Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
It’s one thing to learn about a continent or geographical area by reading books or online articles; it’s another thing entirely to witness different cultures and ways of living with your own eyes. That’s why travel is so powerful: it opens your mind to the reality that the world is incredibly wide and varied.
Some of these differences in cultures and customs can be jarring for travelers. A handful of American internet users took to an online thread on AskReddit to share the things about Europe that they personally find utterly bizarre and bamboozling. Scroll down to read their opinions.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Socialized medicine. Man, you get sick and you just go to the doctor without worrying about how much it will cost.
Ange Marsden 7 months ago
You call it socialized medicine and I'm like "You mean a public health system?". In my head that's like calling the fire service Socialised Emergency Service.
G A 7 months ago (edited)
We don't have to pay for that, either, directly. Comes out of Council Tax
Load More Replies...
Hell'n Damnation 7 months ago
Considering that people are a countries greatest asset it makes sense to look after them.
Forrest Hobbs 7 months ago
See? Socialism is good. Next lesson: taxing the rich is also good. And if that doesn't work - well, eating the rich is an option. I think I'm joking. 😉
G A 7 months ago
Trump would taste of spoiled meat and grease and Elmo would taste of plastic
Load More Replies... Maria Maria 7 months ago
I can assure Americans that the European system is a lot better. A lot.
Silberwolf 7 months ago
The US spend by far the most money on healthcare per capita...The obvious question: Where does all the money go to?? Apparently not into patient care...
Load More Replies...
lovemy suffolk 7 months ago
As a US citizen, this is definitely something I wish we had. I'd even be ok with the higher taxes that go with this type of system if I could trust that is what they'd be used for.
Crystalwitch60 7 months ago
Here in uk we dint pay higher taxes for the nhs we pay national insurance which tbh isn’t that high m n even them as can’t work are allowed care no worries to inc the homeless to get it in us you gotta vote in decent humans not ommpa loompas
Load More Replies... Crystalwitch60 7 months ago
Gotta love the nhs !! America get a grip n look after your people !
Scott Rackley 7 months ago
The US. The only developed country where a majority of the populace has been brainwashed into thinking Insurance company CEOs have your best interests at heart. Instead of, you know, basing all their profits on how much health care they can deny you. Lot of it has to do with US citizen and their "I got mine so f**k you" attitude.
Rosemary . 7 months ago
Why would you think Americans think insurance company CEOs have your best interests at heart? No one thinks that. Every American would happily change the health insurance system we have, but we have no choice, and no way to actually change this system.
Load More Replies...
RELATED:
#2
When I was in Romania, I didn't realize that the default for ordering water was for it to be carbonated. I remember buying a giant water bottle at the train station for a several hour train ride, and finding out too late it was bubbly haha. I quickly learned to specifically ask for "flat water".
For All Pedernity 7 months ago
If you bought the bottle yourself you didn´t ask for it, so you could have easily seen whether it was still or sparkling.
murmelinpaiva 7 months ago
In Finland I asked for water, and it turned out to be mineral water. Bitter. Yuk.
Crystalwitch60 7 months ago
In uk we have bottled water lol n it’s still or sparking why do you Americans have to make things so dam hard for yourselves 😂
Judes 7 months ago
I'd be annoyed by accidentally buying the wrong type because I think carbonated water tastes disgusting. Why do you think it's weird for people to have a preference?
Load More Replies... #3
Comma as a decimal separator really threw me for a loop.
Kira Okah 7 months ago
Expressly with money I'm guessing, beause I have only ever seen this regarding money, and only in some parts of Europe. UK? Nope. Poland? Yes.
Notme 7 months ago
I can confirm that this is the case in Spain- comma for decimals, dot for thousands.
Load More Replies...
BrunoVI 7 months ago
In many nations, they would write "4 401 203,63" or "4.401.203,63" instead of "4,401,203.63"
Load More Replies...
Rich Black 7 months ago
it kind of DOES cast shade on the decimal system, and base 10 numerology
Forrest Hobbs 7 months ago
Plenty of European countries use commas as the decimal separator. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimal_separator
Load More Replies... 
According to the World Population Review, France is the most visited country globally, with 89.4 million international tourist arrivals in 2024, followed by Spain (83.7 million), the United States (79.3 million), China (65.7 million), and Italy (64.5 million).
Next up in terms of tourist popularity is Turkey (51.2 million arrivals), Mexico (45 million), Thailand (39.8 million), Germany (39.6 million), and the United Kingdom (39.4 million).
#4
When I went to Europe, you had to pay to use public restrooms in a lot of places. As an American that’s crazy. Here the closest thing we have is a business saying only paying customers can use their restrooms, but I’ve never encountered a bathroom you literally had to use money to access.
Susan W. 7 months ago
Back in the mid- late 70's many -most public bathrooms were pay toilets. I was pregnant at the time and made sure I always had coins with me. I think it was 25 cents. By the mid 80's all bathrooms were free.
Nagatha 7 months ago
I remember them being 10 cents. I didn't encounter many, but I remember them. I always carried coins too for a pay phone. Coin purse full of dimes and quarters.
Load More Replies...
Boo 7 months ago
So let me get this straight, you're complaining that to use a toilet you have to pay (which the money is used for upkeep, btw and is maybe 20 or 50 pence), but yet you're not complaining that you need to spend a lot more than that for using a business's toilet? Make it make sense!
Kim Karlotta 7 months ago
In Germany you will have to pay at least 1€ to use a public toilet, which may not even be clean and they often close completely at 9 pm. Some resturants offer non-guests to use their toilets for 50 cents or 1€ as well, which I get since they want their toilets to stay clean for their guests.
Load More Replies... Robin Roper 7 months ago
I was a tourist in NYC a few years back and at one point would have paid handsomely for a restroom. Public places need public restrooms and as a US citizen I'd happily pay; especially is it were clean and stocked with necessary supplies.
PenguinEmp 7 months ago
Keeps them clean. The free ones in the USA are filled with I don't even know
Ellinor 7 months ago
In France (or at least in Montpellier) there are free public toilets. Or you can just want into a restaurant and politely ask if you can use the bathroom and in 85% of the time they will say yes.
Christos Arvanitis 7 months ago
The payment goes to building stalls without the dreaded "peekaboo" gap in the doors...
#5
This is something I’ve seen in the UK but may apply elsewhere. We were visiting g and decided to make a road trip mount to Cornwall. People seemed like we’d lost our minds. “But that’s like 5 hours!”. Right. So? They seemed to find it remarkable. Whereas we did not. 5 hours is about the drive I make to get to Dallas where I live and we do that with some frequency.
Kira Okah 7 months ago
What is that saying? In Europe a hundred miles is a long way, in America a hundred years is a long time? Smething like that. 5 hours is often a different country.
Gen X Feral 7 months ago (edited)
Um no. I have to drive 45 minutes (88km-55 miles) to get to a grocery store in Texas, 3 hours (290km-180 miles) to go to a metropolitan city. A 5 hour drive is not a big deal in the US.
Load More Replies...
PFD 7 months ago
It's true. When our American relatives visit, they always go haring off on these one-day impulse trips to destinations that we'd only tackle as a fairly major holiday. They see more of Europe in a week than we see in a year but spend SO much of their holiday in the car. It's partly the attitude to distance, yes, but it's also the attitude to cars. At least, it seems that way to me. The same people will also drive to the corner shop that's a 5 minute walk away, or sit in traffic and spend 20 minutes hunting for pay parking when it's a 25 minute tram ride.
Ivona 7 months ago
Most of the U.S. isn't designed to be pedestrian-friendly so people are used to driving.
Load More Replies... lovemy suffolk 7 months ago
Lol. My husband and I just drove about 650 miles today, about 9 hours, Cody Wyoming to Coeur d'alene Idaho. At the hotel now reading bored panda before I doze off. It is just something we've always done. I imagine folks in Australia can relate.
lovemy suffolk 7 months ago
It doesn't get boring because the mountains and high desert regions are so beautiful.
Load More Replies...
Robin Roper 7 months ago
I live in NC, USA and if I drove from one end of the state to the other, it would take 9+ hours.
G A 7 months ago (edited)
Try doing it and find out why. Not like driving on empty straight roads with six lanes.
Boo 7 months ago
Going down to Sheffield this weekend to see our youngest. It's a 4 and a half hour trip. We make it a mini holiday as we are not driving that far just for an over-nighter. I forget how driving that far for an event wasn't a big deal lol. I guess I've acclimatised to the European way over 28 years lol.
Thorsten Massow 7 months ago
Five hours drive could take me across two different national borders.
Tom Brincefield 7 months ago
If I started in Canada and drove south a couple of days, I could cross a second border into Mexico. That's going the most direct route on Interstate 35. Probably another day if you start at the Maine - Canada border. There is actually a good reason most Americans don't learn other languages. If you're not near Quebec or Mexico, who are you going to talk to.
Load More Replies... #6
The Netherlands situation with floors in rentals. It’s one of the most insane things I’ve ever heard of.
Zeppelin59:
They don’t have any. Prospective renters have to supply and build their own floors, and remove them when they move out.
Angrywolf 7 months ago
Not true, Most of the time you will get the option to give the previous renter some money and buy the flooring from them, If you don't want that, Then the old renter has to take out the flooring so you can lay your own.
Marianne 7 months ago
And I used to think that we Germans are weird with our "bring your own kitchen" situation.
The Darkest Timeline 7 months ago
I would never, for one second, consider taking my flooring with me when I move. That seems ridiculously time and labor intensive and what happens if it doesn’t fit my new place?
Bartlet for world domination 7 months ago
No dirt floors in most of Europe.
Load More Replies...
Bartlet for world domination 7 months ago
I'm in the Netherlands and I heard that comment before. It's true; I paid 6000 euros for my oak floor and it depreciates €200 a year. If you don't want to compensate me for it, I'm taking it with me.
General Anaesthesia 7 months ago
On the other hand it depreciates as much as a potential buyer thinks it should depreciate. If you don't accept the offer, take it with you.
Load More Replies... Rich Black 7 months ago
i can't think of a better way to force tenants into a multi year lease.
Uncle Schmickle 7 months ago
As an Aussie, this sounds very strange. Surely the floor is part of the building ?
Jessie 4 months ago
It depends on where and how you rent, in most places the building has a floor and you can replace it but if the contract ends you have to put the old floor back in or leave the new floor you bought with permission from the landlord.
Load More Replies...Travel and Tour World notes that fewer American tourists are considering heading to Europe (a “long-standing favorite”) and other places around the world this year due to rising costs.
The European Travel Commission, in collaboration with Eurail BV, states that only 37% of Americans plan to vacation in Europe in 2025, compared to 45% of those surveyed in 2024.
#7
Not weird, and I like it, but on escalators, when in London, you should stand to the right so people in a hurry can pass you. Learned that real fast.
Janelle Collard 7 months ago (edited)
Except most people in the U.S. have Main Character Syndrome + *don't* stand on the right.
Load More Replies...
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago
No. NZ, Japan, SA. Any RHD country. The normal rule, with the notable exception of London, is that you stand on the same side which you would normally drive on. Like walking along the footpath.
Load More Replies...
Kira Okah 7 months ago (edited)
This, at least in the UK, only applies to London, and at least I have always been told that it is due to the influence of American financiers on the Underground before the system was unified, as it is a system that goes against conventional English etiquette (where standing on the left would be more appropriate). Do this in the UK not in London and you will get mocked.
PFD 7 months ago
The convention in the Underground goes back to at least 1921, when the first recorded announcements told people not to stand on the left, and it has nothing to do with Americans. It was because of the design of the original escalators. At the foot of the original escalators there was a wall on the right that was at an angle to shunt people coming down away from those heading for the up escalator (dunno if that's clear). It meant that the left side had more freedom of movement, while those on the right were naturally slowed at the bottom, so standing on the right and walking on the left was simply more optimal.
Load More Replies...
Uncle Schmickle 7 months ago
But in the UK, like Australia, they drive on the left and overtake on the right. So I would assume it's more logical to stand on the left of the escalator ...... ?
Oops 7 months ago
Oh, yes.i learned this the hard way. As a good german citizen i stood of course on the right side of the escalator, in london, not for purpose. In a rush hour. As the stampede was over i tried to collect my bones. Of course the polite english people always said excuse me, excuse me before knocking me down.
#8
For me personally, it's weird, but in a good way, that many Europeans are interested in American politics. I was surprised when I first learned it many years ago. I saw the BBC coverage of our presidential election on youtube, and it was similar to how we covered it. We Americans never showed that level of interest in politics in other countries, but now, I wish we did. It's usually, and in other news, this person became leader of this nation.
Jo Firth 7 months ago
America doesn't want to educate people about other countries because then they'd realise it's not "the best country in the world".
Michael Largey 7 months ago
Particularly when it comes to election systems and practices.
Load More Replies...
G A 7 months ago
That's cos you b u g g e r s vote in f a s c I s t s who f v c k up the rest of us
nottheactualphoto 7 months ago
Some of us bugglers vote against the fascistas at every chance. Sometimes the bad guys win.
Load More Replies...
zatrisha 7 months ago
The USA does not want its citizens to be informed about global politics - that is a problem in this country. They would quickly realize that they are not the best country in the world - in fact, the rest of the world thinks the US is pretty broken, its wealth is based on huge debts and the exploitation of other people, even if the current president says otherwise. You are always free to acquire knowledge yourself - but you should hurry, because the Orange Clown is doing everything it can to erase the inconvenient truths from global information. Pick up a book.
PurrfectLife 7 months ago
I started subscribing to European websites or other websites (like Reuters) to get European/world news. Very interesting and helpful. I'm sick of American news, especially because that deranged orange face idiot makes sure he's in everyone's face every f***king day.
Sven Horlemann 7 months ago
The US is the country with the greatest economic wealth, and the greatest influence in the western world. Also, from a European perspective, the most important partner. They were central in rebuilding Germany (my home country). So yeah, they are - or should I say "were" - important to us. Just look at what Donald Dump is destroying right now. The US, for a long time, will not be a trusted partner again. We will find other alliances. I heard Canada is interested.
DC 7 months ago
... and we europeans gotta get our shid together, so that outside allies aren't of that much importance whatsoever, regardless of who it is and what's governing there.
Load More Replies... #9
Utter lack of accessibility for wheelchairs, blind people etc. I’m sure it’s not everywhere in Europe but it’s definitely not at all like western USA where there’s a lot of accessibility.
Catherine Graves 7 months ago
A huge reason behind this is the inordinate large number of very old buildings. Most modern ones are accessible, but local laws vary.
BrunoVI 7 months ago
The uneven application of disability requirements irks me to no end. You have a 200-year-old church (that's ancient in the US) with limited accessibility? You have to gut that sucker, pay tens of millions, and rebuild it back to its historical-landmark condition on your dime. Boston metro station is utterly inaccessible? That's history man! (Excuse the bad example if Boston finally fixed the situation decades late; that was the most shocking example I've seen, but I moved away from exempt-from-laws territory a long time ago.)
Load More Replies... CatD 7 months ago
Because Democrats passed laws making it so. Trump will probably be getting rid of the ADA as well.
Load More Replies... Jo Firth 7 months ago
Try getting into the NYC subway with a wheelchair and the review this comment.
Cydney Golden 7 months ago
In USA we have laws mandating access to all public buildings. But not for long, that's going by the way of DEI.
Leg less In Minneapolis 7 months ago
I live in MN in the US and old cities are like that here too.
Ace 7 months ago
AAMOI is this accessibility the same across Rural America or just limited to progressive big cities?
Tom Brincefield 7 months ago
Yes. New buildings have to meet accessibility standards, but old ones may not have to. Assuming the builders are following the building codes.
Load More Replies... The European Union, which currently comprises 27 member states, has a population of 448 million people, or 5.6% of the global population. As per the official EU website, this number is predicted to grow until the year 2026, after which it may fall to around 420 million by the year 2100.
Meanwhile, the United States of America currently has an estimated population of nearly 344 million people, compared to 331.5 million in 2020. However, the Congressional Budget Office states that the US population is around 350 million in 2025 and may increase to 372 million by the year 2055.
The US is 9,866,289 square kilometers in size, compared to the EU’s 4 million square kilometers.
#10
Lot of the places I’ve been don’t use ice with soda, water, etc.
Maria Maria 7 months ago
I don't understand the American obsession with ice. If you get ice you get less of a drink.
Carrie B 7 months ago
But free refills. I like extra ice. My occasional Coke tastes better slightly watered down.
Load More Replies...
CatD 7 months ago
I always say "No ice" in my drink. It waters it down and most restaurants don't clean the ice machine well.
Load More Replies...
Rich Black 7 months ago
and they give you a sneer if you ask for it. iced tea without the ice? and what's with room temperature beer? we're not talking single malt scotch, after all.
#11
No tarter sauce for fish & chips? how unamerican :)
Oh, and american chocolate sucks compared to german or swiss.
G A 7 months ago
You don't have tartar sauce on fish and chips you bl00dy heathen! And US chocolate sucks compared to all chocolate
Norm Gilmore 7 months ago (edited)
Then a lot of Kiwi are heathens then. I LOVE tartare sauce with fish and chips!! (or fush and chups as the Aussies hear us say it) :-)
Load More Replies...
Christos Arvanitis 7 months ago
THe "chocolate sucks in the US is just wrong". Sure, corporate chocolate bars in a convenience store are mostly meh, but we have an amazing variety of excellent chocolate here. I come from a family of chocolatiers and candy makers...
Apatheist Account2 7 months ago
Belgian and Swiss are miles ahead of American in terms of taste.
Load More Replies...
Dariusz M. D. 7 months ago
Oh yeah, butric acid in American chocolate. Also lovingly known as vomit flavour.
Rich Black 7 months ago
Ghiradelli (san francisco) chocolate won a taste test. Nestle is a from Switzerland.
Ilan Elron 7 months ago
I've recently read that American chocolate often times can't be called chocolate in Europe [for lack of basic 'credentials']
#12
Today I learned what a ‘hot press’ is on housing floor plans in Ireland. That one threw me for a loop. (It is, essentially, a water heater closet.).
FreeTheUnicorn 7 months ago (edited)
It's a comment about Ireland. Different place from the UK. Press is how you anglicise one of the Irish words for cupboard, (airing cupboard is príos m aerála), but it's worked it's way into some areas in Hibernian English as hot press because of the temp.
Load More Replies...
Jenn Smith 7 months ago
Aww...I somehow hoped a hot press involved melt cheese sandwiches! Lol!
Dusty's mom 7 months ago
Way back in the 1800s, closet and press were interchangeable in Midwest U.S.A. Don't know when press disappeared from our region's speech.
Foxglove🇮🇪 7 months ago
Now that hot water tanks come ready insulated from the factory, there's no heat in the hot pressure/airing cupboard any more.
Apatheist Account2 7 months ago
PS We never say "threw me for a loop", since it's meaningless.
FreeTheUnicorn 7 months ago
It's a common phrase in North America, widely understood and therefore not meaningless. It sounds like you understood it fine.
Load More Replies...What are some of the strangest things you’ve noticed and culture shock moments you've experienced while traveling abroad, dear Pandas? What are some cultural peculiarities that you’ve personally witnessed, whether while vacationing in Europe or the United States?
What are some of the things that you feel the most homesick about when you go on holiday? If you feel like opening up, feel free to do so in the comments below!
#13
Not sure if it's in all European countries, but the ground floor being 0 instead of 1. It makes sense, but it just feels a little "off" to me in an extremely subtle way.
BrunoVI 7 months ago (edited)
Wherever it isn't perfectly flat, the U.S.A. will use "1st floor" to refer to the highest floor that exits directly to ground level, and "Ground floor" to refer to the floor beneath that, when that floor also exits to ground level. I think that's the best way. The only problem is the elevator markings: Some buildings use "G" for "Ground Floor" and some use "G" for "Garage Level." Not usually a problem, though because usually garage levels use a number after the "G", such as "G1" for the first level below Ground Level, "G2" below that, etc.
Load More Replies... 
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
I don't know about Europe, but it's not 0 in Australia, it's G for ground. If you have a floor/carpark below that it's UG for underground.
Wim Cossement 7 months ago
Does not make sense, it's just like age. Before you turn 1, you're 0 years old.
#14
Mayonnaise, on french fries.
nottheactualphoto 7 months ago
Mayonnaise on French fries is awesome. Aioli is awesome. Now that I think about it, I must try hollandaise as a fry sauce.
Claudia Stieble 7 months ago
Hollandaise on fries mixed with fries is a bit underwhelming. Hollandaise on a normal potatoe is the best. Maybe it the deep fry hollandaise clashes with, I don't know, but it just tastes weird.
Load More Replies...
on second thought.... 7 months ago (edited)
Personally I prefer peanut sauce (aka satay sauce) on my french fries :)
Caroline Nagel 7 months ago
What else do you put on your frieten except mayonaise?! There is nothing else!
Featherytoad 7 months ago
Yes. I'm in America, and we did this in the 80's in high school. I'm just rediscovering it this year.
Load More Replies...
Debby Keir 7 months ago
First time I tasted mayo with chips was in the 50's in Belgium and it blew my mind.
Mommy Panda 7 months ago
Sometimes even french fries on mayonnaise, if you get what I'm sayin...
Jerusalem Cat Syndrome 4 months ago
What I find funny is that, where I live, they give me mayonnaise for fries _because_ I am American.
#15
Well im not offended but it's strange to me - the way they walk around naked in a mixed sauna - not even a towel. i have a towel just for cleanliness purposes. this happened in germany- i (woman) was there with my towel and and a man walked into the little sauna - without a stich on and grinning. and germans don't usually smile at a stranger.
zatrisha 7 months ago
Germany here.. Human bodies are natural and a Sauna is a safe space for everybody. Yes people are naked, but nobody is „staring“ at you and it is perfectly fine to cover up with a towel if you like.
Janelle Collard 7 months ago (edited)
So I'm placing my naked a** where someone *else's* naked a** just was? Eww! That's why I'd have a towel: to sit on.
fly on the wall 7 months ago
Why is it sad? We're you expecting eye candy? I am old and I say with confidence you don't have anything I haven't seen before
Load More Replies...
#16
The vertical partially opened apartment windows.
Jo Firth 7 months ago
Means Windows can be left open without risk of break-ins. I have the same in Aus and they are great.
Mary Kelly 7 months ago
and double hung windows have a lock...you can break into either casement or double hung windows w/o much fuss...just give me some air!
Load More Replies... FarfinFolomez 7 months ago (edited)
Is that not normal everywhere??? Even my old as hell, barely functional windows can be opened like that!
#17
Not sure if this is just Germany, but the lack of bug screens on windows. This is really frustrating because of German Luften, so it's often a requirement to crack open the windows, but there's nothing stopping the bugs. Ironically I mentioned this and someone said that bugs never really are an issue... and not long after a wasp started flying around the room.
Petra Peitsch 7 months ago
They are not really a problem. I prefer no bug screens, than having to look at their ugliness all the time. That wasp willl fly out from the room, if you don't start to bother it.
quentariel 7 months ago
Me too. Some wasps and flies wander inside daily, but they just buzz a moment against the window arount my potted plants before getting back out. If some persistent wasp overstays it's welcome, I catch it with a cup and paper and toss it back out. Although most people who have summer cottages use them, because forests and lakes equal huge amount of mosquitos.
Load More Replies...
Robin Roper 7 months ago
In most of the US, if windows don't have screens, they stay closed. We have killer mosquitoes.
StrangeOne 7 months ago
I'm always perplexed and amazed when I'm in UK visiting some people I know. I open a window, at night, and only a fly came in the whole night. Back in Canada, in the middle of the prairies. I recall when I was at Camp. We had a late night of activities at the food hall. When we got back to our cabin, with the front porch light on, there must have been thousands of bugs swarming around and sitting on the walls. We opened the door, scrambled in, and spent about half an hour shooing out every bug that seemed to have covered the whole floor and loft. You cannot leave a door open at night.
Boo 7 months ago
In Scotland, we generally don't have to worry about insects enough to have screens on the windows. We don't as our windows tilt out the way when opened, so unless you have a huge screened box to cover the entire window, they can't be used. The Highlands now, that is a different beast. The midges will eat you alive!!
Load More Replies...
RedHairedDragon 7 months ago
I laughed out loud at the notion that a single wasp would be an issue
Tom Brincefield 7 months ago
A single wasp could have killed my step-father with just one sting. Would that be an "issue" for you? It would have bothered my mom, sister, and me.
Load More Replies... Lynchamigsakta 7 months ago
Mm I suggest you visit any place along nedre dalälven
Load More Replies... 
Trashy Panda 7 months ago (edited)
They don't have as many mosquitoes in Europe as we do here. In Canada, they'll eat you alive without a window screen.
Argotina Schmurgle 7 months ago
Not many unless you are one of thise people who are natural mosquito magnets. Nobody else gets bitten around here at all because the few that we have are all biting me. I have installed screens in my bedtoom, everyone thinks Im nuts.
Load More Replies... #18
When you make incidental eye contact on the street with a stranger and instead of a nod or hello you get the mean mug or 1000 yard stare.
I know we’re not friends, but we’re not in prison.
PFD 7 months ago
It really does. And when, actually: where I like for instance that's changed a lot in 20 years. (Though it's still edging on the prison yard side of the spectrum.)
Load More Replies... Bartlet for world domination 7 months ago
We're not car societies, our streets are crowded. When I'm in a small village on a Sunday morning, I will greet you. When I just pop out for groceries I will see a hundred people in two minutes.
sturmwesen 7 months ago
So? why should I acknowledge someone if I don't want to/am sleepy/am busy?
Surly Scot 7 months ago
That's all I've experienced in America. It's not as firendly as people make out.
Nikole 7 months ago
It depends where. Do you realize how many different regions there are, and how it’s different between city/suburban/rural in each of those regions?
Load More Replies...
#19
Okay based on the countries I’ve been to, what is with the open showers? Where are the shower curtains?? All of the heat escapes, the water gets all over the floor… I understand that they can be beneficial for people with mobility issues, but I don’t understand how a curtain changes that.
There are enclosed showers there but the prevalence of open ones is so confusing….
zatrisha 7 months ago
The curtains stick to the body when wet and they are usually not easy to clean - usually there are glass doors.
Pencil 7 months ago
What do you mean the curtains stick to the body? I've had curtains my whole 59 years of life and never had a shower curtain stick to me. Are you leaning against it or something? I'm sorry, I genuinely don't understand. And the liners are no more difficult to clean than shower doors; spray cleaner, wipe & rinse. The outer curtain just goes in the wash.
Load More Replies...
Ace 7 months ago
I don't know where you've been to, but this is certainly not usual. There does exist the concept of an "Italian shower" or a "wet room", but normally only to be found in large hotel bathrooms and the like, but the vast majority would either be a fully enclosed glass shower cubicle or curtains if the shower is mounted over the bathtub.
Sportsgal 7 months ago (edited)
This is weird, a water closet. I had to keep hair dryer and toilet paper elsewhere. Bringing tp in every time was tedious.. Strange because I also wondered with the water going everywhere, doesn't it get moldy? Shower was like a casket. Could barely raise my arms to wash my hair...
Trashy Panda 7 months ago (edited)
I've seen this in the US too. Who want to be drafty when they're taking a shower?
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago
I suspect 'wet rooms'. Where the whole room can be used without worrying about water getting on the floor, or splashed around the place.
Load More Replies... Mary Kelly 7 months ago
wet rooms are common in asia too...it's fine if you have enough space so the toilet stays dry...you need a dry place to sit when drying off...and, yes, they are a hazard to old people...but all bathrooms are when you really think about it
Tom Brincefield 7 months ago
It's a trend in the USA the last few years for rich people and hotels. I think the trend is starting to wear out here in the US since people are figuring out it takes some of the pleasure out of showers.
#20
The caps don’t fully detach from your plastic water bottles (though I’ve come to appreciate this!).
WindySwede 7 months ago
And I think this I s**t! Usually rips them of (recycling them as intended after of course),. They are on every package witch screw lits/caps. Drinks, yoghurt etc..
Load More Replies...
Stephen Gross 7 months ago
I just noticed that on my current trip; that's deliberate? If so, pretty handy.
SlightlyTarnished 7 months ago
So caps don't end up fouling the environment. Pretty easy and common sense approach.
Pwhge Kfkfgnme 7 months ago
They do, it just takes practice to master the motion to detach it without spilling half the bottle on the recoil.
InfamousBerry34 7 months ago
And also to put it back on without cross-threading!
Load More Replies... Sam Lombardo 7 months ago
Biggest BS ever. Everyone I know hates it and rips them of. Complete design failure, because for small bottles the cap sometimes goes into your eye by accident. And the sustainability of keeping the plastic is fraud, because 30 % more plastic is required to keep the cap connected to the bottle.
Wim Cossement 7 months ago
Holy moly, I'm so shocked by the amount of lack of eye-hand coordination in grown adults from the US, or is it about freedom? You can bend it so far back it kinda stays that way and if it's in your eye, rotate the bottle 90 degrees left or right. Tadaa!
Load More Replies... Sven Horlemann 7 months ago
Yeah, it is about caring for the environment. I know, not a US priority, and the US always knows best.
#21
It's funny that some countries, like France, they have big cafe culture but at home the people drink instant coffee. It's a funny quirk. And in Northern Europe the staring with no smile!
Orysha 7 months ago
I swear you not one coffee lover in France would drink instant coffee unless it's an emergency.
Ace 7 months ago
I think some people are OK with using it for milky breakfast coffee, but yes, that pretty much excludes anyone who's a "coffee lover".
Load More Replies... Lynchamigsakta 7 months ago
Yes it's so much less unsettling when a stranger stares at you with a grin on their face
Load More Replies... Ace 7 months ago
While instant coffee exists here, of course, it's really not the norm for most people. If you look on any supermarket shelf there will be ten times as much choice for ground coffee than instant. I think the most common is still filter coffee, you don't even need a machine, just a cone and filter paper.
BrunoVI 7 months ago
Why would coffee beans be cheaper than instant coffee? It's not like instant coffee is made out of chicory.
Load More Replies... Sven Horlemann 7 months ago
Depends on the area, I guess. Everyone I know has a great coffee maker and if you are not a student, why the heck would you want to drink instant at home? Nope.
#22
It used to seem odd to me that eggs weren't refrigerated. Now it doesn't.
Robin Roper 7 months ago
Fresh never refrigerated eggs are good at room temperature for up to a few week. Once refrigerated, they need to kept refrigerated.
zatrisha 7 months ago
In US they use clorid to clean the eggs first, than you have to cool them.
Load More Replies...
Jane Hower 7 months ago
Unwashed eggs right from the chicken do not have to be washed; but in the US they are washed so they are 'clean' and that makes them HAVE to be regrigerated.
CatD 7 months ago
The EU inoculates their chickens against salmonella. We should do that here, but Big Businesses don't like to be told what to do.
Tom Brincefield 7 months ago (edited)
It has more to do with the way eggs are processed. Hiram's Friend has a link explaining it above. And while vaccinating the chickens is not a bad idea, right now we are having trouble getting people to vaccinate their kids.
Load More Replies... #23
The toilets in the Netherlands are stupidly designed. Instead of the “hole” being in the back where your p*o goes, it’s in the front. So you take a s**t and your p*o just sits on this little shelf where there is no water. Why? Genuinely perplexing to me.
Tiffany 7 months ago
Probably smart to do. Hard to ignore it when it's front and center.
Load More Replies...
Norm Gilmore 7 months ago
Not that hard to find out why... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_flush_toilet#:~:text=Reverse%20flush%20toilet%2C%20also%20known,facilitates%20taking%20a%20stool%20sample.
WindySwede 7 months ago
Also: "The design greatly increases associated odor and requires a brushing after every use." 💩 But also, how did you make the text highlighted!?
Load More Replies...
FreeTheUnicorn 7 months ago
The stool shelf is there so you can take a quick look at the piop and spot health issues early. Bowel cancer detection and therefore treatment is shown to be earlier in Germany and the Netherlands because of this.
Uncle Schmickle 7 months ago
When you flush, there's a " waterfall " which swooshes the solids off and down the outlet.
#24
There’s no regular plugs in bathrooms in the UK. Just these low voltage ones for men’s shavers. It’s so hard trying to blow dry and curl my hair in the hallway.
Forrest Hobbs 7 months ago (edited)
The shaver sockets aren't there for low voltage (they do 230V/115V - ish); they're there for low current via isolation transformers for safety. We have good electrical safety regulations here in the UK - water and mains electricity are a potentially fatal combination, even in the US with its 120V standard mains voltage.
BrunoVI 7 months ago (edited)
You say you have good safety regulations as if that's the difference between UK and USA here. The difference is actually that America requires the installation of circuit interrupters in the bathroom, so that it's quite safe to have outlets that can handle your hair dryer. (Sometimes they exist in each bathroom as Americans usually have at least two bathrooms, but that's usually because the homeowner didn't realize one was enough and had another installed.) It's shocking (d**n) how effective they are. Contrary to what you see in the movies, you're fine if your toaster somehow falls in your bathtub. I wouldn't recommend inviting freak disasters, but you should be OK.
Load More Replies...
Toby 7 months ago
All the Brits here going how dangerous it is to have power sockets in the bathroom, yet they manage to do it on the Continent without all dying. And I don't think the Dutch and Germans are likely to be slapdash about safety, so maybe we're being overcautious in the UK?
Heras buddy 7 months ago
In the US it's now code to use a ground fault interrupter anywhere there is water. The GFI breaks the circuit if it gets wet.
Forrest Hobbs 7 months ago
In the UK, the regulations insist on an RCD (GFCI) on new installations regardless - plus we retain the previous safety restrictions on mains electrical supplies in bathrooms. The more layers of safety you have, the better. Active protection devices can fail to operate correctly.
Load More Replies... 
Helsbels 6 months ago
Here in Australia we have full 240v in our bathrooms and usually next to the sink. We have circuit breakers in the fuse box so if tripped off all power sockets go off until we can remove the faulty product and then we can reset the breaker. I have always dried my hair in the bathroom, weird doing it elsewhere.
Michaelann Dahlman 7 months ago
Canada does this, as well. My husband lives in the US & his bathroom has a socket, the hair dryer came with a HUGE warning label on it.
#25
Laundry washing machine in your kitchen is a weird concept to me.
Michaelann Dahlman 7 months ago
Many older houses were designed this way. The house I grew up in was old when I was (1960) they were in the bathroom, which was right next to the kitchen, so much shorter distance for the water pipes. Most old houses did this.
Load More Replies... Kira Okah 7 months ago
Only place that I have lived in without a utility room is my dad's house. Lack of one is not universal in Europe.
Load More Replies... SlightlyTarnished 7 months ago (edited)
OP is likely young, back in the day in the States washing machines were not uncommon in the kitchen, nor the basement or garage (which made hauling laundry a pain). I'm so old I remember our wringer washer on the back porch off the kitchen where my mother would do laundry once a week, then hang it on the line to dry, in winter it was moved to basement to do laundry.
Forrest Hobbs 7 months ago
As I understand it, doing the laundry in the kitchen was how it was generally done, back in the old days - at least for the working classes. My mother grew up in a basement flat with only one indoor water tap - in the kitchen; the loo was outside in the back yard. If you wanted hot water, you had to heat it on the stove in the kitchen. So, when you get a washing machine, you put it in the room with the water supply and drainage where you've always done the laundry. They'd had a better flat before, but it was demolished by a German bombing raid.
Crystalwitch60 7 months ago (edited)
Where else we meant to put it 🤦♀️🤷♀️I’m 60 lol n unless you rich n can afford a laundry room ie more space the kitchen is perfectly normal how it’s been since I was born lol n even before n up in uk
Pencil 7 months ago
The kitchen or the garage was always the standard in the US, too. Now, though, according to all the home reno shows on TV, every house has to have a separate laundry room the size of a studio apartment. It's crazy. I have a laundry closet in my kitchen and am very grateful.
Load More Replies... Sam Lombardo 7 months ago
Older houses sometimes dont have a basement for this. Europe is old.
Rich Black 7 months ago
wait - they don't have garbage disposals, but they DO have washing machines next to the sink? but no dryers, of course. there's a clothes line connected to your balcony pole.
Forrest Hobbs 7 months ago (edited)
Rich Black: of course "they" (we, I mean) have "garbage disposal". It's called the bin. Rubbish gets put in the 'garbage disposal" container and disposed of (where I live: landfill wheelie bin, recycling wheelie bin, or - in my particular case - compost in the back garden). I'm sure even most Americans are familiar with the concept. 😉 But you're right about tumble dryers - they're totally unheard of outside the USA. https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/product-reviews/electricals/g25572057/best-tumble-dryers/
Load More Replies... #26
Prawn mayo in the UK. An affront to god.
CatD 7 months ago (edited)
Never heard of it before. So, it's like a shrimp salad sandwich?
Load More Replies... UKGrandad 7 months ago
Theologically speaking the OP is correct. In the Old Testament the only seafood allowed must have scales and fins, so all shellfish are forbidden as food because they are an 'abomination before the LORD'. Therefore, prawn *anything* is an affront to God. Which makes me thank God I'm an atheist, because I love prawns.
Tom Brincefield 7 months ago
Along with cheeseburgers it makes me glad I'm not Jewish.
Load More Replies... For All Pedernity 7 months ago
If there were a god, the US would be the hugest, most biggest affront to them ever.
Load More Replies... Debby Keir 7 months ago
UK here - do you mean prawns with mayo, or do you mean a mayo made of prawns? Most prawn 'cocktails' have a Marie Rose sauce, which does have mayo in it.
Crystalwitch60 7 months ago
Wash your mouth out with soap !! One god is all fiction lol n two prawn mayo is bloody lush !!
Cydney Golden 7 months ago
The picture shows shrimp with mayo. Isn't that similar to a lobster roll?
#27
Almost 25 years living in Europe and it still annoys me when a greasy sandwich like a grilled cheese toastie arrives on top of a napkin on the plate instead of just putting the napkin next to it. 😡.
Elwood Schwartz (it/that) 7 months ago
They are stealing our grease. We paid for that grease, and that napkin is denying us the full value of the meal.
Load More Replies...
Dusty's mom 7 months ago
Yay! Someone else calls them cheese toasties! Grilled cheese is such a thing anymore.
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
We always called them toasted cheese when I was a kid but now cheese toastie is most common in Australia. I never understood why they were called grilled cheese when they weren't put under the grill.
Load More Replies... #28
Serves pizza uncut.
Kira Okah 7 months ago
If you cut the pizza before it settles properly, the toppings and cheese risk sliding off or getting displaced, which is an issue with a lot of those places that cut them fresh from the oen.
Elwood Schwartz (it/that) 7 months ago
Meh, I've never had such a problem, and all I eat is pizza and bacon. Not usually together, mind.
Load More Replies... BrunoVI 7 months ago
It's not typical in the US to use your personal cutlery to cut from what everyone else is eating. Hence, even with roasts, portions are cut for each person. Also, in America, the more likely a person is to demand real pizza, the more likely he is to eat it with his hands. Telling such a person to go to Dominoes is to just be an a*****e.
Load More Replies... Petra Peitsch 7 months ago
Uhhm... we are prefering using cutlery, not our hands. But as you please.
#29
They smoke EVERYWHERE. All the time. There’s a lot of smokers in America, but it’s not even comparable. You can’t escape the smell no matter where you go in the city! Once when I was in Paris I counted nearly 200 smokers in a few hours.
Mommy Panda 7 months ago (edited)
Again, depends on where you are in Europe. The generalisation is strong in this one...
Crystalwitch60 7 months ago
Eugh banned here in uk in in indoor spaces and right next to a door as well as well it should be !
Maria Maria 7 months ago
It depends on the country. The French smoke a lot, but it's rare here in Sweden
UKGrandad 7 months ago
"Once when I was in Paris I counted nearly 200 smokers in a few hours." How obsessed must you have to be to visit Paris and spend your time counting people who smoke?
Dusty's mom 7 months ago
If you have allergic reactions to smoke, you become pedantic about these things.
Load More Replies...
Spittnimage 7 months ago
I would've been interested in the city itself, not looking for smokers 🤦🏼♀️
Dusty's mom 7 months ago
People who have reactions to smoke can't enjoy the city when their throats swell shut.
Load More Replies...
Sven Horlemann 7 months ago
Agreed, in France they love to smoke. In Germany it's gotten much, MUCH better like 20, 30 years ago.
Uncle Schmickle 7 months ago
I found France was the worst, but it was quite a while ago. Hopefully the situation has improved.
#30
I am in Paris often and used to the quirks for the most part, but eating all desserts with a spoon always will be perplexing to me.
quentariel 7 months ago
I work at a café and we always place a chosen utensil next to customer's plate automatically. With cakes it's a cake fork (which is smaller than normal), and with some pies, mud cakes and such with a gooey filling it's a spoon. Customer can of course pick a different one if they wish to do so.
kathoco 7 months ago
I’ve lived in France for almost 25 years and have always found the dessert spoon ridiculously impractical. When you point it out to French people, they absolutely agree that a fork is better for certain desserts. But it’s what they have always had so they don’t question it.
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
I prefer spoons to dessert forks most of the time, easier to deal with crumbs. Actually I also use spoons for main course unless it's something I have to cut with a knife and fork. That way I can pick up the rice etc easier.
Crystalwitch60 7 months ago
erm how else u meant to bloood6 eat em mao it’s asking as a 60 yr old uk woman 😂 am I meant to use me hands i know im a country farm born n bred Welsh valley lass but jeez i do have standards you know 😂
#31
My family in Spain keep all their pots and pans in their oven. You have to always remember to empty it before pre heating.
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago (edited)
I can't imagine this is restricted to Europe. It's a storage thing.
Christos Arvanitis 7 months ago
I don't think that this has anything to do with where you love. Rather, it is personal preference. We put all of our cast iron pans in the oven... here in the US of A
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
People do this in Australia too. I get frustrated when I'm trying to put stuff in the oven at work, because I always forget they are in there until after preheating.
Crystalwitch60 7 months ago
Wait WHAT nooooo pan n pots go in cupboards oh boy lol im 60 n never heard this one hang em up or in a cupboard not in the oven eek
#32
Charging for sauces in restaurants and fast food places.
But heres the thing, not all, just most. Its odd that a street vendor gives you free access to a tub of mayo, but the next door place charges 0,80 cents for a sachet of mayo or ketchup.
Even mcdonalds and other places, where Im from sauces are like napkins, and cutlery, you just get it.
Elwood Schwartz (it/that) 7 months ago (edited)
This is poorly written. Due to apparently being a "grammar cop," I shall rephrase. This, especially the fourth sentence, is written so poorly that it is barely intelligible.
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
Pretty common at fast food places in Australia too but if it's a food truck often you can use a communal bottle. At sushi places I prefer the bottle of soy than the fish shaped packets, even though they are free, because they create so much waste.
#33
For me it’s no garbage disposal in the sink and having a washer and dryer in the kitchen.
Ace 7 months ago
That's not really the case. The reason they're banned in most of Europe is the environmental effects of all the food matter being flushed into the system, very bad for river health.
Load More Replies... 
Alexandra 7 months ago
That is not the case everywhere.Some people have a washer and dryer in the bathroom, by which I mean the room where you shower, shave and go potty. I have a washer in a separate room off my bathroom and no dryer. Why would I need a dryer if you can hang up your clothes to dry naturally? Such a waste of energy.
Pencil 7 months ago
Because if I hang my clothes outside they'll get covered in squirrel prints and bird poop. Not to mention freeze solid in the winter.
Load More Replies...
Christos Arvanitis 7 months ago
We have a septic tank and so cannot have a garbage disposal. That is good as it forces us to compost.
Crystalwitch60 7 months ago
Hell to the no !! We,ce never needed them rubbish goes in a bloody dustbin n food waste goes in a food waste bin !! you Americans are the flipping strange ones lol not us in uk
Petra Peitsch 7 months ago
That garbage disposal sounds gross to me. As for the washer/dryer it depends, how big is the bathroom. If it's big enough, than you'll find them there.
Kirk Littlefield 7 months ago
I'll be honest, in over 20 years of renting and owning homes all across the US, I've never had a garbage disposal. I don't know if it's as common as everyone thinks.
#34
I was watching a Belgian TV show once on Netflix and saw them pour coffee into a bowl, not a large mug, a bowl with no handles or anything, and just drank coffee out of a BOWL. I was so perplexed I googled it to see if maybe this was a sign the character was insane. Apparently in some places in Europe they do drink out of bowls.
Ace 7 months ago
Where else? This is definitely a French thing, and not totally unusual in some surrounding countries, so maybe it's also found in French colonised parts of the world?
Load More Replies... 
Annik Perrot 7 months ago
I drink my tea from huge bowl every morning. Easier to dip the buttered bread!
Laura Robaer 7 months ago
I'm Belgian and I have never heard of this XD I can assure you most people here drink out of either a glass or a mug
#35
Idk how it is in other European countries, but I recently learned that the british dont have a certain side of the sidewalk they walk on unless they're in an area with directed traffic like an often crowded, Floor-marked subway tunnel.
I visited with my family and we kept being confused because we would walk on the right and people would be there then we'd walk on the left and people would also be there.
I finally googled it and found a reddit thread making fun of Americans for having weird walking culture and really we should just weave through the crowd.
For the Europeans looking to visit the United States: Americans generally consider it polite to walk on the right side of the sidewalk. Allowances are made for the elderly, people carrying things, vibes, trees/signage being in the way, etc.
But also, when we realized the whole freedom of movement thing we did make fun of ourselves for visiting a country then discussing how we think they needed "more rules dammit!".
Cheers.
zatrisha 7 months ago
If there is a sidewalk, you can walk on either side. If there is no sidewalk, you walk on the side where the cars come towards you (depending on whether you are in the UK or not). On a bike, you ride on the same side as the cars, of course.
Ace 7 months ago
I don't think they mean which side of the road, but which side of the footpath(=US 'sidewalk', or 'pavement' in the UK). I've never known anywhere to have a rule about that, maybe I just never realised it and píssed off the locals every time I walked anywhere in the US.
Load More Replies... Pwhge Kfkfgnme 7 months ago
The important thing is to randomly stop and stand still. This is doubly true in London. That erraticness will put of any pickpockets, and make you look less like a tourist
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
In Australia, it's polite to keep on the left when walking, but it doesn't happen on larger footpaths in the city and in shopping centres.
#36
Cooling toast.
I thought this was satire when I first read about it.
Khavrinen 7 months ago
Americans take their toast right out of the toaster and serve it hot. In the UK they let it cool to room temperature before serving it. One theory I've read is that it's a tradition from the days when only the wealthy had toasters, and by the time the servants brought toast from the kitchen to the table it had cooled down, so that was the way people expected it to be served.
Load More Replies...
Grace Note 7 months ago
Yeah, no. I mean I'll eat colder toast if it's getting cooler as I eat it because I'm a slow eater but toast should be hot/warm and dripping with melting butter. And now I want some!
Crystalwitch60 7 months ago
What’s wrong with letting toast cool down before you put butter in it lol it’s far nicer not soggy. Can’t stand soggy toast
Pencil 7 months ago
For buttered toast, I definitely prefer the butter to melt so I spread it on when it's hot. Never gets soggy, though. But for a sandwich with mayo or something, I'll let it cool first.
Load More Replies...
#37
Italian coffee rules. Makes starbucks feel like an absolute free for all.
Geoffrey Scott 7 months ago
Nephew said he would rather get a coffee from a Starbuck's- like place and pay $4/cup. I'm perfectly ok with a bold blend from a C-store for $1.50. Oddly enough, he owns his own house.
Load More Replies... #38
Shop for food every day.
G A 7 months ago (edited)
Not personally but if you have local fresh bread, meat and veg, why not, better than plastic wrapped long life stuff full of preservatives, surely?
Lady Eowyn 7 months ago
It's not always practical. Just get enough for one day at a time? I prefer to have food in the house sufficient for at least a week if not more.
Load More Replies...
Alexandra 7 months ago
Yes we can, because the shops are nearby and the food is fresh. No need for heavily preserved foodstuffs containing questionable chemicals to make them still look good after 2 years.
Pencil 7 months ago
Not everyone is nearby fresh food shops. I'm from NYC where fresh bread and produce is never more than two blocks in any direction. Now I'm in rural NJ and the nearest store is a 20 minute drive. Ditto London vs. Northumberland. Geography plays a significant role no matter what country you're in.
Load More Replies... zatrisha 7 months ago
Why not - the next grocery store is normally just a tiny walk away or 5mins by car. Fresh fruits, Veggies and Herbs everyday, the Taste is just better.
T'Mar of Vulcan 7 months ago
I found it weird in London that places sold half-pints of milk. I put just about that much milk in my coffee!!
#39
Everyone taking August off for vacation.
Alexandra 7 months ago
Everyone? You mean the entire population of Europe is on the move in August? I must have been doing something wrong then....
Orysha 7 months ago
Are you one of the heretics going on holidays in July or even worse off-season because you can? ;)
Load More Replies... Laura Robaer 7 months ago
please tell my boss, cause I certainly don't have vacation in August and definitely not the entire month...
Boo 7 months ago
We did it differently. Scotland starts their school summer hols earlier than England, we used to take the kids the last week of May til the 2nd week of June (it's a lot cheaper than if we waited and took the kids after England let out). Plus the resorts were a lot quieter and could enjoy spending time with the kids without all the hubbub.
#40
You serve jams and jellies and cold cuts of thinly sliced meats on untoasted breads, and call it a breakfast.
It's not bad. But it's definitely a bit wierd.
BrunoVI 7 months ago
In America, sandwhiches are for lunch, and if you have them for breakfast, you'd definitely prefer toasted. Even more differently, jams and jellies aren't usually served with meat. I wouldn't say that we don't use sweet condiments with meat at all: I will use barbecue sauce or honey mustard occasionally instead of dressing; and some dressings, like French, Russian or thousand-island, are fairly sweet.
Load More Replies... Petra Peitsch 7 months ago
First-time-in-Germany american tourists at our hotel are always amazed of the variety and good taste of the breads served. Than, they are get used to it :D.
Daniel Atkins 7 months ago
I believe they are not used to seeing jellies with meat together in a sandwich.
Bartlet for world domination 7 months ago
They are not together in a sandwich, they are breakfast options.
Load More Replies... For All Pedernity 7 months ago
As opposed to a donut, heaps of sugar and milk on some grains and a glass of SunnyD? Yes.
#41
Tolerating so much lack of parity in the football leagues.
#42
A British person on reddit insisted that when they wash their dishes, they don't rinse off the dishwashing liquid before putting them on the drying rack. Another Brit chimed in to back them up, so I'm still living under the assumption that it's the truth. .
Forrest Hobbs 7 months ago
I'm a Brit. When I wash up, it's "Rinse before washing, wash, rinse after washing".
Apatheist Account2 7 months ago
As someone with a relevant qualification - yes you should rinse the liquid off.
Pencil 7 months ago
When I was a kid, TV commercials would show a two-part sink with one having the sudsy wash water and the other having the rinse water that the washed dish would just be dipped in. Of course in the ad, the rinse water would always look perfectly clear but if you did that irl, the rinse water would get grimy and soapy pretty fast. I suppose there were a lot of people who did/do it that way, though. Or just don't rinse them at all. Gross imo.
Load More Replies...
Galita 7 months ago
In Germany I have seen people place a bin in the kitchen sink, fill it up with piping hot water and liquid detergent, and dry them sans rinsing. My mother in law and all their family did it that way. Not sure if an old fashioned or family related thing. This was 25 years ago… so this century, ha! The bin in the sink did save tons of water.
Crissy Newbury 7 months ago
I do rinse my dishes but only because I grew up in America. I’m English.
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
I didn't know people did this in Australia (despite living here) until recently. Then I found out it helps them to dry quicker so if I do dishes at work I do it. At home I don't need to because I have a dishwasher.
nottheactualphoto 7 months ago
Rinse the detergent off after washing the dish.
Load More Replies... #43
Parking on sidewalks. No salt in butter. Paying to go to the bathroom. Can't find a decent cup of drip coffee and they always ask if you mean "Americano".
BrunoVI 7 months ago
Yes, but lightly salted is default when you eat out.
Load More Replies... Carl Roberts 7 months ago (edited)
Parking on sidewalks is a thing in the U.S., of course it's usually only done by people with tiny johnsons who drive huge trucks or BMWs
Becky Samuel 7 months ago
Ah yes, the last great safe space of body shaming, the cheap "big vehicle equals small male genitalia" trope.
Load More Replies... Alexandra 7 months ago
Parking on sidewalks will result in a hefty fine here. Butter is usually salted, but shops offer both kinds. You pay for the bathroom so it's kept clean: you want people to work for nothing? If you can't find decent coffee you went to the wrong place or are too cheap to pay for good coffee.
Judes 7 months ago
They don't want decent coffee, they want 'decent DRIP coffee'. I know you can get drip coffee makers in Europe (for home use), but I don't think it's a style commonly sold in European cafes.
Load More Replies... 
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago (edited)
Not in my opinion. Mind you, I can stand Starbucks either.
Load More Replies... Caroline Nagel 7 months ago
You can find plenty of salted butter in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Stephen Gross 7 months ago
Parking is very different all over the world. For instance, in Tokyo, there's NO street side parking anywhere. And small-ish streets do not have a separate sidewalk; cars & pedestrians share the space. And, TBH, there are places in the US (like my hometown of Pittsburgh PA) where sidewalk parking is normal.
#44
Using measurement systems that actually makes sense. like i mean, first i thought they were crazy for using a 24h timeframe but then i learned a day actually has 24h and all of a sudden, it made so much sense, my life has never been the same ever since.
Happy Onion 7 months ago
Yeah, this AM and PM s**t is a pain. Looking for the little red dot on your digital clock. I bill for time at work and the math is SO much easier when I use 24h clock. Start at 9:00, finish at 19:00, that's a 10-hour shift. Easy!
Pencil 7 months ago
Am, pm was still the global standard a historically recently. Digital clocks weren't even available for consumers until the 1970s. But I think now with everyone having a digital clock in their pocket all the time, the 24 hour clock will slowly become universal. And it is easier. The only thing I don't like about it is how it changes a reader's perception of the first line of George Orwell's "1984." "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen" just won't have an impact on future generations which is a pity, imo.
Load More Replies... Geoffrey Scott 7 months ago
I always prank my wife during time change and use the 24 hr setting..."it's 15 o'clock, that's not ri-i-i-ght!"
Rebecca O’Donnell 7 months ago
If you work for the Post Office, they use “military” time PLUS they don’t use minutes. They use units. There are 100 units per hour. Source - me, retired letter carrier.
Crissy Newbury 7 months ago
I much prefer 24 hour digital clocks. So much easier. None of this am pm stuff.
#45
Weird in the beginning but not anymore, the constant staring. It doesn’t matter which country I am in, people always stare at me. When I stare back at them they don’t look away like in the U.S. they just continue to stare. Now I prefer this interaction because if you look at anyone in the U.S. for even a split second, they flip out and want to fight you.
I know that there isn’t malice behind it. Possibly curiosity.
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago
Just out of curiosity. Do you talk loudly, and make comparisons with the US?
BrunoVI 7 months ago
Given the claim that Americans attack people who quickly glance at them, I doubt that's the reason. OP must be from New York, Boston or Philly, but still must have a bizarre attitude. Everyone else always claims we smile so much at strangers, whenever we make eye contact, wjether they think that's good or bad.
Load More Replies... lovemy suffolk 7 months ago
My goodness! Don't go outside when it is raining, GA. You'll likely drown!
Load More Replies...
#46
I get it but it’s also weird and something I’m dealing with now since I’m planning a trip, but the lack of communication I guess specifically with email is insane. I’ve emailed so many professionals to try and book stuff and it’s days later half answers. .
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago
Clearly OP has never tried to book things in the US from another country. Dāmn near impossible, even with email!
BrunoVI 7 months ago
Isn't the issue mostly time zones? Why else is it harder to book in the US from another country? I found it easy from Canada (including French Canada) and slightly more difficult from Hawaii. (Sadly, other than Hawaii and Britain, I've not spent much time out of North America, but only for lack of opportunity. Not enough time to worry about booking things in the US from Europe.)
Load More Replies... For All Pedernity 7 months ago (edited)
Well, given your basic grammar skills, I'd probably assume your mails to be spam and delete them.
#47
Paying for gas after the fact is kind of crazy. I feel like most people in America would have the urge to just drive off without paying. Different cultures, I guess.
Forrest Hobbs 7 months ago
Here in the UK we have CCTV and automatic numberplate recognition and a national database of numberplates linked to the address of the registered keeper, etc., etc. If you drive off without paying for your petrol, you will almost certainly end up getting prosecuted.
Hiram's Friend 7 months ago
Where do you live that you have to pay for gas before fueling? I'm almost 80, have lived all over the country (U.S.) and never had to pay first unless it was one of those places where the cashier was behind bullet proof glass.
Happy Onion 7 months ago
I think most of Canada let's you pay after you pump too. I've only seen pay first enforced in big cities overnight
Lady Eowyn 7 months ago
Paying for gas after having the attendant fill the tank used to be the norm.
Apatheist Account2 7 months ago
Some self-service places require you to insert a credit card, which authorises up to £99, then charges the actual amount.
#48
In Portugal they don’t have salt at the table at restaurants. You have to ask for it.
Hiram's Friend 7 months ago
The conceit is that the chef cooked the meal perfectly and that adding to it is an insult.
Ace 7 months ago
There are lots of places across Europe where they won't routinely put salt and pepper out on the table. Not restricted to any given country, IME, just the individual restaurant. Some places, for example, may have a limited number, and may expand outdoors in the summer where you really don't want them to be subject to rain, insects, dust, whatever. So just ask.
#49
-Washing machine in the kitchen.... seems really out of place but okay no room elsewhere that makes sense.
-But then there's no dryer.... that's like really old fashioned from a US point of view. My grandma had a dryer
-Most cars have 'standard' transmission. From a US point of view that's something for gearhead hobbyists. Not having automatic transmission is so quaint. I get that fuel is more expensive in Europe so it makes sense and there's probably less need to drive there anyway since your public transport is leagues better than ours
-A state established religion...when ironically you guys are statistically less religious... how did that happen?
-Naming laws, like some European countries have a list of acceptable names and spellings that parents can name their kid
-The very concept of having a royal family and noble titles
*************************
I reserve the right to call the downvoter a "d*********y".
quentariel 7 months ago (edited)
About the naming laws: it's not a small list of traditional names that many European countries have, it's a law designed to protect the person from being named anything that is insulting or too weird, or ridiculously hard to write. Basically it allows almost anything except swearwords and taunts. There's also variety on how you can spell the names, but you have to be able to spell it without needing a guide. There might be an occasional dissapppointed parent, but most kids appreciate this. And I'm sure teachers at school do too.
G A 7 months ago
Nobody, apart from old biddies and the BBC, gives much of a toss about the royals.
BrunoVI 7 months ago
Which kinda makes them MORE nonsensical, not less. Why bother with them?
Load More Replies... #50
I live in Spain and I miss carpet. There is an major over use of tile. I feel like every room in a house resembles a bathroom. The feeling of walking around on tile after a shower is horrible. A lot cafeterias make you feel like your having coffee in a bathroom especially since most older cafe's form the 80's and 90's have stainless steel countertops, everything just looks like a public restroom. However, most spaniards view carpet as disgusting and insanitary. I realize a lot of American aesthetics are a luxury.
Notme 7 months ago
Not to do with luxury at all. It’s too hot most of the year for carpet in Spain; tiled floors are simply cooler and easier to clean. In Winter, the rugs come out.
BrunoVI 7 months ago
Spain is north of most of America. We use hardwood instead of tile. It feels sooooo much better. Nowadays, they make this flooring that uses wood fiber and polymer to make floors that feel and look exactly like wood but resist water so you can use them in the bathroom even. Love it. (They're way more realistic than the fake wood used at playgrounds.)
Load More Replies... nottheactualphoto 7 months ago
A mat that can be picked up and thrown in the laundry.
Load More Replies... zatrisha 7 months ago
I have a fairly large house and there is no carpet anywhere in it, I have wooden floors and tiles everywhere. With dogs, cats and children, it's easier to clean and the underfloor heating means it's always warm in winter and cool in summer.
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
After a flooding (us kids fault, we were told not to block the shower drain to make a 'bath') we finally got rid of the hideous 70s carpet that was in half the house. It was impossible to get parquet in the same timber as the front of the house as it was now a protected old growth hardwood so we got laminate floating 'wood'. It made it easier to clean and we also had underfloor heating (until it carked it after 40 years). Oly thing I didn't like is walking barefoot after my shower and getting dust onto my feet, so I put a bath mat beside my bed to wipe my feet before getting into it.
Load More Replies... sturmwesen 7 months ago (edited)
Till the 90ies carpet was common in Germany. Now it's tile, wood or other non fuzzy material. In my last flat I ripped out the carpet for wood floors. Easier to clean and vacuum and better for my allergies. We have rugs. The beige carpeting in movies seems a nightmare to clean.
LilliVB 7 months ago
I live in Switzerland and here is the same. And I find it really comfy and easy to clean.
Load More Replies...
Crissy Newbury 7 months ago
I hate carpet. I wouldn’t have any in my house if I could. Give me wooden floors any day.
For All Pedernity 7 months ago (edited)
Yeah, having a hairy, rancid, p**s soaked wall-to-wall carpet in your bathroom is a luxury only Murica can afford.
#51
Restaurants charging money for tap water. This was in Austria.
Ace 7 months ago
I've travelled (and lived in) extensively across Europe and have never once experienced this, except in very remote locations, e.g. in the mountains where they did not have drinkable tap water so you would have to buy bottled. Never ever been charged for tao water. I suspect that it's a myth, despite (or maybe because of) the number of times I've read it on the internet.
For All Pedernity 7 months ago
I've been to almost every European country, traveled extensively for more than 20 years, lived in a handful, never ever have I been charged for tap water. BS.
lovemy suffolk 7 months ago
I imagine you've got some experience with that.
Load More Replies... #52
I do hate the switches on outside of bathroom. Means that in a dark room, no way to go into bathroom without illuminating the whole room, waking others up. I don’t buy “safety” arguments as I’ve never heard of a switch related incident.
BrunoVI 7 months ago (edited)
Which is downright cruel to my tiny wife. We have a light pull in our bedroom, and I have to tie strings to it or else my wife looks like a cat trying to grab a shoestring. We also have a wall switch, but turning it off that way also turns off the ceiling fans, which by the way are awesome on warm-but-not-hot nights. You guys totally need more ceiling fans.
Load More Replies... Forrest Hobbs 7 months ago (edited)
UK electrical safety standards require any switches inside a bathroom to be safe for bathroom use. The full rules are quite complicated, but basically: either a pull switch inside, or a normal switch outside. The fact that you personally haven't heard of a problem means nothing. I've never seen an airliner crash - so, does that mean we don't need airliner safety standards?
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
Older houses in Australia also can have either. Now the regulations have been changed though, so modern houses usually have light switches inside.
Load More Replies...
Firstname Lastname 7 months ago
American with switch outside of the bathroom. It means that my mate can turn the light off on me for laughs while I'm doing my business.
Forrest Hobbs 7 months ago
lovemy suffolk: eh? What are you on about? Do please explain. In this comment thread, I've provided a bit of explanation. I thank those who enlighten me in these comments - at least, when BP notifies me of replies and/or I notice. I strive to remain courteous.
Load More Replies... #53
I dont understand why houses over there have two faucets for hot and cold instead of one.
Mommy Panda 7 months ago
Thats an English thing, not a European thing. BP: EUROPE IS NOT A COUNTRY, ITS A D**N CONTINENT!!!
Lady Eowyn 7 months ago
Do you mean one tap for cold and one for hot? Or ??? Because that's pretty common most places in the U.S.
BrunoVI 7 months ago
I've seen it in America, but mostly only in lab settings and professional kitchens, where you wouldn't want to have to run the water every time you switched purpose.
Load More Replies... Pencil 7 months ago
This is found in older homes in the US as well. It was just too difficult and expensive to combine the streams and wasn't considered worth doing in bathrooms. (Though they'd typically combine them in the kitchen.) If you have a sink like that and want to change it, you can get a retro-fitter for about $20.
Pencil 7 months ago
Is filling a bowl or the sink the only possible reason you can think of that someone might use the faucet?
Load More Replies... #54
Romanian wife. I still don't get wet socks to fight a cold thing.
BrunoVI 7 months ago
He seems to be saying that his Romanian wife believes wearing wet socks help you fight off a cold.
Load More Replies... Nimitz 7 months ago (edited)
Not to fight a cold, to fight a fever. My French mom would put a cold compress on my forehead and then slip a thick slice of onion into socks and put them on my feet. The onions kept your feet damp and supposedly it helped your body cool. If your temp remained high she'd dribble some rubbing alcohol on the socks to pull more heat out
Kristina T 7 months ago
Could it possibly be vodka socks in bed? It used to be a way to help lower high body temperature, as alcohol evaporates fast and helps cool the feet down, therefore lowering the body temperature.
#55
Protesting over minor inconveniences.
Alexandra 7 months ago
It's better than not protesting when you've got a convicted rapist for a president.
Forrest Hobbs 7 months ago
Yes the rapist Trump has been adjudicated a rapist in court, but he's never been *convicted* of r@pe - just legally proven to have r@ped a woman so long ago he can't be criminally prosecuted for the r@pe he committed
Load More Replies... Kevin Hickey 7 months ago
If they try to raise the retirement age in Europe, there are protests in the streets. In America, if they tell us that we have to work until we're 75, we say "OK".
#56
Why do they call the bathroom the toilet?
Catherine Graves 7 months ago
Because in public settings, there is almost always a toilet in there, but no bath.
CatD 7 months ago
Because in the US, homes have a toilet, sink and bathtub.
Load More Replies... on second thought.... 7 months ago (edited)
Simple; in most of Europe 'the toilet' is a relatively small space with a toilet and often a tiny sink to wash your hands. (and in the Netherlands a birthday calendar) A bathroom is a larger space with a bathtub and/or a shower, a sink and sometimes a toilet as well.
Hell'n Damnation 7 months ago
It's no sillier than saying your house has a half-bath when there is no bath in there, only a toilet.
Pernille 7 months ago
Because it is the toilet, in many places it is separate from the room with the bath. We also call it the WC, but never the restroom. A restroom would be a boudoir where lady can go to lie down.
Hiram's Friend 7 months ago
Because it's where the toilet is. You don't take a bath in a restroom.
#57
Straight men kissing each other hello.
Multa Nocte 7 months ago (edited)
It's done here in France and after 3 1/2 years living here it's as natural as can be. Ironically especially with my closest friends it would feel like I was being snubbed if we didn't bissou each other.
#58
Not all Europeans, but German parenting seems insane to me. You left your elementary school age child alone in the house for a full day? And they walk to school without an adult? For reference, I left my neighborhood alone at 10 and someone called the cops. After that, I didn’t go home alone until 14 (parent didn’t show up) and to a place alone until 15.
Petra Peitsch 7 months ago
Not just in Germany. Americans usually are freaking out seeing for the first time children using the public transport alone, or in small groups going to or coming from school. Then they get used to it.
Lady Eowyn 7 months ago
I stayed after 4 and 5th grade classes for Girl Scouts many times and walked home via a shortcut. What, 10, 11 years old? No biggy. We took the bus to school because if you went by road it was too far and not safe. Alone for just about all the day at elementary school age? Sure. I'm in the U.S., a mid-atlantic state. Walked to the library. And the shopping center to have lunch at the drugstore soda fountain for fun. Or rode a bike. Age 12, 13, whatever. We didn't have kids swathed in bubble wrap when I was a kid.
zatrisha 7 months ago
Nobody in Germany leaves a primary school child alone all day. They walk to school or the bus in groups of several children, and the older children usually look after the younger ones. NO the children are NOT sent out on the street all alone when they are too small. But if they live in the country, they are allowed to be outside alone, in the neighborhood. Germany is a safe country for children.
sturmwesen 7 months ago
Jup ...walked through the village to school in grade 1-4, stopped at a "ranch" playing in the hay and with the cats on the way home (my parents did not know the old rancher couple). First time of 5th grade mom took the bus with me 20km...After that you just followed the masses of students.
John Dilligaf 7 months ago
started riding my bike to school almost every day (barring rain) in the 5th grade (11 yrs old). About 4 miles. Walked to school in the 6th, 7th, & 8th grades. Although , TBF, those schools were literally within sight of my house.
#59
Casual racism. Idk, maybe it's like that in the US South, I've never been, but western and eastern Europeans will casually say stuff about black people that you just aren't used to.
Ace 7 months ago
Sadly it is not. Older generations, mainly, but many rural places are years, or decades, behind, in what they consider unacceptable. You need to remember that even as little as 40 years ago you'd have TV comedians making jokes about "pakis" and "nig-nogs". Sickening by today's standards, but all too common, and used in everyday conversation, when I was growing up.
Load More Replies...
Forrest Hobbs 7 months ago (edited)
Not a thing in civilized parts of the UK. We might be casually racist about each other (Welsh, Scots, English) - but we're much less casually racist about those with darker skins than when I was growing up. Of course, if you turn up here being French, that's a different matter... 😁😉
Geoffrey Scott 7 months ago
Apologies in advance(US)...still blows my mind to hear someone of African descent speak with a British accent. French, yes, due to Haiti and Looseeana.
Petra Peitsch 7 months ago
What sounds racist in your culture, is totally normal in another. I never forget the face of an exchange-student from USA, when she first heard that in hungarian black people are called 'néger'. She almost fainted. Her second shock came, when she saw a candy in the store, called 'negro.'
Michael Largey 7 months ago
In any country, bigots tend to focus on minorities that are present. So in Europe I'd expect to hear more prejudice about Muslims than, say, Hispanics.
What do you think ?
Mommy Panda 7 months ago
Apparently BP still hasn't learned that Europe is not a country but a continent and there are major differences between different countries. Heck, there's even major differences between Northern and Southern parts of countries.... So stop generalising tyvm
Norm Gilmore 7 months ago (edited)
I'm pretty sure that Bored Panda being a Latvian site means they know they are in Europe... (most of their material comes from Reddit an American site based in California) Edited - Lithuanian because my brain likes to sabotage me (Cheers @Cee Cee)
Load More Replies...
Bugg 7 months ago
Oh my! There is nothing wrong with the entire continent of Europe. Everything they do is correct and better than US. They can do no wrong.
Christos Arvanitis 7 months ago
So close BO, so close. These are just differences between other countries. No reason to specify Americans really. You were sooooo close....
Auntriarch 7 months ago
It would be much more fun to see what different European countries have to say about eachother
Load More Replies... Apatheist Account2 7 months ago
That should be "do differently FROM Americans". Different from, similar to, comparable with. Basic grammar.
Mommy Panda 7 months ago
Apparently BP still hasn't learned that Europe is not a country but a continent and there are major differences between different countries. Heck, there's even major differences between Northern and Southern parts of countries.... So stop generalising tyvm
Norm Gilmore 7 months ago (edited)
I'm pretty sure that Bored Panda being a Latvian site means they know they are in Europe... (most of their material comes from Reddit an American site based in California) Edited - Lithuanian because my brain likes to sabotage me (Cheers @Cee Cee)
Load More Replies... Bugg 7 months ago
Oh my! There is nothing wrong with the entire continent of Europe. Everything they do is correct and better than US. They can do no wrong.
Christos Arvanitis 7 months ago
So close BO, so close. These are just differences between other countries. No reason to specify Americans really. You were sooooo close....
Auntriarch 7 months ago
It would be much more fun to see what different European countries have to say about eachother
Load More Replies... Apatheist Account2 7 months ago
That should be "do differently FROM Americans". Different from, similar to, comparable with. Basic grammar.
You May Like 50 Dangerous And Soul-Crushing Cities You Should Delete From Your Bucket List 132 Culture Facts Reflecting The Diversity And Beauty Of The World 30 Americans Living In Canada Reveal The Differences Between The Two
Jonas Žvilius
Justina Čiapaitė
Ieva Pečiulytė
Related on Bored Panda
