r/AskReddit • u/danielsoft1 • 3h ago
"those little differences" Americans who visited Europe, what was surprisingly different for you?
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u/thalassicus 1h ago
You never hand your credit card to a waiter or merchant who then takes it away to run it. They bring the device to you which seems much more secure.
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u/KazDragon 35m ago
In Europe in general, there is no reason for your credit or debit card to be out of your possession ever.
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u/Rugkrabber 19m ago
It’s considered a personal item other people who are not the owner may not use. And there is no reason for anyone to take it, because like you said, the device either comes to you or you walk to it yourself. It’s considered highly suspicious if anyone would take the card.
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u/SchillMcGuffin 11m ago
It's becoming more common in the US as well, at least in high-end or chain restaurants with the capital to invest in POS devices.
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u/EaterOfFood 3h ago
Ease of public transportation, of getting from city to city without a car, of walking around a city center. Basically, getting around in Europe is so easy.
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u/Pro-Patria-Mori 1h ago edited 1h ago
My girlfriend and I recently took a trip to England to go to two music festivals. Leeds was a 200 mile train ride, Reading was 60 miles. It was so easy, just take a bus to the train station. Altogether we probably traveled 700 miles within a week, just using public transit.
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u/Panzeros 1h ago
Why did you go to both Leeds and Reading? They’re essentially the same festival
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u/bungle_bogs 50m ago
The main acts swap nights between the two sites , so perhaps there was a particular band they wanted to see twice. Also, there are quite a few of the smaller acts that are unique to the site.
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u/Chuecaslavaka 2h ago
The consciousness of oneself when in public, or even traveling on the bus or train to not disturb those around you. I travelled from Vienna to Bratislava and there were long stretches of absolute silence. People speak with soft voices. It’s wonderful.
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u/DSonla 1h ago
The consciousness of oneself when in public, or even traveling on the bus or train to not disturb those around you. I travelled from Vienna to Bratislava and there were long stretches of absolute silence. People speak with soft voices. It’s wonderful.
I wish we had that in Paris. Instead we have jerks watching videos on their phones in the metro.
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u/Far_Butterscotch_646 20m ago
Ugg, London too. What happened that people lost all sense of how to behave in public? I had to ask a guy to turn it down on the bus today, he was listening to fucking doorbells, like different styles, loud. Just behave ffs.
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u/Meewelyne 1h ago
Same here in Rome, I was pondering on buying a bunch of cheap earplugs and gift them to whoever listens to the phone loudly.
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u/SnickleFritz1983 3h ago
Noticeably less public advertisement. I didn't see billboards, and I didn't feel as "marketed too" as I do in America. There were absolutely signs and advertisements , but they felt much less "in your face", if that makes sense.
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u/Toby_Forrester 3h ago
From another perspective, when I visited the US I was surprised by the amount of billboards and especially with lawyers advertising stuff like "Did you crash your motorcycle? Contact Harvey David Lawman, the best god damn motorcycle lawyer in town!"
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u/natronmooretron 3h ago
There used to be a billboard outside of Memphis for a big rig lawyer named Dick Longing
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u/waffeling 1h ago
It's funny that's your example as it's actually illegal (to my knowledge) in most areas for a lawyer to say they're better or more effective than some other lawyer in advertising.
If you pay close attention to them almost all of them cite something like "We'll get you your money" or "Count on us when you're hurt" but I don't think they can say something like best in town.
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u/grekster 2h ago
Was Harvey David Lawman a man who specialised in motorcycle law or a motorcycle that specialized in man law?
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u/PaeoniaLactiflora 2h ago
It's my favourite thing about living here (UK) and SO jarring going back to the US to visit family. A few little advert things have started popping up on a roundabout near-ish us and if they look to be moving any further I will be starting a public campaign to prevent them.
Even in London I feel there's much less in-your-face advertising than in most parts of the US (rural areas excluded, obviously)
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u/JetlinerDiner 1h ago
London's tube is horrible, the visual noise with all the publicity is unbearable.
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u/EvFishie 1h ago
As someone who only visits for a week or so a few times a year it's not that bad. Gives me something to do on the tube other than browsing my phone.
But I can imagine as someone living there it's annoying since they probably don't change that often.
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u/Dark1000 26m ago
Many of the ads are for events, concerts, and shows, which I find pretty reasonable.
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u/yourshaddow3 2h ago
I live in an area in the US that bans billboards. It's nice but makes it hard to enjoy being in a city that allows them.
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u/Psychoray 1h ago
As someone from the Netherlands I was very surprised at the amount of advertising in America, New York . Immediately noticable when entering the airport. Getting on the metro was a shock to me, only when you're looking at the floor there's advertisement in your field of view. Even the museums had in house advertisements for 'ticket upgrades' which felt like micro transactions in video games to me. Oh, and also many exhibit pieces had large placques with "Sponsored by X" or "Donated by X".
I hope for you people that this will phenomenon will lessen in the future
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u/ididntseeitcoming 1h ago
This might be very location dependent.
I lived in Germany for 3 years and they had rotating billboards on almost every street corner in my city.
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u/SlurmzMckinley 1h ago
I don’t know if I agree with this. There’s probably less total billboards, but I still felt they were in my face. The one that stood out the most for me was a giant Dior ad on the Louvre. I thought that was very odd.
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u/sigaven 1h ago
I found it interesting that almost all showers in Europe have the detachable head that you can hold in your hand. Whereas in the US most places have the shower head attached directly to the wall. Sometimes there is a handheld option off to the side but rarely and only in nicer hotels.
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u/CoolioElderberry 47m ago
Ehem.. how are the ladies supposed to wash their undercarriage then? 😅
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u/OneSmartFellaHeSmelt 35m ago
And most of the time there is no shelf or basket to put your soap / shampoo. I prefer bar soap, but I don't want to put it on the shower floor. I end up trying to blance my bar of soap on one of the shower handles with poor results.
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u/BrightNeonGirl 2h ago
Flowers everywhere!
Little flowers on every restaurant/cafe table, flowers in home and store windows, flowers outside of front doors, etc.
It really makes Europe feel so much more elegant.
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u/becoolnloveme 3h ago
I spend about three-to-four months a year in Europe. The standard of how a person dresses when going out in public is uniformly higher in basically every European country. Almost everybody is dressed well enough. It shocking to many Europeans how Americans will attend class or go to the store in pajamas. It wouldn’t happen there.
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u/ensalys 2h ago
It shocking to many Europeans how Americans will attend class or go to the store in pajamas.
Is that actually a common thing over there? I can't imagine going out in a pajama for anything more serious than taking out the trash.
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u/BillySama001 1h ago
I'd say it's pretty common. I'm confident I can run over to Walmart today and catch 2 or 3 people in their pjs right now. They'd probably be upset and I'd have to let them go though.
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u/General_Disaray_1974 1h ago
Yes, but if it helps, the normal people still way outnumber them and consider them trash.
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u/StressOk2675 1h ago
Yeah, a buddy of mine (we're both Dutch) was invited as a guest professor for a semester at a university on the East Coast.
He later told me his biggest culture shock was students attending his lectures in pajama's. And not just his morning lectures, but in the afternoon as well. Not having the decorum of even maturity to put on a simple pair of jeans and t-shirt was baffling to us.
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u/becoolnloveme 1h ago
Yeah exactly—I’m a professor and that’s why the classroom thing stands out to me…
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u/AlaChonkadonk 34m ago
Some trashy people wear PJs to the shops here in certain suburbs of Dublin. I’m not sure of their thinking - it might be ‘dole queen chic’ or an ‘I don’t give a shite what you think’ attitude. Not a thing among students AFAIK.
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u/candianconsolemaster 2h ago
It wouldn't be unheard of for people to go to the shop in pyjamas but you would get some looks if it wasn't early morning or late at night.
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u/Rugkrabber 38m ago
Someone explained to me it might be due to car dependency playing a big role. And it kind of makes sense, I have a comfy car sweater for cold days, so I won’t have to wear an annoying jacket because it’s uncomfortable in the car while comfortable outside. But pyjamas? I could never.
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u/Scrum_Bucket 3h ago
Ease of transactions, just a quick tap, no handing the device back and forth, no tip form to fill out, card never leaves your hand.
Walkability, but some of the sidewalks are old/uneven. Didn’t feel like I had to be concerned with someone driving into me crossing the road.
Personally, I love the mayo with chips/fries over ketchup served in the states.
Place Charles de Gaulle only works because drivers know to share the road. Americans feel like they own their part of the road, and no one should interfere with their rate of travel. A major roundabout like that would be a disaster in America.
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u/Scrum_Bucket 2h ago
And I love Ireland’s dedication to serving pints in proper glassware. It limits the pub’s selections, but it is great. I had a server apologize for serving my Guinness in a Guinness 0.0 glass. It was funny. In the states you get whatever glass or plastic cup they have on hand. And after observing that, I had to order a Coors light to see what glass they had. First time I had seen a color-changing Rockies glass like they do with the cans, it was really cool.
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u/donorcycle 1h ago
I was traveling up in rural California, and came to a roundabout. Small one, think like a neighborhood intersection.
Anyways, they put four fucking stop signs. At a roundabout!!! Who does that?! Apparently only Americans lol. Literally defeats the purpose of having a roundabout.
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u/Scrum_Bucket 1h ago
Haha, that is ridiculous. Everyone complains about roundabouts here, and diverging diamonds. And the area I live in has, I think, the only diverging diamond that ends in a roundabout. But I have never seen a 4-way stop roundabout, lol.
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u/JustChillFFS 2h ago
Yeah the whole cc system and payment is fucking ludicrous in the US. You gotta trust the business with your cc
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u/charliesk9unit 2h ago
I don't remember the last time I handed over my CC to someone. I mostly use my phone and watch to pay and if they don't take them, I only had to tap my card. The bigger problem I have is having to fill out the tip and sign. That whole dance only exists because of the tipping culture; there's actually no need to sign with chipped credit card these days. One can only dream you can simply tap and go.
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u/Ecco2 2h ago
As a Parisian, LOL. This roundabout is the France’s most ruthless place. I know many people who simply refuse to drive through this. I had actually the opposite culture shock when I saw that people in the US would let each other go at an intersection.
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u/stellacampus 1h ago
I always remember my first time in Paris I took the elevator up to the top of the Arc Dr Triomphe and spent like an hour looking down at the roundabout, which I found visually fascinating (the traffic flow). It was mesmerizing.
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u/meaning_please 1h ago
Goddamn it their soda bottles and disposable water bottles and other beverage containers leave a little plastic piece so you don’t have to hold the cap with your hands, it just stays there. Beautiful.
Then you get back and you just sigh because you have to hold the damn cap.
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u/Nightmare_Fart 1h ago
Oh that's funny, everyone I know hates that. They changed the law a couple years back so they had to be attached. No one here likes it
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u/Zirkulaerkubus 1h ago
I grew to become ok with it. It is a bit annoying, but it's also a bit convenient in that you can't lose the cap. So it cancels out to neutral for me.
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u/NowoTone 1h ago
I like it. Many people I know do and most don’t care one way or another.
If you get het up about something so trivial, then something else in your life has gone spectacularly wrong. Most people simply don’t care about minute issues like this one if their life is otherwise fulfilled.
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u/Badgladmadwords 57m ago
That’s a big fucking boatload of judgment and aspersion to cast on someone who doesn’t like something you like, my guy. 😂😂
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u/EatMorePieDrinkMore 3h ago
The quality of the food. Every single time I go (I go at least twice a year for work) I’m shocked how good even “junk” food is.
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u/LadyStarblade 2h ago
How much quieter it is. I’ve been to England, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Andorra (and I know, non-European), Japan, and I’m constantly surprised how much quieter it is and how the pace is not as frantic as most places in the U.S.
And I freaking love that.
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u/btribble 10m ago
It’s not just when you’re out and about either. Appliances like refrigerators are silent in Europe. They would never own a fridge with a loud fan which Americans aren’t even aware of.
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u/Veneboy 3h ago
Tipping is very optional and the waiters and waitresses are awfully nice and friendly.
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u/crash-o-matic 3h ago
And its not an act, just to get a higher tip.
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u/coldblades 3h ago
Turns out paying people something closer to a living wage with decent social benefits has an upside?
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u/onekhador 1h ago
As a bartender in Europe, I try to be friendly because I enjoy my job more when I do that. Not for tips. But...Our salaries arn't that high and we do appreciate tips.
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u/FI_by_45 3h ago
You haven’t been to France
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u/Sea_Art2995 3h ago
I live in France and they are no where near as rude as the stereotypes
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u/Don_Fartalot 3h ago
Think it's mostly a Parisian thing. Even the French from other regions hate the Parisians.
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u/coldblades 3h ago
I think Paris has changed a lot. Never experienced rudeness there and I don't speak any French. French folks I know have also commented on this, something like the younger generation speaks much more English and is more worldly and friendly than previous generations.
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u/Sea_Art2995 2h ago
Honestly I’m Australian living in Paris and have only had a few negative experiences. The pickpockets are everywhere though. It’s true French people kinda see parisians as seperate haha. I experienced way worse attitude my month in Italy, 5 months in Turkey and my month in Poland was particularly bad. The Polish are horrible
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u/Veneboy 3h ago edited 46m ago
I have multiple times and no complain, specially if you make at least a tiny effort to speak in their language and avoid using English at all cost.
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u/ofnuts 3h ago
Even if you use English. Just say hello, and talk like a normal person to another normal person, not as a masters to their servant.
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u/Always_Worry 3h ago
I just got back from Paris. Spoke english with most of them and the ones that couldn't, we figured it out the best we could. The only rude person was transit authority, watch out for them
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u/mschuster91 3h ago
The only rude person was transit authority, watch out for them
Rent-a-cops are a plague wherever you look, mostly because the only people applying for this kind of job are the ones who can't pass the police test, and even police has very low hiring standards these days which means the ones who end up at transit authorities tend to be people who make r/wallstreetbets apes look like Albert Einstein
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u/driftingfornow 2h ago
What because they leave you to your meal and don’t interrupt your dinner table conversation?
Legit asking because if that’s what you mean, it’s actually a culturally valued trait.
The American way is considered a bit busy, interruptive, constant checking intruding on a calmed headspace with companions, and so on.
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u/Blooblod 3h ago
You aren’t rushed to leave your table at a restaurant because the staff is working on tips and trying to turn as many tables as possible. You can sit there for an hour after your meal for all they care.
Gas/petrol stations, fill up at the pump before you even go inside to pay.
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u/Low_Strawberry_7965 3h ago
Ahh I had the gas station thing, but the other way around when I was visiting the US! I had to pay before I filled up the tank, but I had a rental (no idea how big the tank was) and wasn’t doing too well calculating litres to gallons etc. It was a mess haha. I asked the guy behind the counter how much he thought I should pay and he looked at me like I was an alien. Which, perhaps, was fair.
Why do you have to pay beforehand? And how do you calculate filling up the tank if you don’t know precisely how empty the tank is?
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u/SaneNSanity 3h ago
It prevents people driving off without paying for their gas.
We don’t calculate it. We pay with a card, we only get charged what we fill.
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u/riskateftw 12m ago
I still dont get it, you give the card, then you fill up and then they charge you and get your card back?
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u/candianconsolemaster 2h ago
If you drive off the police will be called on you and you will be pulled over/arrested depending on the circumstances.
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u/JoeyJoeJoeJrShab 2h ago
These days, in the US, most pumps have a credit card reader. You put your card in to activate the pump, and it charges you once you're done fueling.
The situation you described will still come up if you want to pay with cash, but I think the last time I did that was over 20 years ago.
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u/X0AN 1h ago
There's a restaurant my friend and I love to go to, we can be there for and the restaurant don't care.
Staff actually love sitting with us an having a good old chat. And often the chef will give us a new dessert that she's working on the give our opinion on. Place is just so chill and lovely.
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u/Brocco_li277 3h ago
How relaxed everyone seems about taking vacations.
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u/suvlub 3h ago
We have a guy on our team who's basically irreplaceable in his role, if he happens to take vacation at the wrong time, we can be screwed with nobody able to move on with their work. He still takes vacations whenever he feels like it and nobody really cares, at most we joke about him having suspiciously lot of free days (because when he takes them, we notice, so it feels like he is absent more often than he really is). It's awesome.
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u/dcannons 2h ago
People in Spain didn't walk down the street with a huge Starbucks or Tim Hortons coffee like everyone in Canada does. No one ate or drank anything on the subway or buses either. It looked much classier not having to watch people slurping away and didn't see any discarded cups or wrappers which litter everywhere here.
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u/driftingfornow 2h ago
Haha well spotted. Free eating while walking is very very American.
French people abhor it.
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u/DSonla 1h ago
I'm French and people looked at me weirdly in Japan for eating while walking (grilled octopus on a stick or something like that), learned afterwards that's frowned upon there.
Eating standing still = ok.
Eating while walking = not ok.
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u/Worried-Narwhal-8953 3h ago
Hostels, I found them to be incredibly useful as a cheap place to sleep last minute even if it isn't private. Not great for a family, but when I was a student booking a quick spot for a group of us to rest in Edinburgh it was incredibly convenient.
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u/GoRangers5 2h ago
I got a great pleasure seeing a Dublin police officer not ignore a homeless man doing drugs.
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u/Pac_Eddy 3h ago
How many countries you can visit on a short trip.
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u/ArenSteele 3h ago
That was the big one for me.
I’m from Canada, and it takes 10-11 hours to get from Vancouver to Calgary by car
When I got to Prague I realized I could get to Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Rome, Brussels, even London and a dozen other major cities in less than 10 hours
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u/ahora-mismo 1h ago
yet, you would lose most of it. it’s not worth squeezing as many as possible, enjoy one place.
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u/Alexthegreatbelgian 2h ago
I wouldn't recommend visiting multiple countries on a short trip, though. You need at least 1-2 weeks to really start getting to know the country you're visiting.
Anything shorter and I feel you're rushing your trip.
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u/Vastaisku 2h ago
Can you who answer questions about Europe specify which country in Europe you are referring to?
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u/ElGringoConSabor 3h ago
The amount of smoking
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u/Werliest 1h ago
Yea. My country has a large amount of chainsmokers. The second they step out of a door (building/bus/car), they light a cigarette. I can rarely enjoy a walk without a smoker giving me second hand smoke. I'm just glad the government banned smoking in public indoor places.
It varies from european countries, though. Haven't had too many smokers in Denmark or Italy.
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u/X0AN 1h ago
In 2026???
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u/YakElectronic6713 47m ago
It depends on the bloody fucking country. Because Europe is a fucking continent with many many different countries with different cultures, customs, habits and laws.
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u/Rugkrabber 10m ago
Very country dependent because of law differences. Some don’t allow smoking in public places while others do. It’s a night and day difference where you go.
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u/OmegaTheta 2h ago
No air conditioning is fine. For places like Switzerland or Northern Italy where they can definitely afford it, it's obviously a deliberate choice and I respect that. But why, why, why would bug screens then not be on windows by default?
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u/driftingfornow 2h ago
So you can see clearly?
To be fair, speaking as an American who lives in Europe, we have way more bugs than most European countries. And more that you really wouldn’t want inside.
Here just small cute harmless ones.
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u/PaeoniaLactiflora 2h ago
We don't really have that many bugs? Moths sometimes, but tbh they get in anyway so I don't think it would make much difference. Flying Ant Day can be a bit ghastly but otherwise there aren't enough bugs to bother.
Also quite a lot of our windows predate the invention of modern bug screens, so it would be quite difficult to retrofit them and would spoil the look. We have lovely old single-glazed sash windows, and while I'd love to have some sort of screening to have windows open but contain the cats, I don't think there's a way to do it attractively.
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u/Vildtoring 2h ago
Maybe because the way our windows tend to open? Most windows in Europe either open like doors, or they tilt. Most countries here don't have those sliding sash windows that are so common over there, where I think it's easier to have bug screens attached.
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u/sigaven 1h ago
There are hinged windows that open inwards that doesn’t affect the bug screen on the outside
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u/unSempronio 2h ago
I really don't understand this lack of air conditioning myth. I live in central Italy, air conditioning is almost everywhere.
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u/OmegaTheta 1h ago
I lived in Bologna and don't remember ever seeing an air conditioner. I did see tons and tons of spiders in my room every morning though in the summer when I slept with the window open.
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u/Runic_reader451 2h ago
Street signs are on the sides of buildings; not on metal poles like in the US.
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u/driftingfornow 2h ago
You know most things I am fine with the change but I genuinely think signage of streets is easier in America.
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u/Runic_reader451 2h ago
You're used to it. In Europe, people are used to signs on buildings.
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u/driftingfornow 2h ago edited 1h ago
No, it’s more like I have lived here for eight years. More generally I have spent most of my adult life outside of America (Asia and Europe) and am way more used to Europe or world culture at large.
My father was a firefighter and one of his quirks was talking about „how visible is any address in any given place,” so I have a special observation for it. Was also maritime navigation officer so time and relativity and distance are easily observable values. There’s a big difference.
And quite simply, in a very plain logistical way, while many things in Europe are better, it more human, and so on— this system, from an emergency services „how fast and how much bandwidth does it take,” in the plainest time/ distance/ relativity sort of way possible— the American system of signage is better.
For a lot of design reasons, it does track and make sense and it’s ok. I would even say that both psychologies of signs are double edged swords with other emergent properties.
Americans think about signs too much so you get optimized street ones, but billboards everywhere and promotions and advertisements and so on. In Europe you get unoptimized street signs but no/ less billboards, and less advertisement with far more intention. In Poland you really need to check alleys for be coolest stuff the signs won’t tell you.
Most of the time I like things here better.
Not signs for streets though though.
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u/bleugile12 3h ago
All the automatic good espresso machines. love them! And the quality breakfasts!
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u/Thatoneguyhere34 3h ago
How early everything closes compared to U.S
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u/dcannons 2h ago
In Valencia, Spain restaurants closed from 4 PM to 8 PM! That's my dinner time. People went for dinner after 8.
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u/mycatsnameisnoodle 2h ago
?
I’m in Spain right now and everything seems to stay open way later than things back home. Maybe if you live in NYC, LA, or Chicago things are open later but certainly not in my mid-sized city.
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u/Nrysis 2h ago
In more northern countries, it is fairly typical that most businesses like shops and cafes will close around 16:00-17:00, with only restaurants and some evening specific businesses (cinemas and theaters who have evening showings for example) staying open later.
In the warmer end of Europe it seems a lot more common for shops to be open into the evening, as the idea of siesta hours are more common (where shops will open in the mornings, close for the hottest hours in the early afternoon, then reopen and stay open later).
My understanding was that Americ atypically stuck to the more northern timekeeping and closing early evening.
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u/DatingYella 1h ago
Surprising: not all places outside of cities are walkable paradises. The Dutch were far ruder than I thought and the norm for acceptable behavior in the public was way different
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u/onekhador 1h ago
Sorry my countrymen were rude, we're not all like that.
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u/DatingYella 1h ago
Don’t think they meant to be rude. But the fact they were very comfortable criticizing and arguing with you in public over seemingly minor infractions was something of a culture shock to me.
It’s just a different cultural convention…
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u/thegiantpeach 54m ago
It’s a stereotype of Dutch people across Europe that they’re exceptionally blunt and direct people.
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u/DatingYella 52m ago
I think even the Germans I met agreed.
I really wonder if being autistic is just considered normal in the Netherlands
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u/ee3k 14m ago
... You walked on a cycle path, didn't you?
That's not minor, that's a real easy easy to seriously injure yourself and the poor cyclist that hits you at 40kmph.
That's like a special button to really rile up the lowlanders.
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u/Rugkrabber 44m ago
Mag I ask where you went to? The location matters a lot. The Randstad is a completely different experience than outside of it. Some cities are known to be… problematic.
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u/DoctorVinny 1h ago
The freedom. Parks, public spaces without signs with 100 “no” or “do not” rules.
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u/TheOriginalTarlin 2h ago edited 2h ago
Wife had to use a bathroom we got in line then realized needed coins. There was no coin dispenser and did not take euros paper.
It was a Mall in Vienna with Train Station. There was a Starbucks , food court etc.
So get to Starbucks try get coins but they do not give change. I think typical American thing. Wife is suffering now.
Yes, I never carry change we use CC and when cash I leave the rest as tip or penny jar. If I have change at end of the day it goes in a jar.
Well she is bursting at the seams so trying to order something I do not want in German to a young barrista to get extra potty change. Yeah that confused her even in English when asked.
An elderly woman who watched us in line appears with her husband. She saw our dilemma so raced us back up and in her German Ms Doubtfire voice they let my wife cut in line in front of 10 people.
She paid but another man gave her the money back saying elderly should not pay. As I waited for my wife not one would accept a euro for the inconvenience. It was akward.
The elderly woman did not speak English but saw my wife's suffering and did something. I see that every day in America so that is not the difference.
It is...
America has free bathrooms and the worst thing you need to do is ask for a key but that tells you it is a shady area or the dollar store.
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u/Nrysis 2h ago edited 18m ago
Traditionally you have often been charged to use the toilets in public places like stations - the cost going towards their cleaning and upkeep.
It is perhaps also worth mentioning that historically per much everyone would have been carrying cash and coins pretty much by default, so payment was straightforward. In recent years (and since COVID especially) Europe has moved almost completely towards digital payment making these sorts of toilets a lot more awkward - though I have seen a few that do now accept contactless payments.
Virtually all cafes and restaurants bigger than a takeaway counter will have their own toilets available, in busier places often locked so that they remain for the use of customers rather than a stream of non-paying travellers - most places will be reasonable though, and will let you use them if you ask nicely, or worst case if you buy something.
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u/driftingfornow 2h ago edited 2h ago
Ok so to translate a few things (although sorry this happened to you, I am American and I get it)
You chose worst place (train station) to try to free bathroom.
Train station - where the sketchy people, drug people, and homeless folk of the city congregate; also you may ride a train there.
So the bathrooms nearby tend to be a bit defensive because of the sketch factor.
Genuinely fyi if you travel to Europe again— way easier to find toilets anywhere else but there.
The idea being that the people who actually pay to ride the train use the toilet in the train.
So like living here you:
Are home >> use toilet >> go to train >> use toilet if needed
Also different countries different levels if difficulty with if toilets are available free or paid and why.
Poland - easy France - easy Germany - easy Norway - easy Sweden - easy Austria - idk Specifically Prague - fuuuuuuuuck insane hard fuck Prague for this Spain - ok unless siesta then you’re 100% fucked
Proximity to tourist trap - difficulty goes up
Somewhere where people live regularly with local establishments - easy again
As American I yearn for free toilets as human right. If I make argument for European defensive toilet system (pay or gated access based on if you’re normal or sketchy) mainly toilets here are fine. Like paid ones usually have on site staff cleaning regularly. America has some fucking nightmare toilets like that scene in Trainspotting (ironically Scottish in the film but my point stands)
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u/Plank_stake_109 1h ago
I can see how that is a terrible experience. In my country ( in Europe ) we have a QR-code next to the door. We just take a picture of it and it sends us to a website where we can pay online. I prefer this over free because the paid restrooms are typically much nicer and cleaner.
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u/thisremindsmeofbacon 1h ago
Public transit doesn't suck ass. Almost never have to wait much and you just tap your normal card to pay for most. I'm used to only having one bus line that goes where you want, and it comes once an hour, smells like piss, the driver hates your guts, and its good odds the bus is really late - or worse, really early. Sometimes they don't even stop for you.
At least where I went (mostly London and surrojnding areas) people go out of their way to help you instead of doing the bare minimum and being annoyed at you for it
Tips aren't much of a thing and pay is not expected to be subsidized by them
There's other things, but these were the big ones that stuck out to me because they felt like such a national embarrassment.
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u/UponWavesofGrey 33m ago
Parts of Poland reminded me of home in Arkansas (in a good way), but what genuinely surprised me was how much my feet didn't hurt walking everywhere.
I'm on my feet all day at work and come home limping. Walked everywhere I could in Poland, and never once had the slightest ache.
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u/Joey_iroc 18m ago
I love the "no working on Sunday" thing in Germany. Basically, it's a day meant for rest. So no mowing your lawn, or opening the garage and doing car work in the driveway. Even automated car washes are not running. Gas stations and Gasthauses are open, along with tourist stores. The downside is all other stores are closed, so you better have what you need before 6 or 8 pm on Saturday night.
I was living in Bavaria in the early 90's when Saturday's were very abbreviated with store hours. Mostly 10am - 2 pm. This was madness, as every Saturday was like Christmas time. You had only a few hours to get groceries, or do some actual shopping. Then they would have "langer Samstag" where the 1st Saturday of the month stores stayed open until 4pm. Now Monday - Saturday is generally 8-6pm or 8pm.
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u/Captain_Comic 14m ago
Walkable cities, great public transportation, even small villages have a daily market for fresh bread and produce, small, narrow streets, much better work/life balance
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u/NotLocalAndNotADilf 10m ago
Ive been in sweden for almost 3 months now. Just last night I came to the realization that I havent touched a door knob since july. Its been all door handles.
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u/wanderlustzepa 2h ago
Affordable healthcare without insurance
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u/Maverick_1882 1h ago
A few years ago I was in London with my wife. I had broken my toe before we left the U.S., but I didn’t realize it. After walking enough and the toe really hurting I ended up going to urgent care one morning. After X-rays, a detailed consult, and instructions about how to care for said toe, I was ready to check out, and I asked where I needed to pay. They laughed and sent me on my way.
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u/wanderlustzepa 1h ago
Exactly! It’s unfortunate how broken US sick care system is 😔
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u/danielsoft1 3h ago
asking as a European...
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u/SwashAndBuckle 2h ago
Most stuff I was familiar with in advance. The difficulty finding free restrooms or water I wasn’t.
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u/iamthe0ther0ne 3h ago
Smaller supermarkets
A lot of places aren't disability-accessible
Fewer homeless people
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u/Helmutlot2 2h ago
Yeah the disability accessibility is a challenge in many older towns. However suburbs are usually much better, so if you do have issues there are places that makes life easier than ancient city centers
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u/candianconsolemaster 2h ago
On disability accessibility how do Americans reconcile that with the fact you can't walk anywhere easily and have really bad public transport.
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u/iamthe0ther0ne 2h ago
People with disabilities are able to get into and out of cars, and there are dedicated handicap parking spots in every parking lot.
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u/candianconsolemaster 1h ago
Doesn't really answer the question, not everyone disabled can drive or have a person that is able to drive them.
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u/Nebraska716 3h ago
How inconvenient to impossible so many places would be to see if disabled in Europe.
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u/Least-Woodpecker-569 1h ago
Local food and drinks that are not known to outsiders, like calvados in France or Ginjinha in Portugal. And I had no idea sardines were so great until spending time in Lisbon.
Also, finding out that Haagen-Dazs is and has always been an American brand.
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u/Fuzzba11 1h ago
Way less water in the toilets so every shot is off the backboard... toilet brush required almost every time I sit down, instead of once a week.
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u/ocschwar 2h ago
Graffiti on old structures.
In the US, we tolerate graffiti on this that are 1. new, 2. functional and 3. ugly.
If a structure was built before 1850, tagging it will probably get you beaten within an inch of your life.
In European cities, I routinely saw graffiti on medieval and Roman walls. I was appalled .
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u/Gericht 2h ago
Heck, in Pompeii you can find Roman graffiti on roman walls :)
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u/StressOk2675 1h ago
Some literate Viking carved 'Halvdan was here' in the walls of the Haga Sofia. So, it's been with us in all ages.
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u/gottahavethatbass 50m ago
Paying for public toilets and developing paint that reflects urine back at the origin for walls in alleys are two sides of the same coin, apparently
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u/Yo_Mr_White_ 11m ago
The door handles being on the center of the door really caught me off guard in Spain
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u/mmz555 3h ago
The architectural blending of history with the new. Its completely normal to have buildings that are thousands of years old next to modern construction.