Germany. I didn't put it in comparison to cost of living, though, but it is indeed less. I have no idea about the tipping, though, so who knows
Load More Replies...
We have restaurants where we book a table for the entire evening. Once we sit down, the spot is ours until closing time.
Actually at least in France it's forbidden by the Code of Consumption. If after a certain amount of time the waiter ask you to get something else or leave this is illegal. Except if there is a sign outdoor saying so. Same in a café if you bring your own croissant or sandwich and just pay for a coffee, no pb unless there is a sign saying "bringing your own food is not allowed".
Load More Replies... 
You dont have to. Being paid a proper hourly rate for waiting tables is universal here
Load More Replies... 
Went to Dover England and saw a mother f*cking castle. The newest section was built like 300-400 years before my country was founded. Turned a corner and the next part was 200 years older than that. Ten minutes later walk up to a Roman light house built 2000 years ago. Daaaammmnnn
Edit: The best part was we arrived the night before we went to the castle. I didnt see it on the ride to the hotel. (We get inside and our room is the largest room we had seen at any of our hotels apparently the hotel was built by an American company so the rooms were built like they would be In the US.) I open the curtains to see what is out my window, usually a parking lot, another random building or something boring. Not today Yank, not today. CASTLE.
Love this. Lived in USA 21 years and laughed at how old Americans think is old.
I lived in Spain for 9 months at one point and was trying to get to the supermarket in the middle of a weekday and the entire city center was blocked off. I had to park and walk a ways and discovered that they were having a giant block party. Kegs and all. Around noon. Celebrating the towns new garbage trucks.
I love Spain.
Funny enough, my biggest WTF moment came from an American. We were at a restaurant in Cinque Terre, Italy called Trattoria Dal Billy. About halfway through our meal, I overheard a guy with a Tennessee/Arkansas accent say, verbatim, in a frustrated tone "you need to speak more American!" to his waiter. This isn't Rome. This isn't Venice. It's a small town called Manarola. The odds of finding someone fluent in your language are drastically lowered; however, this guy was pompous enough to not only continue to berate his waiter, but then tell the manager who came around that he needs to hire someone who can speak American...in a foreign country...of which he obviously speaks ZERO of their language. Seriously, WTF!
I was doing a study abroad program in the UK but also had to take monthly blood tests for a medication I had been put on before I flew over. I was fully prepared for a laundry list of paperwork and fees to deal with the tests as well as getting these results to my doctor back in the states.
After the first blood test I went up to the receptionist and asked what I owed. She looked at me with a bit of confusion and said, "Oh, no, you're fine you can just go." My doctor doctor also got my blood results in less time than they did when I got them in the states. Screw our broken healthcare system.
Went to Denmark on a whim with some friends. The biggest surprise was when I realized that I had met a ton of strangers over the course of a week and I had no idea what they did for a living. Never once did we talk about work or school.
Amazing insight I'm going to screen cap this and repost to instagram. Americans are so brainwashed they don't know how hard they're being screwed.
Every night in Spain, around 3 a.m. this MASSIVE fleet of street scrubbers, vacuum-mobiles, and water hoses appeared and cleaned the entire city for about an hour. It was like ~100 people every night just cleaning the city. The following morning, all of Salamanca was spotless. That sh*t was magical.
My biggest WTF moment was when I visited England and people respected me a lot more when I told them I was canadian and not american (I'm actually canadian)
Now that America is untrumped you might get some of that luv for being American too
When I️ visited the hospital and had X-rays done, spoke with two doctors, and was triaged by a nurse, all with no health insurance, and my total bill was 24 euros. Then I️ had to pay 10 additional euros for some painkillers, again with no insurance or anything.
I believe it is called basic human rights. Something about the right to live and have health taken care of.
In my early twenties, on my first trip to Europe, I took an Italian ocean liner, New York to Genoa. My WTF moment was going out on the deck on morning six for the foggy passage through the Straits of Gibraltar. Europe emerging through the mist on my left and North Africa on my right, coupled with the awareness of how many voyagers throughout history had sailed through that passage (including my Italian grandparents traveling in the other direction), gave me chills.
Not paying for a gynecological exam. I developed an ovarian cyst while in England that was causing some pain. I made an appointment at a health clinic and was examined. Afterwards, I expected to pay because A) that's always the first thing that happens in US healthcare and B) I was a foreigner who had never paid into the UK National Health Service. They just laughed and said, "We don't take money for services and we'd have no idea what to charge you".
Mind blown. God save the NHS.
You're our guest. We don't bankrupt you just because you got ill while you visited.
In Amsterdam, the number of bicycles outside the central station. How the F do people find their bikes once they park them?! Also, the Dutch are easily the most graceful cyclists. The way you guys can weave through dumb folks standing in the bike paths is outstanding.
You know your bike (type, colour, etc) and then you recognise it. So simple... 😂
In Spain, the siesta is real. I just thought that it was an archaic thing that some people did. Nope. Everything shuts down for an hour or two. Even in super-touristy places, 99% of shops and businesses shut down.
This has to do more with extended working hours rather than actual siesta. Shops are open from 9-10 am to 8-9pm, so in order to not make more than 8 hours a day they have an unnecessarily long lunch break, but workers in big cities rarely get to have lunch at home, let alone take a nap.
Blatant nudity everywhere. Porn mags just sitting at the front of newsstands in the middle of the city. A giant graffiti penis and nobody cared. Made me realize how prudish we are in the US
Americans have the right to bare arms. Europeans have the right to bare their entire body
This was a few years ago before "chip" credit/bank cards were like "a thing" in the States. But when I stopped in Amsterdam, and hoped over to Latvia, I discovered that in both countries, my DEBIT card that needed to be swiped to buy anything, was like a weird old relic. Every cashier everywhere gave me a confused look when I handed them my card and they saw it didn't have a chip. They would, after I politely mentioned it had to be swiped, question whether or not that was even possible with their register. They always looked shocked to discover that the little slat along the side of their credit card thing was to be used to slide a card through. And when it actually worked, they always looked even MORE shocked. That's the first time I learned "Oh damn. Maybe America is behind in a lot of ways." Because everyone looked at my card as if it were carved out of stone and would pay them in some Flinstones-style currency that they were convinced they couldn't actually accept. By Day 2 of the trip, even I was like... "You f*cking American assh*le with your ancient technology."
How easy and unencumbered by useless bullsh*t most things are.
Getting on a 5:30 train from Burssels to Berlin? Show up at 5:20. And get laughed at by the Germans who will finish their beer at exactly 5:28 because they know the walk from the bar to the platform is 1 minute and 57 seconds.
In the states that would require showing up at 3:15 because of at least 4 security checkpoints and 8 lines of people who can't figure out how an escalator works.
Not to mention in many places in the US you don't know if it will be late or early or whatever. From what I understand, things run more on time in a lot, if not most, of Europe
How to party like a German: pre-party on Friday at 11 p.m., get into club at 2 a.m., leave club on Sunday at 6 a.m. Germans are nuts, in a good way.
The quality of the fast food surprised me. Everything from the street vendors to chains like McDonald's was better quality then anything I'd gotten at home.
Late to the thread but here goes... Went to Sweden on a vacation package. Stayed at a wonderful historic hotel for part of the trip that had a restaurant inside of it. Part of our package called for a free dinner at the hotel and we had asked that it be the night we arrived.
We arrived and got settled in our room and then went to check out the restaurant. As soon as we walked in, there was no one there, only a hostess. She immediately said they were expecting us and we could sit anywhere. There was no one else in this gorgeous, ornate restaurant. A waiter came out and said they had prepared a special meal for us. We asked why it was so empty and he said the restaurant was closed one day a week and today was that day.
We were shocked, we apologized profusely and told them that we had booked through another company and would have just scheduled it for another day. He said it was no problem and we had some free extras such as wine and dessert. The main course ended up being a huge piece of meat, which we jokingly said must have been because we were big fat Americans. No one rushed us, we had a great time, and after we left they closed the restaurant for the night.
It was a total WTF moment because if you booked something like this in America, they'd either force you to reschedule or just have the restaurant closed with no explanation.
In Spain, everyone appears to be very thin yet I swear eats a loaf of bread a day.
That their standard of living was just as high as ours, but everything was smaller. Smaller apartments, smaller cars, smaller grocery stores, and fewer jars of peanut butter in the smaller grocery stores.
I've never known standards of living to be measured in quantities of peanut butter 🤔
Orange Fanta ACTUALLY tasted like oranges.
In Lisbon, feeling proud of myself for eating late like a local at 9 p.m....only to walk into an empty restaurant. By the time I’d finished eating at 10 p.m., the place was full.
In Italy, when buying a soccer ticket, they needed to know which team I was rooting for to determine where I could sit. Then, during the game, people were setting things on fire.
Aaaah, the tradition of stadium bonfires. Amazing how destructive people get and how quickly they get back in the prehistoric "wolfpack" mode when in an uncontrolled crowd.
Had a positive what the f*ck moment in Greece in the eastern Peloponnese where I saw a guy walk down to the end of a pier and throw an actual f*cking trident into the Aegean and pull out a wriggling octopus. Dude walked up the beach and handed it over the deck railing to a chef.
I lived in Germany for 8 years from 1992-2000 (Ages 4-12). I didn't realize it until I moved back to the states but there were recycling bins on EVERY street corner. It wasn't just a green bin then a trash can, it was a giant blue bin. One section for green glass, one for brown glass, one for clear glass, one for plastic, and one for paper.
Oh and going to a German school, students took public transit. There wasn't such a thing as a school bus.
I saw kids with their school packs riding public transit to school in Germany and didn't think of no school bus until I read your post.
Most stores are not open on Sundays. Not even grocery stores.
This one would depend on the country, in the UK shops are open on Sundays, although for a more limited time. (UK still being in Europe, if not the EU)
In Germany, they had the cleanest, safest, and best-tasting tap water, but nobody drank it and they called it toilet water.
I am German and I can tell you: only beer and wine fanatics call it toilet water. In fact, Germans drink gallons of tap water.
When I visited Prague, water cost two crowns and beer cost one.
Just to make it clearer - approximately 22 crowns is one dollar. And the prices are exaggerated of course :) Beer is ~30 crowns (~$1.4) and water... it depends. But I seen it for as much as 60 crowns (~$2) per litre in some restaurants. It's because there is (or maybe was) law, that at least one non-alcoholic beverage has to be cheaper than beer, so most of the restaurants put tap water for such ridiculous price on menu, just to comply.
British food. I went there expecting chip shops and roast dinner, but instead was amazed by every variety of tikka sauce that could possibly exist.
I was 16 years old, ordering a beer at McDonald's.
Our school trip to Paris had wine and beer available at every meal. We were instructed in no uncertain terms we weren't to have it even though our meal tickets would cover it. Absolutely none of it smuggled up to the rooms noooo..
Note: this post originally had 87 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
First of all,Europe consists of many countries,it is a continent,don't look on it like a country.The differences between countries are huge.Second,this isn't a "this are my wtf moments from Europe",this is more like a "USA sucks" article.And we see such articles 1-2 time in a week.Yaaawn
Yeah. We all know we suck. We get s**t on all the time... We are TRYING (Damn you republican party) to fix it.
Load More Replies...
Could there for just once be a post that involves countries that are not the United States? Every single thread turns into people bashing the US, even if the thread is supposed to be focused on a different country. I’d love to read “Poles go to Korea and here’s what surprised them”, but based off of the 3 posts a week talking about how much the US sucks that seems like a pipe dream.
I’d love that! I’m not even American but I agree that these articles are getting really repetitive.
Load More Replies...
I have to say this: I am Portuguese and I had my big shock moment when I have decided to move to The Netherlands(I can imagine coming from a place like USA, with such a different culture and mentality). The most wow was that everybody was taken a bike to work, shop or to school. That things really work over here concerning papers and doens't take ages to have what you ask(even the Dutch complaint about the burocracy, my dear ones you don't know what is burocracy for real lol),How earlier the restaurants are closed(I was used to be able to restaurants open pass midnight and still serving food), how green this country is(sooooooooo in love with the landscape after all this years), that we have 26 working paid days of holliday even if you are unemployed, because the govermment thinks that you need to have to relax and enjoy your life even if you don't have a job...that you are entitled to have subsidies to pay your rent because of your low income...
You know it is green because of all the rain right? You should see what's west of the small stream (better known as the North Sea): England. Gues what? More rain and also greener. We all flee to Portugal in the summer just to be stared at that we want to have diner at 6pm. At least the chance of rain is less then 5% in Portugal in july instead of 75% so we can leave the anorak at home. Love me some complaining about the weather, good times
Load More Replies...
For all those people who go and visit another country: prepare yourself and look up their customs before you leave. It prevents a lot of WTF's, and embarrassment. Or even legal problems. Americans are used to leave a tip in a bar or restaurant. In Iceland leaving a tip is considered an insult. In Italy in a bar (were you first pay for your consumption at the cashier) you usually put a small tip on your receipt, like 10 or 20 cents. The bartender will help you right away. That is what TIP stands for: To Insure Promptness. In quite a few countries it is illegal to make pictures of military people and objects. You might end up in jail. Even inadvertently having a military in the picture. In Switzerland you can get a fine (a fixed percentage of your income, or a very high "caution" of SFR1000) for having an app or POI installed on your navigation system that tells you where speeding cameras are
That's not what TIP stands for, otherwise it would be TEP, because it'd be 'ensure', not 'insure'.
Load More Replies...
Seeing these comments about medicine: If only the United States could learn from countries who actually have a functioning cost-effective/efficient healthcare system, that would be great. But no, instead they choose to make it a complicated maze and have the patients worry about endless payments until death.
Medicare costs more than commercial insurance. I'm on disability and my medications with Medicare were limited, expensive, and I was unable to use discount programs for the medications. Now I'm on my husband's insurance as primary and it boggles me to find a medication that cost $500 for 60 pills a month on Medicare is now $30 for 90 pills and they give me 3 months of pills at a time. Our healthcare is a joke.
Load More Replies...
I think it’s nice that most of the Americans thought of something kind to say about the differences in Europe. When this question is reversed, it seems like most of the comments are very negative about the USA.
I agree with the comments pointing out that Europe is a continent, so this is like saying 'My WTF moments from Mexico!' Is it really a surprise that so many different COUNTRIES have so many different cultures? The UK is a lot like the US in some ways, we have shops open on a Sunday, we eat out around 7pm, we don't have long lunch breaks... but we have free healthcare. The rest of Europe do not have free healthcare but yeah, it's not as expensive. There are differences, but please don't equate Europe to a single country. It's a tapestry of culture, languages, traditions, history and politics.
Bored Panda really is just a one trick pony. Can anybody tell me a better site or app? Please?! Seriously!
Suuuuuuuper clever. A title that makes (no one) us think this ISN'T actually an "America is stupid" post. Yet... it is!! YAY!!! We hardly EVER get to see THOSE on BP!!! <>
the one thing Europe doesn't have on us is good Mexican food. Nothing beats a San Francisco burrito. And Arizona mexican is just a whole other thing.
Please...we're already down....please stop kicking us bp...we know america sucks I'm sorry...
All countries have bits that suck and people that suck. I'm in the UK - we have Boris. Most people are perfectly decent human beings. I love reading about cultural differences but wish it wasn't always the same, tired criticisms. Why can't Bored Panda change the focus to what we LOVE about each others differences? Also why not focus on other countries? It always Europe v US. With people getting more bitter each time and making sniping remarks at each other. Great move Bored Panda - why don't you create more division? Oh... you already have! I came to this post because I genuinely thought it wasn't going to be a 'bash the US' weekly special. Sorry US. Love from a sympathetic Brit.
Load More Replies...
my family will make food from other countries (we're american) and it's always SO good and absolutely filling. i would love to go to europe if for no other reason than to try food
I really want a post about Australia because cmon guys, don't you wanna hear all about that one time at 2 am when I went to get cereal I saw a spider on the fridge and ran away and the next night it was near the device chargers so I had to drop a towel one it to get it to move? or that other time- ill stop now
Now I really appreciate that I live here. So much things taken as normal and for so many people it's something special. And now I really want to get to know America. Just not get sick over there.
#38 - thats either 60 years ago or lie. In Prague, at the tourist locations, beer is 100 crowns (about 4 dollars), everywhere else 20-50 (1-2 $), specials can get pricier. Water about 30 crowns. Thats pubs prises.
My WTF while visiting family in Spain was them wanting to show us an "American" themed restaurant. It was essentially a western movie set. The folks really love the movies that were translated for tv apparently. A lot of the older generation anyway. But that was Spain's version of an "American Restaurant". My aunts & uncles had been to America a few times, so had a few of my cousins so they knew that was nothing like living in CT but they figured we'd think it was hilarious. They were correct!
I was born and raised in South Africa, but left in 1998. I lived in the Netherlands for 12 years (2000-2012) we had free WiFi everywhere, (even on the beach, and trains), proper banking system, everyone carried ID... Arrived in the UK, it was a culture shock. Still using bank cheques, no-one wants to carry ID, you need references and credit checks... 9 years later we have WiFi on the bus, excellent public transport, I'm very grateful that I live in a country that takes care of me as I am now disabled and chronically ill, not able to work. Especially since Covid, I count my blessings twice.
Sweden is my 6th home and I lived in the states for 10 years. I forgot what it feels like to live in a country where you don't just bump into homeless people daily. The system is so good here that peopel are taken care of! I've seen ONE homeless person here. ONE. I feel so bad for the homeless people or those living in their cars in the USA. What the actual F?? And you know what? People here arent always furious and hateful because there are are ways out of poverty
My nephew is a chef. He took his family and slowly ate their way through France and Italy. His photos were delightful, pure joy.
"slowly ate their way" is the best way to travel. I travel for food too and choose my place to stay based on food. Antics?nope Museums?nope Beaches? nope i just want to taste your food and steal it! I'm joking i do go to museums too but basically i'm just here for the food. And in some countries i drink some clay in the morning so i can eat everything without fearing tourista.
Load More Replies...
I feel so bad for anyone that lives outside the UK, you’re missing out on some of the best Scottish food ever invented. Tunnocks Teacakes, Irn-Bru, and the Cadbury here is a whole l better than other countries.
You mean the famous Scottish cuisine, that came up with such delightful dishes such as the inner bits of a sheep stuffed into that sheep's stomach and brewed?
Load More Replies...
Lots of thin-skinned Americans in the comments section. The truth hurts, eh?
First of all,Europe consists of many countries,it is a continent,don't look on it like a country.The differences between countries are huge.Second,this isn't a "this are my wtf moments from Europe",this is more like a "USA sucks" article.And we see such articles 1-2 time in a week.Yaaawn
Yeah. We all know we suck. We get s**t on all the time... We are TRYING (Damn you republican party) to fix it.
Load More Replies... Could there for just once be a post that involves countries that are not the United States? Every single thread turns into people bashing the US, even if the thread is supposed to be focused on a different country. I’d love to read “Poles go to Korea and here’s what surprised them”, but based off of the 3 posts a week talking about how much the US sucks that seems like a pipe dream.
I’d love that! I’m not even American but I agree that these articles are getting really repetitive.
Load More Replies... I have to say this: I am Portuguese and I had my big shock moment when I have decided to move to The Netherlands(I can imagine coming from a place like USA, with such a different culture and mentality). The most wow was that everybody was taken a bike to work, shop or to school. That things really work over here concerning papers and doens't take ages to have what you ask(even the Dutch complaint about the burocracy, my dear ones you don't know what is burocracy for real lol),How earlier the restaurants are closed(I was used to be able to restaurants open pass midnight and still serving food), how green this country is(sooooooooo in love with the landscape after all this years), that we have 26 working paid days of holliday even if you are unemployed, because the govermment thinks that you need to have to relax and enjoy your life even if you don't have a job...that you are entitled to have subsidies to pay your rent because of your low income...
You know it is green because of all the rain right? You should see what's west of the small stream (better known as the North Sea): England. Gues what? More rain and also greener. We all flee to Portugal in the summer just to be stared at that we want to have diner at 6pm. At least the chance of rain is less then 5% in Portugal in july instead of 75% so we can leave the anorak at home. Love me some complaining about the weather, good times
Load More Replies... For all those people who go and visit another country: prepare yourself and look up their customs before you leave. It prevents a lot of WTF's, and embarrassment. Or even legal problems. Americans are used to leave a tip in a bar or restaurant. In Iceland leaving a tip is considered an insult. In Italy in a bar (were you first pay for your consumption at the cashier) you usually put a small tip on your receipt, like 10 or 20 cents. The bartender will help you right away. That is what TIP stands for: To Insure Promptness. In quite a few countries it is illegal to make pictures of military people and objects. You might end up in jail. Even inadvertently having a military in the picture. In Switzerland you can get a fine (a fixed percentage of your income, or a very high "caution" of SFR1000) for having an app or POI installed on your navigation system that tells you where speeding cameras are
That's not what TIP stands for, otherwise it would be TEP, because it'd be 'ensure', not 'insure'.
Load More Replies... Seeing these comments about medicine: If only the United States could learn from countries who actually have a functioning cost-effective/efficient healthcare system, that would be great. But no, instead they choose to make it a complicated maze and have the patients worry about endless payments until death.
Medicare costs more than commercial insurance. I'm on disability and my medications with Medicare were limited, expensive, and I was unable to use discount programs for the medications. Now I'm on my husband's insurance as primary and it boggles me to find a medication that cost $500 for 60 pills a month on Medicare is now $30 for 90 pills and they give me 3 months of pills at a time. Our healthcare is a joke.
Load More Replies... I think it’s nice that most of the Americans thought of something kind to say about the differences in Europe. When this question is reversed, it seems like most of the comments are very negative about the USA.
I agree with the comments pointing out that Europe is a continent, so this is like saying 'My WTF moments from Mexico!' Is it really a surprise that so many different COUNTRIES have so many different cultures? The UK is a lot like the US in some ways, we have shops open on a Sunday, we eat out around 7pm, we don't have long lunch breaks... but we have free healthcare. The rest of Europe do not have free healthcare but yeah, it's not as expensive. There are differences, but please don't equate Europe to a single country. It's a tapestry of culture, languages, traditions, history and politics.
Bored Panda really is just a one trick pony. Can anybody tell me a better site or app? Please?! Seriously!
Suuuuuuuper clever. A title that makes (no one) us think this ISN'T actually an "America is stupid" post. Yet... it is!! YAY!!! We hardly EVER get to see THOSE on BP!!! <>
the one thing Europe doesn't have on us is good Mexican food. Nothing beats a San Francisco burrito. And Arizona mexican is just a whole other thing.
Please...we're already down....please stop kicking us bp...we know america sucks I'm sorry...
All countries have bits that suck and people that suck. I'm in the UK - we have Boris. Most people are perfectly decent human beings. I love reading about cultural differences but wish it wasn't always the same, tired criticisms. Why can't Bored Panda change the focus to what we LOVE about each others differences? Also why not focus on other countries? It always Europe v US. With people getting more bitter each time and making sniping remarks at each other. Great move Bored Panda - why don't you create more division? Oh... you already have! I came to this post because I genuinely thought it wasn't going to be a 'bash the US' weekly special. Sorry US. Love from a sympathetic Brit.
Load More Replies... my family will make food from other countries (we're american) and it's always SO good and absolutely filling. i would love to go to europe if for no other reason than to try food
I really want a post about Australia because cmon guys, don't you wanna hear all about that one time at 2 am when I went to get cereal I saw a spider on the fridge and ran away and the next night it was near the device chargers so I had to drop a towel one it to get it to move? or that other time- ill stop now
Now I really appreciate that I live here. So much things taken as normal and for so many people it's something special. And now I really want to get to know America. Just not get sick over there.
#38 - thats either 60 years ago or lie. In Prague, at the tourist locations, beer is 100 crowns (about 4 dollars), everywhere else 20-50 (1-2 $), specials can get pricier. Water about 30 crowns. Thats pubs prises.
My WTF while visiting family in Spain was them wanting to show us an "American" themed restaurant. It was essentially a western movie set. The folks really love the movies that were translated for tv apparently. A lot of the older generation anyway. But that was Spain's version of an "American Restaurant". My aunts & uncles had been to America a few times, so had a few of my cousins so they knew that was nothing like living in CT but they figured we'd think it was hilarious. They were correct!
I was born and raised in South Africa, but left in 1998. I lived in the Netherlands for 12 years (2000-2012) we had free WiFi everywhere, (even on the beach, and trains), proper banking system, everyone carried ID... Arrived in the UK, it was a culture shock. Still using bank cheques, no-one wants to carry ID, you need references and credit checks... 9 years later we have WiFi on the bus, excellent public transport, I'm very grateful that I live in a country that takes care of me as I am now disabled and chronically ill, not able to work. Especially since Covid, I count my blessings twice.
Sweden is my 6th home and I lived in the states for 10 years. I forgot what it feels like to live in a country where you don't just bump into homeless people daily. The system is so good here that peopel are taken care of! I've seen ONE homeless person here. ONE. I feel so bad for the homeless people or those living in their cars in the USA. What the actual F?? And you know what? People here arent always furious and hateful because there are are ways out of poverty
My nephew is a chef. He took his family and slowly ate their way through France and Italy. His photos were delightful, pure joy.
"slowly ate their way" is the best way to travel. I travel for food too and choose my place to stay based on food. Antics?nope Museums?nope Beaches? nope i just want to taste your food and steal it! I'm joking i do go to museums too but basically i'm just here for the food. And in some countries i drink some clay in the morning so i can eat everything without fearing tourista.
Load More Replies... I feel so bad for anyone that lives outside the UK, you’re missing out on some of the best Scottish food ever invented. Tunnocks Teacakes, Irn-Bru, and the Cadbury here is a whole l better than other countries.
You mean the famous Scottish cuisine, that came up with such delightful dishes such as the inner bits of a sheep stuffed into that sheep's stomach and brewed?
Load More Replies... Lots of thin-skinned Americans in the comments section. The truth hurts, eh?
