30 Things Europeans Do That Leave Americans Raising Their Eyebrows

A friend i hadn't seen for a long time moved to a town 100km away. In Australian terms, that's practically just around the corner.

There, bathroom. There, there...

This comment has been deleted.

As an American you have no idea about left wing and right wing because, by European standards, both of your parties are right of centre.

I did this in Argentina. I loved being able to just get what I needed every day. Food is always fresh, cuts down a lot on waste, you get a little bit extra exercise, and you can make exactly what you're in the mood for that day.

Because since WW2 Americans are used to the taste of butyric acid. It used to be used to keep the milk from spoiling, now it's added because Americans actually prefer it that way.

So the picture shows non-tilt-and-turn windows... well done BP.

Long long ago, in a time forgotten.... Hot and cold water are kept separate to prevent contamination, cold water comes into the house directly from the mains supply and is safe to drink. Hot water was provided by an Immersion heater generally located in the loft of a house and as it sits there it is considered unsafe to drink. Water bylaws prevent hot and cold from being mixed - this still applies today, water is NOT allowed to mix until is exits the tap.

Haha, so I grew up in a town in southern France... the city center dates back a thousand (if not more) years ago, as in many places across Europe. That city is partnered with a big one in kentuky and they gifted a BIG police car to their french cousins. Nice! municipality police was so proud of their shiny BIG AMERICAN car. Butt of the joke : just try and picture that BIG AMERICAN police car manoeuvering in those medieval streets ; the result was hillarious and not efficient at all in cathing wrong doers.

You smoke to look cool the first time then the nicotine hits you, you'll never be really relaxed without it

This is mandatory as a safety measure: the switch must be placed out of reach of the shower or bath to avoid touching it when you are in the water.

This is usual when the whole building is brand new and you are BUYING the apartment. So you can decide what kind of kitchen do you like. I can imagine that sometimes this might happen with some long-term rent, like 10+ years. Otherwise no one will rent a flat without kitchen.

As a Brit living in Germany, I feel this in the feelies. Absolutely takes some getting used to. But now I like it!

And nary a ceiling fan.

Or maybe running the AC all the time, even if you are not home, is a waste of energy? Also, you get used to the heat a little bit, but only if you actually experience the heat.

Germans are very curious about other people. It takes a while to get used to the staring! (Speaking as a Brit who is now a Brit/German). It's nothing personal, they are just curious. I like to be considered interesting enough!

Restaurants will charge for bottled water. Tap water is free.

We don't charge for bathrooms. We charge for toilets. Why do you call a room with no bath a "bathroom"?

Tap water is free but you must specify it. The charge for using public toilets pays for the cleaner and toilet roll etc. This isn't everywhere though.

Once again, the stat is misleading. I am tired to retrieve the data, check my comment history for specifics. Basically, there are more free public access toilets in the part of Europe with less of them (Spain) than there are overall public toilets in the better equipped state of USA. Pay toilets are common in some public spaces to pay for cleaning, and they are generally pretty good. All the places open to public must have mandatory access to a bathroom, contrary to at least part of the USA.

The majority of places you can eat in the UK are required by law to provide free drinking water. You just have to remember to say "tap water" as they will often deliver mineral water and charge, if you do not specify.

Luckily this is disappearing more and more, København Hovedbanegård haven't gotten that memo yet though... As for the water some places do it, some don't it's not even the same in one city but up to the restaurants themselves. Most will give you free tap water if you're in a country where it's drinkable though

Actually in UK it's officially called a water closet

Charging for water is normal, because it takes working time to get it and wash the glass after use. Also water costs money. So it would be strange if it was free for the customer.

These used to be common in Canada but haven't seen one in prob 20 years now. Nothing worse than having to get change to go to the bathroom

You get what you pay for.

Not all counties in Europe will charge you for using the public bathroom. In Norway for example in mist places like shopping centers or at gas stations I didn't have to pay. Same in Danmark and France.

Bottled water you pay for at a restaurant, because they also buy it ;) You can ask for tap water. In areas where the tap water isn't safe to drink, they don't charge you for the bottled water. As for charging for bathrooms, I've only seen it in Germany, and mainly in reststops and gas stations along the freeway. It was weird for me too, but on the other hand I kinda get it. The bathrooms were relatively clean, someone cleans them, and odds are that the people stopping for a pee don't buy anything at the store. When we drove from Sweden to Greece last year, we stopped to refuel and go to the bathroom, but I had a cooler with drinks and sandwiches already packed before we left, so we didn't need to buy anything. If I was the store at the gas station, and paid someone to do the cleaning regularly and around the clock, I'd charge a small fee for use as well.

Iirc, the no charge for toilets is because of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

It's mostly because of tradition. Apart from that, they serve no real purpose, indeed.

What?

Totally agree on this. It's a real problem in parts of England. When I moved back from Japan, where nearly every convenience store has a clean well maintained toilet, it was a struggle for me.

Quick, cheap, easy to make. Add some cheese on top to be fancy!

less water, protect the sink, can be use somewhere else

because its a breakfast coffee

I'm sorry, what now???

Because tap water is so excellent that you would ask for cheaper tap water instead of bottled water if you wanted still water.

Haha!! My MIL is a little bit wild and indecisive. She's had a traumatic life, poor love, but she's done good with the cards she was dealt. When I visited, she was trying to choose a wallpaper for the front room - three very different styles, including one hot pink one with black velvet flocking, one with pink roses and another stripy one (I think). Next time I visited, she had simply put all three up in one rather small room because she couldn't decide. I felt a panic attack coming on when I stepped in there, there was so much to look at! :)

If you have German renter's rights, there is simply no reason to own a house, as long as you do not really, really need the additional space. It practically is "your" place. You can do as you want as long as you don't damage the building substance, the landlord can hardly make any demands, eviction is next to impossible without very compelling reasons. Also, even though having increased over the last years, rent is comparably cheap compared to the real estate prices. In most cases, it simply makes no sense to buy, regardless of your income. Also, far commuting (more than an hour of way to work) is rare here, so people want to stay flexible to move when changing jobs.

We do, but we're not massively wasteful like Americans. We'll use the dryer if it's pouring with rain in the middle of winter. We won't use it on a gloriously hot summer's day with a gentle breeze where clothes will dry outside in an hour.

When in Rome, take the sheet off the duvet if you just want a sheet.

Tap water is not free. The restaurant has to pay for it as well, even though it comes out of the faucet. Also, they earn their money mostly by selling drinks, so if you drink free water, you won't order any other drinks. So it does make a lot of sense.