"The fact that many Europeans can take a two-hour lunch break in the middle of the work day and it is considered to be the norm."
"I do find it a bit odd that everyone in Europe just sort of agrees that nothing should happen in August. Like, for a whole month, you better not need anything done. Even doctors seem scarce during this vacation month. While August is a popular time to go away in the US, summer vacations seem more evenly distributed throughout the season. In Europe, however, it just seems understood that no one will work in August."
"The fact that they don't serve drinks with ice. I was at a restaurant in Copenhagen, and I asked for ice in my water. The waitress warned me it would be cold..."
"In the Netherlands when people move, they take the flooring with them. I'd never heard of this when I lived there, but it seems to be a trend for laminate in rental flats. It just seems so inefficient since the flooring is cut to size for a specific space."
"The fact that Europe doesn't really have high school sports teams (or at least sports aren't a big part of the high school experience). This is such a major difference between the US and Europe."
"The fact that they charge you to use a public restroom. I visited Europe for the first time and noticed this trend. I think I paid 50 cents to use a bathroom at a McDonalds. That being said, the bathrooms were super clean, and I enjoyed the fact the walls covered from the ceiling to the floor, so it felt private and comfortable."
"I’ve always found it weird that in a lot of European countries, people think hugging is more intimate than greeting someone by kissing cheeks."
"I'm always pretty baffled yet seriously impressed by most Europeans' grasp of different languages. Here's some guy from Moscow who speaks better English than I do. Oh, and he also speaks fluent Portuguese."
"The late dinner hour. It's customary in a lot of European countries to eat dinner so late at night. I can't imagine eating my dinner at 9 p.m."
"The way that food is standardized. There is this whole system called DOC and DOP to control specific foods like Margherita pizza and Parmesan cheese. For instance, if a cheese isn't from Parma, it cannot legally be called Parmesan cheese even if it tastes nearly identical. It's such a strange concept."
"How leisurely European meal time is. For example, in most restaurants in Germany, the staff expects you to sit for dinner for an extended period of time. They will actively ignore you (but keep an eye on your drinks) so that you can enjoy your meal without constantly asking how everything's going. The waitstaff actually won't bring your check until you indicate you're ready."
"How socially conscious they are. I am a senior, and when I was visiting Paris, I was offered a seat on the metro when there were none available every single time. That very seldom happens back in the US."
"Leaving babies to nap alone outside, even in very cold weather. I was in Denmark in November, and it was a super windy and cold week, and the fact that people were leaving their babies outside in strollers honestly stunned me. I admire that people feel so safe that this is OK."
"The extremely lax attitude toward alcohol, especially when it comes to underage drinking. I visited Italy when my younger sister was 12 years old, and she was served wine at vineyards and restaurants without anyone batting an eye. It's so common to see kids (13 or 14 years old) out to dinner with their families and being served wine. Honestly, I'm all for it and think it probably instills a healthier attitude toward alcohol, but it's still mind-boggling."
"[Europeans] have hamburger-flavored Cheetos in your 'American food' aisle at the grocery store. Look, Europe, we don't even have those."
"In Berlin, when you move from one home to another, you take the kitchen with you."
"This may be specific to Ireland, but I found it so strange how the bathroom light switches are located outside of the bathroom. I can only imagine how many times you'd have the light switched off by an unsuspecting family member while doing your business."
"No one has screens on their windows in Europe. How do you open your window without getting a house full of bugs?"
"How much vacation time they get. When I worked at a large UK-based insurance company and my kid was born, I got six months off, fully paid. I continued collecting my six weeks of annual paid time off during this time as well."
"The European attitude toward nudity. I worked at a spa, and people from all around the world would come. One thing I noticed was how the Europeans were so comfortable with getting naked in front of others like it's nothing."
"How old things are and the history everywhere. I can't wrap my brain around it. I live in a farm house built in the 1920s, which is considered old by US standards."
"How they survive hot summers without air conditioning. When visiting Europe, our hotels had AC, but it was just room temperature air. Those heatwaves must be brutal..."
"The way Europeans drive. The laws don’t seem to matter at all in Italy. They matter only a little in France, and in Germany, road rules are a completely different story."
"The way that most of society just shuts down on Sunday in many European countries. I get that it's the day of rest, but in the US, Sunday is a day to go grocery shopping and do errands you didn't get to during the work week. In many places I've traveled in Europe, even grocery stores close on Sunday."
"The fact that they store eggs on the counter at room temperature. I know they’re safe to eat, but it’s just so weird to me."
"Their toilets. In the US, every toilet I've ever come across has a flush lever on the left of the tank, a sensor, or a button on the top. In Europe, by contrast, every single toilet has a different flush mechanism. Every. Single. One. It's like an escape room challenge. Foot pedals. Cranks. Pull knobs. I was once stuck in a bathroom for 20 minutes trying to figure out how to flush the toilet, and it turned out to be a pulley on the other side of the room."
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that is so very true!
It's not so much "best of everything" it's more "can't comprehend it is different" outside of USA. Or more so, refuse to even try to comprehend!
Not about Europe but an American in strange place!
In Thailand on a boat, in middle of a silent night crossing a lake . American voice pierces the silence "what do you mean you got no god damned hamburgers?"
only to a certain extend. The rest is EU regulations.
because other continents don't?
Not that much.
Seriously, go study history. Asia and Africa had constant wars, they are just less well known. That or some emperor just grabbed everything, thus ending entire nations.
The US has been at war with someone for most of its existence. in 245 years it has been at war for 227 years.
inside central Europe, nothing major has happened since WWII. sadly the same can't be said for Eastern Europe damn russians.
War and poverty has been the norm throughout most of human history. The anomalies are peace and wealth. The correct questions to ask are:
How is there peace?
How is there wealth & prosperity?
War & poverty are a given.
I think you're wrong
it depends in Germany for example there is no law that prohibits you from running around naked. as long as it isn't a sex thing or annoys other people.
In the US we all, for the most part, speak the same language. Imagine if people in Illinois spoke English, but people in Wisconsin spoke Norwegian, people in Iowa spoke German, people in Indiana spoke Spanish, and so on. If you wanted to go outside your home state, it would be best to learn some of that other state's language.
Europeans learn several languages out of necessity; in the US we learn other languages mostly as a hobby.
yep, that's the advantage of being so self-centered.
There is no absolute need to learn another language, you can do well if you just stay in your own country. However, a foreign language is mandatory in most school systems.
I wonder why americans don't learn spanish as a second language. I know I would if I lived there...
In the US we learn multiple languages, they're just all English-based. New England, Southern, Midwest, Southwest, West Coast...
#2 neither
#6 pisses me off every time (no pun intended)
#7 what?
#8 Doesn't surprise me though
#9 I start to think we're talking only about a handful of very specific countries
#10 Yeah well, "American Swiss Cheese". Right?
#12 Yes, because noone uses public transport
#13 Well, if you don't live in a nation full of crazy people...
#16 That's not restricted to Berlin. Stupid concept for rental/leased places though.
#17 I don't think it's EVERYWHERE like this, not even in Ireland
#18 European farmers have killed all the bugs with their pesticides, so ...
#19 Yes, we still have something called "enmployee rights". Question is: how much longer?
#20 The problem is the 'murican attitude towards nudity. Effing prudes!
#22 "just room temperature air". What kind of air would you expect, polar snowstorm? And yeah, maybe europeans ain't as soft as 'muricans, think about it!
#23 Everyone still drives better than in the US, haha
#24 Again with the employee rights
#25 Yeah, because we don't wash them so that they NEED refrigeration. They might even have some chicken poop on them!
#12 no one is using public transport ?? By saying that, it means you don't live in Paris, most of the people are using it.
#23 it means you're never went in the US also, haha
Dinner at 9pm....and there was a LOT of food.
And most of the burger joints & restaurants were closed during the afternoon and early evening.
Basel, Switzerland: No laundromats.
The team I met with wore the exact same outfits Mon-Fri.
the very late dinner is a Spanish thing many South American countries also have very late dinners.
*you can call cheese