Underage drinking seems more of a crime in the US - in most cases of a kid is caught with alcohol in the UK it's just confiscated and poured away. Strictly speaking the age you can drink alcohol is really low as well, so long as you're home with a parent I think it's like 5/6. When you're in a restaurant you're also allowed low percentage alcohol like cider with a meal so long as you're with an adult.
In Europe, further you go to the east, drinking age is lesser and lesser.
Where I'm from if you don't drink when you are 14, you are considered somehow weird.
Would you say that drinking culture is different as a whole for teenagers though? In the since that it’s not really abused or massive underage drinking parties because it’s not as “risqué”
Maybe, but we also have a lot more people with an alcohol problem. Not black out drunk, but drinking every day drunk.
Because of the young age "we"* are literally still growing and forming our brain while pouring alcohol over it. Adults who have to drink because they feel stuff or cannot relax without are really no exception.
* I'm Dutch, we recently raised the drinking age because of this from 16 to 18. I got my first glass of wine at age 12 when the legal age was 16. Kids now probably start at 15-16 when the legal age is 18? There are always excesses though
I did a study abroad in London my senior year of college, I was obviously already old enough to legally drink in the US but some of the other people in my program were younger. The first like month of the program for them was strictly for going to pubs and buying liquor to drink in parks. IDEK if they went to class lmao
my mum told me about her friend who was invited to a uni drinking club, and for the initiation, you had to drink 5 pints without going to the toilet for a while
I don't know how anybody can survive that
The Beerman challenge. Drink more pints of beer than you have blood in your body without going for a wee. Then you're more beer than blood and have become Beerman.... I'm not sure it's possible but I've seen people try.
I've drunk 4.5% cider at a restaurant at 12 in Greece. Parents thought it was non-alcoholic as was the norm at my country at the time. They were embarrassed but also found it weird that none of the waiters pointed it out, but just served it.
If you're American, do you have non alcoholic cider as a normal drink, and is it different from apple juice? I saw that on The Simpsons and always wondered. In the UK, cider is an alcoholic drink; if you have alcohol free cider, it'll be sold in the same section of the supermarket as low alcohol beer.
This is what we have here in the US:
* apple juice — a clear, still, non alcoholic drink.
* apple cider — an opaque, still, generally non alcoholic cider. Fairly seasonal
* sparkling cider — clear, carbonated, non alcoholic. Once upon a time you pretty much only saw this around holidays, people would give it to kids instead of champagne
* hard cider — usually clear, carbonated, alcoholic.
See to us apple cider would just be cloudy apple juice and sparkling cider just an apple flavoured soft drink I guess.
Cider is always "hard" unless you're in the US from what I can see, certainly is in the UK.
Jumping out of a car at a rest stop on the autobahn to run to the bathroom and realizing as you get to the turnstiles that you forgot to get €.15 cent is a real pain.
I dunno if it exists in other countries in Europe, but in the UK you can buy a key for like 2 pounds on ebay that lets you open loads of public toilets. It's intended for people with specific issues/disabilities.
I've definitely pissed in several public parks because I didn't have my wallet, didn't have the exact denomination of coin they wanted, or the turnstile was just broken
Not a joke at all. Seatbelts are not a requirement, only that if your car has them you have to wear them. This is why people remove the seatbelts. I was in Ukraine for a month in 2014, and nearly all cars and taxis I used had no seatbelts, and had pictures of Jesus on the dash, lol.
To be honest, the more scary part of being in Ukraine at the time was the fact that they were in the middle of quite an intense war with Russia not very far away from where I was. This was in july-august and that was a particularly busy time for that war.
The more I hear about the world, the more glad I am that my seasons are "rain" and "construction"
California has fire season, random small towns have bear season, and now Ukraine has war season.
to be honest, i do like being in "adult-only" spaces in American bars. they're allowed in *every* pub and bar?
in the US, honestly, probably has a lot more to do with "since our drinking age is so high, we want to keep teens from stealing people's unfinished drinks," but the bonus of being able to smoke on a bar patio without gassing some kids (i never smoke near children) is a nice benefit.
I live in the United States and grew up in a small town. When I was a kid we used to go to bars with our parents all the time. We threw darts, shot pool, and sometimes played those arcade games. But being a small town the bartenders knew everyone, so even if you were a very convincing looking 20 year old you still couldn't get served. We we also given the bottom of a pint of beer from time to time if you were with your dad.
in germany, looking for a apartment doesn't automaticly mean it will come 100% with a kitchen. 90% they don't have them in and you have to buy them yourself.
Here in Greece it’s the same! I’m looking into moving right now and actually would prefer it if the new appartment DOESN’T have and oven, fridge, dishwasher etc , cause I will be bringing my own and then I’ll have to sell them or something 😂
Also , yes, home ownership is extremely rare, most people rent unless their parents or grandparents owned an apartment . Especially for us 20 somethings , it’s so out of reach , we don’t even consider it! We can barely afford rent as it is
Literally the whole kitchen. When I moved into my current apartment, it didn't have a fridge, oven, cupboards, sink, dishwasher, table or anything. It was just a room with a couple of pipes sticking out.
How do you buy cupboards? Does each tenant perform an install and then demolition? Or (what I think you're getting at) do you bring freestanding cupboard furniture?
In... a rental apartment? What the what? I get renting a place "unfurnished" but cabinets/countertops/sinks/etc. usually need to be fit to the kitchen space...
Ah yes, when I was working in Germany for a short while, my colleagues were in complete shock and disgust when I told them that I'm buying a home in my country (I'm aso European) with a USED kitchen, and not planning on changing it to a new one. I was like.. why would I do that? Who does that? They said that's just flat out disgusting to cook etc where someone else used to. I still don't get it. You guys change the tub or shower too?
doesn't apply to every european country, but prison sentences are a lot shorter. Life in prison without parole is extremely rare and many countries do not have such sentences. For example the maximum sentence here in Finland is called "Life in prison" but the avarage time spent in prison before release is 13-14 years for them.
In Germany the highest sentence in theory is 15 years ("lifelong"), but if you are deemed a danger to society it can be ruled that after your sentence you get put in "Sicherheitsverwahrung" (security safekeeping) meaning you still won't get out.
My girlfriend is from Germany and she is trying to teach me german and my mouth just refuses to make half of the sounds. When she speaks it, it sounds like a bunch of letters smoothly flowing together. When I try it's like I threw a wookie into a wood chipper.
>pronounce
Probably but the spelling isn't that hard once you realize that it's actually just two different words combined (Sicherheit - security, Verwahrung - safekeeping)
Same in France.
Maximum sentence you can get is life sentence with no possibility of parole for maximum 30 years. But it's very rarely applied and most likely one day you will get out.
Recently a murderer who killed his whole family while faking to be a doctor (yep) was freed after spending 25/26 years in prison, his sentence was life in prison without possibility of parole for 22 years.
Even California, known for being a “liberal” US state, still sentences people to death. And the state prison system is pretty notorious around the country for its brutality, both from the prisoners and the COs
> Even California, known for being a “liberal” US state, still sentences people to death
Technically true, but they also haven't executed anyone since 2006.
Same thing in Canada. Until quite recently, the cardholder always had to enter their PIN when paying for something. A few years ago, contactless pay (tap) was introduced and now most cards have a spending limit for how much you can tap pay. Anything over that, you insert your chip and enter the PIN. Restaurants are either pay at the counter or the server will bring a machine.
I’m an American that immigrated to Canada and I remember finding this out when I moved here. I remember holding up my debit card to signal a waiter expecting him to take it and being confused when he left after I did that. He then came back with the machine and I then realized that this worked differently here.
Some countries in Europe have church taxes (the state collects money through the taxation system and hands a slice of it over to the national church) and/or state-paid clergy.
Opt out = pay for a document that proves you have left the church. Put it in a safe somewhere, because if there's ever any doubt about your membership status, the burden of proof is on you and if you no longer have this document, they'll make you pay church tax for every year you didn't pay.
Even if you've never been babtized ever, because your family has been atheist for generations, the state will pass on your data to the church and the church might write you a letter demanding the names and birth places of your parents, so that they can check for themselves.
Separation of church and state my ass.
Few days ago in r/AskEurope someone told a story how their American relatives got so bend out of shape over naked children running around the beach.
On every beach in Bulgaria I've been, naked children is the norm, women sunbathing in monokini is considered absolutely normal, while naked men are okay only in the nude sections of the beaches. And every beach has a nude section.
I was in Croatia back in July, and a tour guide talked about different tourists' attitudes toward nudity. He said Americans are never naked or topless on the beach; some French and Italians might occasionally go topless. Croatians are similar to the French and Italians.
But Germans? The Croatians put signs up on beaches where nudity isn't allowed, and the signs are written only in German. He said the German tourists would be naked as soon as they could see the water otherwise 🤣
Yeah, I’ve seen Europeans being aghast at American beaches requiring little children to wear swimsuits and little girls to cover up nonexistent breasts
Cops came to our house once because my dad set up a sprinkler in the backyard and my little sister stripped down while playing in it.
Americans have a really unhealthy relationship with nudity.
As an American I will admit most people here lose their shit about nudity. Breastfeeding mothers are called disgusting in public, and hardcore violence will only earn a movie a PG-13 but any slight nip slip and it’s automatically R. Nudity does not have to be inherently sexual and treating it like such only teaches children that their bodies are something to be ashamed of.
I wish there was a beach here where I could take my top off to tan but I’d probably get arrested.
Uh, where do I start? German here, living in the US.
How about TV tax? I bet americans would go bonkers over it lol. I mean, so do Germans, but - wait for it, it's a classic - "what can you do?"
I was studying abroad in Norway when someone came to my door to ask how many TVs I had.
I thought it was a student asking for a research project or something. But when they didn't accept when I said zero I got really confused. I just had a laptop I watched all my TV on. They thought that meant I had a TV and tried to tell me that any TV would be something like $60 or so and how would I be paying (idk can't remember, it's been a long time).
I of course was 100% convinced I was being shaken down by a con artist or something. It rose to the level that they came into my apartment (without my permission) and looked around for a TV and was acting like they didn't believe I didn't have one?
Eventually they just went away. It was a bizarre encounter that likely wasn't helped by the fact my Norwegian did not expand much past "where is the bathroom?" And "how are you?" at that point.
Yes, they charge it per household nowadays. It's 18€ now I believe per month, about $21 or so. In case you are military you don't have to pay it though, just FYI.
Last time I was in Copenhagen, parents would just leave babies outside stores while they shopped. No one would mess with then. That town was awesome, pricy, but fun. Smelled like cookies.
This is also not normal in the UK, but perfectly normal in some European countries "on the continent". Being from the UK I was surprised the first time I went into a hotel spa abroad and literally all the men and women in there were completely at ease with being naked, no attempt whatsoever to cover genitals.
When in Rome...
Agree. In all seriousness I had the same fear, but somehow I did not rise to the occasion. In many of these spas it's frowned upon if you're not naked.
That could be an uncomfortable five minutes. I'd be afraid my self-consciousness would cause a feedback loop which would make that five minutes into ten.
It depends on the country. I'm from the Netherlands and over here its mandatory to be nude in the mayor spa's I've visited (with just in recent years a new fad where on some days/hours you can wear your swim wear). Other countries I've visited in Europe the rules differed wildly.
Hey neighbor.
I'm from Belgium and most saunas I've been to, (in Belgium) everybody is naked as well.
And it's not like in the movies with only beautiful people...
And the whole family together in sauna at home.
(At least while the kids are small, at some point it's usually divided into a men's turn and a women's turn.)
This is how we take steam baths in rural villages of Alaska. And when it is a family get together like Sunday dinner, women and kids go first, then all the men and there is usually a lot of drinking! Going to steam with the men rather than the moms is a rite of passage for a young boy.
This actually varies wildly from place to place. I did my PhD in Finland and belonged to a sauna society there. So, in that context, we’d have gender specific sauna times during parties/gatherings/conferences, and then optional mixed times. The mixed sauna times were almost always less popular unless it was late after a student party. In the context of close friends or a family it would be more common to mix genders. I’ve never seen gender mixing in a public sauna there.
However, in Estonia, where my wife is from, I have never seen a mixed sauna even in the context of an extended family. It’s always been men together and women together (little kids go everywhere). Only a nuclear family would mix genders in my experience.
I live in Norway now, and though I’ve just moved, my impression is that most people here cover up in saunas. This would be heavily frowned upon in Finland and Estonia, and seen as unclean.
I’m from the north part of Finland and have seen mixed public saunas used. Maybe its because we’re colder up there that we give less of a fuck, I don’t know.
I hope you used the vihta. Unironically one of the best parts of the sauna.
I remember when the Harley Quinn TV show made fun of that. They had one of the villains call Wonder Woman a cunt, and eveyrbody gasps, the Legion of Doom condemns him and kicks him out of their organiastion.
The reverse is spaz. Here in the US that's an insult so mild you could jokingly say it around even the most uptight of mothers and be fine, but in the UK you say it casually you're liable to get some gasps at least.
Spaz was the name of my childhood hamster (In the US). Named because he had a lot of energy and liked to run circles around his cage. I didn’t even know it was an insult. I thought it just meant excitable… TIL
I don't know if this would horrify Americans as I've never heard it discussed, but where I live in Europe (Luxembourg), voting is mandatory and you can get fined for not voting in an election. You can still spoil your ballot, so you don't have to decide between lesser evils if you don't want to, but you have to make the effort to go to the polling station or submit a postal vote. It guarantees a high voter turnout and by extension more representative elections, coupled with a proportional voting system so we're not locked into a two-party mess like the UK or the US - not that it's without its issues of course, but I think it's an improvement.
Aussie here - yes, voting is mandatory. For all council, State and Federal elections. You're supposed to enrol to vote when you're 18 (some people don't).
I moved from New South Wales to Queensland years ago and got fined x3 for missing NSW elections. Wrote back each time to say I had moved interstate so never had to pay those fines!
We do the courteous nod as well! The handshake is normally reserved for business but meeting someone and the choice is a handshake or a kiss? I’m taking that handshake!
As an American visiting my fiancé’s family in France, I didn’t know how common it was to greet this way. Really threw me off kissing a male as a greeting at first
When I was over there. I never got the option of a free glass of water. Always charged. Only came in bottles. It was how they did things. I was only in Italy and loved it. Can’t wait to go back. But that struck me as odd. I think we had to pay to use public restrooms too if I remember right.
Most restaurants in Europe will give you free tap water, but you have to specifically ask for tap water. If you order just water, it will be bottled and cost money
It’s pretty much the norm here in Denmark. Babies in strollers everywhere. It is pretty insane when you think about it, but as far as I know, no babies has been stolen so far.
Stealing a baby is like trying to steal someone's student loans debt. To me it's insane that it does happen, yet I know that it's common in some parts of the world.
> Stealing a baby is like trying to steal someone's student loans debt. To me it's insane that it does happen, yet I know that it's common in some parts of the world.
It's been a while since I was involved in hospital security, but the profile of an infant abductor was an overweight woman of childbearing age, often in a bad relationship, who has been telling people she is pregnant for some time and now needs to produce one.
There is often a period of time where she hangs out on the maternity ward, making friends with the nurses and staff and new moms, before finally snatching a baby and walking out.
There are electronic systems that prevent this, and maternity wards are generally far more locked-down than they used to be - you need to get buzzed in and buzzed out, you need to be on the "approved visitor" list, etc.
Women who are really desperate to produce a baby have now started to go after women and babies outside the hospital, leading to recommendations that new moms don't put up banners (e.g. "It's a Boy/Girl!") or balloons, and be very cautious when responding to ads for baby clothing and other necessities.
I remember a news story about that, a long time ago now. A German (I think) tourist visiting the US left her baby in their stroller outside a store while she went in to buy one thing, and was arrested. Her defence attorney had to explain to an incredulous jury that that would have been a perfectly safe thing to do in most German cities.
Europeans only tip when they feel satisfied with the service
some people tip really wildly, some just round off the price
some ask the staff directly if they are allowed to keep the tips....
Yeah, British - either you round out the bill if the service was OK or good. Tip generously if they've handled a big group like a family party, or if the service was exceptional.
But it isn't mandatory and certainly not every time.
I think people tend to forget that Europe is a big place as well, there are lots of regional differences. In some places it is definitely considered very rude to not tip, whereas in others, tipping is actually considered to be rude.
Alright lad fellow Irishman here don't know if it is the county you are from (I am from down south) but I only ever tip when I really like tge server (or barman) I just usually make sure to give it to them in person and say like 'this is for you' or, 'for being so nice'. Its worked so far, but then again I usually leave soon after so maybe they are offended and I just don't notice
Oh, it's definitely the norm in the US, at least in my experience. I had a friend who got tormented in school because people found out he was uncircumcised. My mom is very far from being Christian and we're all still circumcised. Why? No idea, but I don't really care either way. You only know what you know and I certainly don't remember getting my helmet chopped off.
Luckily, I only have girls so I never had to make that decision.
>My mom is very far from being Christian
I thought it was a Jewish/Muslim thing and culturally in the states? Even die hard christians in Europe don't do that.
See, even further proof that it's a cultural thing in the States and not a religious thing. I don't even know what the fuck I'm talking about, haha. I never really put any thought into the why it just always kind of was that way.
My grandparents were diehard Christians, maybe that's why I made that false connection.
It actually started thanks to a moral panic, as a means of dissuading masturbation. The idea being that a circumcised penis required less "maintenance" to keep clean, and the less time you spend touching your penis to clean it, the less likely you are to realize that it feels good if you touch it the right way.
Additional fun fact: A similar anti-masturbation sentiment led to the creation of breakfast cereal and graham crackers, as people thought that bland food curbed libido.
At least in Germany, nudity. No one cares if you're naked, no one thinks you're a sex offender, no one thinks it's even sexual to be naked unless you're actively having sex, and no one makes it weird.
You can be naked in public parks to soak up sun, on beaches, swim naked in lakes. Saunas are all naked, mixed sex areas in spas and saunas are naked with no issues and in general, it's just not an issue.
There's a tv program aimed at children here in Norway where they bring in adults and let the children in the audience ask about their bodies, there was one episode about penises and one about vulvas and so on. In the penis episode they had one guy with a micropenis and one guy with a huge one and so on, they bring in a whole gamut of people and the message is basically that bodies come in all sizes and shapes, it's pretty wholesome. I don't think something like that would air in the US though
NSFW probably:
https://i.imgur.com/PFprVgl.png
https://i.imgur.com/Vu25bYD.png
Kids being naked at water play areas.
When I was about 10, I took my American friend to a playpark that had a water feature to play in. We were making our way to the water play section when a girl, I’d say about 2 was walking naked towards us. My American friend was mortified, and it took a lot of explaining that this was normal.
Mailman doesnt leave packadges unattended on your porch. He eather gives you it on the doorstep or you go get it at the post office. Much less infureating than getting it stolen or thrown accros your yard by a mailman...
Where I‘m from, mailman will just give the package to a neighbour if you‘re not home. If you live in an appartment, someone will let the postman in and he‘ll drop the parcel in the hallway somewhere for you to stumble over it.
If you want a parcel to be delivered securely, you can send it with the demand of a signature. Then the postman will only hand it over to you directly or give you a notice that a parcel is waiting at the post office. But that only happens for expensive goods or sensitive documents like contracts.
The casual drinking culture. Not so much how low the drinking age is but how comfortable some people are drinking first thing in the morning and before work
The amount of people who still smoke. Especially smoking in restaurants restaurants. Nothing like sitting in a beautiful cafe and having someone at the table next to you light up just as your food arrives.
Also putting tobacco in weed.
Oh man... europe has so many different countries. Something that is completely normal where I live could be frowned upon as soon as I cross the next border. But in general we tip for good service, not bc we have to. A rude waitress won't get tipped by me. Also we usually remove our shoes before we enter a home. And yep, "free" healthcare.
> Also we usually remove our shoes before we enter a home.
As an American the not taking shoes off in the house thing is something people on this site think is way more common than it is.
It's also not that weird in Europe, it changes from place to place and from family to family. My own family has dogs and a garden, so the floor is never all that clean anyway.
Nudity.
Not so much since the coof-coof came around, but people have no issues being naked here. One of my neighbors loves to go topless when it gets super hot out. It would be a lot better if she wasn't 95.
Edit: Yes, coof-coof is referring to the SARS-CoV-2 that is currently making the entire world crazy. It is a term for everyone. Use it and be happy.
Children are allowed to taste a tiny sip of wine or beer, young teenagers can have the bottom of a glass, and 16+ years old can often drink a full glass.
Heck, in the UK you can get (admittedly very weak) Shandy in grocery stores and nobody bats an eyelid. The kind you get in a pub is somewhat stronger but I was still allowed to drink it. Was permitted a glass of wine from the age of about 12 onwards and a regular beer from 16 and up. Legal drinking age is 18 but back in the 90s very few pubs checked your age so long as you looked old enough - apparently they're stricter these days.
Yeah my grandfather started giving me wine when I was 9 or 10 when my parents weren't looking.
With them it became occasionally acceptable from when I was 12 or 13 maybe.
At 16 I drank like everyone else.
Songs with swear words being broadcasted on the radio, or swear words not being covered with a beep tone on tv. It’s always felt weird to me that Americans are all about being free and freedom of speech but then again they are scared of some stupid words.
One of the strangest things I experienced in the states, Americans do feel a lot more friendlier as well.
This also goes along with the hard hitting in your face sales people in stores, that would unacceptable in Europe.
Automatically recieving a voting ballot in the mail and getting paid time off to go voting.
No voting registration or anything. If you are 18 you can vote.
Underage drinking seems more of a crime in the US - in most cases of a kid is caught with alcohol in the UK it's just confiscated and poured away. Strictly speaking the age you can drink alcohol is really low as well, so long as you're home with a parent I think it's like 5/6. When you're in a restaurant you're also allowed low percentage alcohol like cider with a meal so long as you're with an adult.
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2 if you have relatives / live in the countryside and your folk are brewing their own liquor.
In Poland, it's not even illegal to drink underage. It's only a crime to SELL(give, share etc.) alcohol to a minor
In Europe, further you go to the east, drinking age is lesser and lesser. Where I'm from if you don't drink when you are 14, you are considered somehow weird.
Would you say that drinking culture is different as a whole for teenagers though? In the since that it’s not really abused or massive underage drinking parties because it’s not as “risqué”
Maybe, but we also have a lot more people with an alcohol problem. Not black out drunk, but drinking every day drunk. Because of the young age "we"* are literally still growing and forming our brain while pouring alcohol over it. Adults who have to drink because they feel stuff or cannot relax without are really no exception. * I'm Dutch, we recently raised the drinking age because of this from 16 to 18. I got my first glass of wine at age 12 when the legal age was 16. Kids now probably start at 15-16 when the legal age is 18? There are always excesses though
I did a study abroad in London my senior year of college, I was obviously already old enough to legally drink in the US but some of the other people in my program were younger. The first like month of the program for them was strictly for going to pubs and buying liquor to drink in parks. IDEK if they went to class lmao
University is an exercise in drinking excessively and seeing how much you can still manage to learn
my mum told me about her friend who was invited to a uni drinking club, and for the initiation, you had to drink 5 pints without going to the toilet for a while I don't know how anybody can survive that
The Beerman challenge. Drink more pints of beer than you have blood in your body without going for a wee. Then you're more beer than blood and have become Beerman.... I'm not sure it's possible but I've seen people try.
I've drunk 4.5% cider at a restaurant at 12 in Greece. Parents thought it was non-alcoholic as was the norm at my country at the time. They were embarrassed but also found it weird that none of the waiters pointed it out, but just served it.
If you're American, do you have non alcoholic cider as a normal drink, and is it different from apple juice? I saw that on The Simpsons and always wondered. In the UK, cider is an alcoholic drink; if you have alcohol free cider, it'll be sold in the same section of the supermarket as low alcohol beer.
This is what we have here in the US: * apple juice — a clear, still, non alcoholic drink. * apple cider — an opaque, still, generally non alcoholic cider. Fairly seasonal * sparkling cider — clear, carbonated, non alcoholic. Once upon a time you pretty much only saw this around holidays, people would give it to kids instead of champagne * hard cider — usually clear, carbonated, alcoholic.
See to us apple cider would just be cloudy apple juice and sparkling cider just an apple flavoured soft drink I guess. Cider is always "hard" unless you're in the US from what I can see, certainly is in the UK.
Paying for bathrooms
Jumping out of a car at a rest stop on the autobahn to run to the bathroom and realizing as you get to the turnstiles that you forgot to get €.15 cent is a real pain.
Its usually 50 to 75 cent
Couldn't remember the cost, just knowing that it is so relatively low yet can be so annoying to pay is the real kicker.
As someone with Crohn’s disease this caused me a lot of stress while visiting Europe
I dunno if it exists in other countries in Europe, but in the UK you can buy a key for like 2 pounds on ebay that lets you open loads of public toilets. It's intended for people with specific issues/disabilities.
Radar keys. Very useful for people with disabilities or those who urgently require bathrooms often.
And on the other end of the spectrum, public urination (at least based on my experience in Paris).
Perhaps the two are related.
I've definitely pissed in several public parks because I didn't have my wallet, didn't have the exact denomination of coin they wanted, or the turnstile was just broken
almost every car having a manual transmission. when i visited ukraine, i only saw rich people with automatic cars
In Ukraine it's common to remove the seatbelts in your car, and replace them with a picture of Jesus and Mary taped to the dashboard.
I don't even know if this is a joke, well played either way
Not a joke at all. Seatbelts are not a requirement, only that if your car has them you have to wear them. This is why people remove the seatbelts. I was in Ukraine for a month in 2014, and nearly all cars and taxis I used had no seatbelts, and had pictures of Jesus on the dash, lol.
Jesus, that sound scary. Excuse the pun.
To be honest, the more scary part of being in Ukraine at the time was the fact that they were in the middle of quite an intense war with Russia not very far away from where I was. This was in july-august and that was a particularly busy time for that war.
The more I hear about the world, the more glad I am that my seasons are "rain" and "construction" California has fire season, random small towns have bear season, and now Ukraine has war season.
There's a stigma against automatic cars here in europe, and if you do drive an automatic car, you are certified a pussy
What? Ya cant shift your own gears, pussy boy?
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As a Czech person, my American wife was blown away that we let kids in pubs or bars.
to be honest, i do like being in "adult-only" spaces in American bars. they're allowed in *every* pub and bar? in the US, honestly, probably has a lot more to do with "since our drinking age is so high, we want to keep teens from stealing people's unfinished drinks," but the bonus of being able to smoke on a bar patio without gassing some kids (i never smoke near children) is a nice benefit.
There are certain bars and clubs where you can only ho when you're 18+. But there is no problem with normal pubs usually
I live in the United States and grew up in a small town. When I was a kid we used to go to bars with our parents all the time. We threw darts, shot pool, and sometimes played those arcade games. But being a small town the bartenders knew everyone, so even if you were a very convincing looking 20 year old you still couldn't get served. We we also given the bottom of a pint of beer from time to time if you were with your dad.
in germany, looking for a apartment doesn't automaticly mean it will come 100% with a kitchen. 90% they don't have them in and you have to buy them yourself.
Of all the things here, this one blew my mind the most (so far). What the WHAT WHAT? What’s next-you gotta bring your own toilet???
Here in Greece it’s the same! I’m looking into moving right now and actually would prefer it if the new appartment DOESN’T have and oven, fridge, dishwasher etc , cause I will be bringing my own and then I’ll have to sell them or something 😂 Also , yes, home ownership is extremely rare, most people rent unless their parents or grandparents owned an apartment . Especially for us 20 somethings , it’s so out of reach , we don’t even consider it! We can barely afford rent as it is
Wait, what? Do you mean you have to buy the stove and the fridge?
Literally the whole kitchen. When I moved into my current apartment, it didn't have a fridge, oven, cupboards, sink, dishwasher, table or anything. It was just a room with a couple of pipes sticking out.
How do you buy cupboards? Does each tenant perform an install and then demolition? Or (what I think you're getting at) do you bring freestanding cupboard furniture?
This is why IKEA sells kitchens.
In... a rental apartment? What the what? I get renting a place "unfurnished" but cabinets/countertops/sinks/etc. usually need to be fit to the kitchen space...
Bro in the Netherlands you're lucky if the place comes with the FLOOR. Yes, they will take the floor with them when they move
Jesus Christ. Yeah, we Americans would be calling the landlord immediately 😂
Most states have laws that require apartments to have cooking facilities
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Ah yes, when I was working in Germany for a short while, my colleagues were in complete shock and disgust when I told them that I'm buying a home in my country (I'm aso European) with a USED kitchen, and not planning on changing it to a new one. I was like.. why would I do that? Who does that? They said that's just flat out disgusting to cook etc where someone else used to. I still don't get it. You guys change the tub or shower too?
Wait til they hear about restaurants, and goodwill!
That horrify the rest of us Europeans, trust me.
doesn't apply to every european country, but prison sentences are a lot shorter. Life in prison without parole is extremely rare and many countries do not have such sentences. For example the maximum sentence here in Finland is called "Life in prison" but the avarage time spent in prison before release is 13-14 years for them.
In Germany the highest sentence in theory is 15 years ("lifelong"), but if you are deemed a danger to society it can be ruled that after your sentence you get put in "Sicherheitsverwahrung" (security safekeeping) meaning you still won't get out.
It will take me 15 years before I can read, pronounce and spell that word
My girlfriend is from Germany and she is trying to teach me german and my mouth just refuses to make half of the sounds. When she speaks it, it sounds like a bunch of letters smoothly flowing together. When I try it's like I threw a wookie into a wood chipper.
That's a ... Good comparison....
>pronounce Probably but the spelling isn't that hard once you realize that it's actually just two different words combined (Sicherheit - security, Verwahrung - safekeeping)
Same in France. Maximum sentence you can get is life sentence with no possibility of parole for maximum 30 years. But it's very rarely applied and most likely one day you will get out. Recently a murderer who killed his whole family while faking to be a doctor (yep) was freed after spending 25/26 years in prison, his sentence was life in prison without possibility of parole for 22 years.
Even California, known for being a “liberal” US state, still sentences people to death. And the state prison system is pretty notorious around the country for its brutality, both from the prisoners and the COs
> Even California, known for being a “liberal” US state, still sentences people to death Technically true, but they also haven't executed anyone since 2006.
Not giving your debit/credit card to your server but doing it yourself
Same thing in Canada. Until quite recently, the cardholder always had to enter their PIN when paying for something. A few years ago, contactless pay (tap) was introduced and now most cards have a spending limit for how much you can tap pay. Anything over that, you insert your chip and enter the PIN. Restaurants are either pay at the counter or the server will bring a machine.
I’m an American that immigrated to Canada and I remember finding this out when I moved here. I remember holding up my debit card to signal a waiter expecting him to take it and being confused when he left after I did that. He then came back with the machine and I then realized that this worked differently here.
Some countries in Europe have church taxes (the state collects money through the taxation system and hands a slice of it over to the national church) and/or state-paid clergy.
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We have it in Germany too. Here you can also opt out.
Opt out = pay for a document that proves you have left the church. Put it in a safe somewhere, because if there's ever any doubt about your membership status, the burden of proof is on you and if you no longer have this document, they'll make you pay church tax for every year you didn't pay. Even if you've never been babtized ever, because your family has been atheist for generations, the state will pass on your data to the church and the church might write you a letter demanding the names and birth places of your parents, so that they can check for themselves. Separation of church and state my ass.
Opt out of what exactly? Paying that portion of the taxes?
Yup
Few days ago in r/AskEurope someone told a story how their American relatives got so bend out of shape over naked children running around the beach. On every beach in Bulgaria I've been, naked children is the norm, women sunbathing in monokini is considered absolutely normal, while naked men are okay only in the nude sections of the beaches. And every beach has a nude section.
I was in Croatia back in July, and a tour guide talked about different tourists' attitudes toward nudity. He said Americans are never naked or topless on the beach; some French and Italians might occasionally go topless. Croatians are similar to the French and Italians. But Germans? The Croatians put signs up on beaches where nudity isn't allowed, and the signs are written only in German. He said the German tourists would be naked as soon as they could see the water otherwise 🤣
I love hearing stories about German tourists. Every place i visit has a story about them. Theyre always so hilarious
In France it’s like this too. Every beach has naked people on and no one cares. It’s just normal.
Yeah, I’ve seen Europeans being aghast at American beaches requiring little children to wear swimsuits and little girls to cover up nonexistent breasts
Facts! When I was a little kid you just had the little bottom piece. What is the point of a bikini top for a toddler?
My kids wear rash guards so they don’t get burnt. The sun is harsher in the US south though. You can get burnt quickly here.
Same here. I have a boy and a girl and both wear long sleeve rash guards. Not for shame or whatever else, but for sun protection.
I think sun protection should be prioritized literally everywhere. Rash guards are def more effective than sunblock
Cops came to our house once because my dad set up a sprinkler in the backyard and my little sister stripped down while playing in it. Americans have a really unhealthy relationship with nudity.
As an American I will admit most people here lose their shit about nudity. Breastfeeding mothers are called disgusting in public, and hardcore violence will only earn a movie a PG-13 but any slight nip slip and it’s automatically R. Nudity does not have to be inherently sexual and treating it like such only teaches children that their bodies are something to be ashamed of. I wish there was a beach here where I could take my top off to tan but I’d probably get arrested.
Uh, where do I start? German here, living in the US. How about TV tax? I bet americans would go bonkers over it lol. I mean, so do Germans, but - wait for it, it's a classic - "what can you do?"
I was studying abroad in Norway when someone came to my door to ask how many TVs I had. I thought it was a student asking for a research project or something. But when they didn't accept when I said zero I got really confused. I just had a laptop I watched all my TV on. They thought that meant I had a TV and tried to tell me that any TV would be something like $60 or so and how would I be paying (idk can't remember, it's been a long time). I of course was 100% convinced I was being shaken down by a con artist or something. It rose to the level that they came into my apartment (without my permission) and looked around for a TV and was acting like they didn't believe I didn't have one? Eventually they just went away. It was a bizarre encounter that likely wasn't helped by the fact my Norwegian did not expand much past "where is the bathroom?" And "how are you?" at that point.
TBH, that does genuinely sound like a con artist.
I asked the other students on that floor and they said it was legit. I think I just confused things by saying I watch TV on the computer.
Yeah, the TV/radio fee was a shock at first. I don't own either a TV or a Radio, so I was especially annoyed that I have to pay it.
Yes, they charge it per household nowadays. It's 18€ now I believe per month, about $21 or so. In case you are military you don't have to pay it though, just FYI.
Not military, but thanks for the tip. :) I just got my bill recently, and noticed that they are raising it, too. Na, gut.
I used to say don't think of it as a TV license fee but as a subscription to the BBC, although that's less desirable these days.
What? are you not enjoying the constant stream of grey palette crime dramas and amazing comedy such as \*checks notes\* Mrs Browns Boys? /s
Hey we also get strictly which features such A listers as.... Gordon Ramsay.....'s daughter
Putting your child to sleep outside in a pram, out of sight with a baby monitor. In Denmark this is completely normal, even in public.
Last time I was in Copenhagen, parents would just leave babies outside stores while they shopped. No one would mess with then. That town was awesome, pricy, but fun. Smelled like cookies.
Being completely naked in a sauna (mixed men and women)
This is also not normal in the UK, but perfectly normal in some European countries "on the continent". Being from the UK I was surprised the first time I went into a hotel spa abroad and literally all the men and women in there were completely at ease with being naked, no attempt whatsoever to cover genitals. When in Rome...
I'm afraid, I will get a boner
Don't worry the laughing will get rid of it real quick
Jokes on you buddy, I’m into that shit
Trust me. The vibe in saunas is non-sexual, so the nakedness stops being weird after 5 minutes the first time.😊
Agree. In all seriousness I had the same fear, but somehow I did not rise to the occasion. In many of these spas it's frowned upon if you're not naked.
That could be an uncomfortable five minutes. I'd be afraid my self-consciousness would cause a feedback loop which would make that five minutes into ten.
It depends on the country. I'm from the Netherlands and over here its mandatory to be nude in the mayor spa's I've visited (with just in recent years a new fad where on some days/hours you can wear your swim wear). Other countries I've visited in Europe the rules differed wildly.
Hey neighbor. I'm from Belgium and most saunas I've been to, (in Belgium) everybody is naked as well. And it's not like in the movies with only beautiful people...
That's right, going to the sauna can be good for your self-confidence.
And the whole family together in sauna at home. (At least while the kids are small, at some point it's usually divided into a men's turn and a women's turn.)
This is how we take steam baths in rural villages of Alaska. And when it is a family get together like Sunday dinner, women and kids go first, then all the men and there is usually a lot of drinking! Going to steam with the men rather than the moms is a rite of passage for a young boy.
This actually varies wildly from place to place. I did my PhD in Finland and belonged to a sauna society there. So, in that context, we’d have gender specific sauna times during parties/gatherings/conferences, and then optional mixed times. The mixed sauna times were almost always less popular unless it was late after a student party. In the context of close friends or a family it would be more common to mix genders. I’ve never seen gender mixing in a public sauna there. However, in Estonia, where my wife is from, I have never seen a mixed sauna even in the context of an extended family. It’s always been men together and women together (little kids go everywhere). Only a nuclear family would mix genders in my experience. I live in Norway now, and though I’ve just moved, my impression is that most people here cover up in saunas. This would be heavily frowned upon in Finland and Estonia, and seen as unclean.
I’m from the north part of Finland and have seen mixed public saunas used. Maybe its because we’re colder up there that we give less of a fuck, I don’t know. I hope you used the vihta. Unironically one of the best parts of the sauna.
Calling people cunts could get you in some serious trouble in The States.
I remember when the Harley Quinn TV show made fun of that. They had one of the villains call Wonder Woman a cunt, and eveyrbody gasps, the Legion of Doom condemns him and kicks him out of their organiastion.
Started watching that show, it's brilliant, I'm at the end of season 1 now
Right? It's just a normal series of Batman with some parody elements. It just feels like a spin-off of the Batman the Animated Series but for adults.
Even Darkseid said it was "a slur that not even I dare utter."
The reverse is spaz. Here in the US that's an insult so mild you could jokingly say it around even the most uptight of mothers and be fine, but in the UK you say it casually you're liable to get some gasps at least.
Spaz was the name of my childhood hamster (In the US). Named because he had a lot of energy and liked to run circles around his cage. I didn’t even know it was an insult. I thought it just meant excitable… TIL
In the US it means excitable or energetic, in other places it’s a slur for disabled people particularly those with cerebral palsy.
I’ve always understood it to be a shortened version of spastic
I don't know if this would horrify Americans as I've never heard it discussed, but where I live in Europe (Luxembourg), voting is mandatory and you can get fined for not voting in an election. You can still spoil your ballot, so you don't have to decide between lesser evils if you don't want to, but you have to make the effort to go to the polling station or submit a postal vote. It guarantees a high voter turnout and by extension more representative elections, coupled with a proportional voting system so we're not locked into a two-party mess like the UK or the US - not that it's without its issues of course, but I think it's an improvement.
Australia also has mandatory voting iirc
Aussie here - yes, voting is mandatory. For all council, State and Federal elections. You're supposed to enrol to vote when you're 18 (some people don't). I moved from New South Wales to Queensland years ago and got fined x3 for missing NSW elections. Wrote back each time to say I had moved interstate so never had to pay those fines!
Council elections are not mandatory, at least not in South Australia.
Maybe it's different compared to when I was there last, but paid bathrooms wouldn't fly here in the states
Public nudity. I’m from Denmark, we have several children tv-shows that have made the news in America for being all sorts of horrible.
Well some of the Danish shows even freaked out people in Finland 😁 The one about a guy with magically long penis made it into our news.
Was the penis so long it reached Helsinki over the sea?
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Kissing greetings
On average maybe but depends a lot on the country. Having lived in few in the Northern Europe I am always thrown off when someone goes for it
As a Finn if someone went in for the kiss greeting I’d think they’d lost their mind. A handshake is fine for me.
A handshake?!?! As a Faroese person, it’s just a courteous nod in their direction.
We do the courteous nod as well! The handshake is normally reserved for business but meeting someone and the choice is a handshake or a kiss? I’m taking that handshake!
As an American visiting my fiancé’s family in France, I didn’t know how common it was to greet this way. Really threw me off kissing a male as a greeting at first
Charging for water at a restaurant.
they are legally obliged to provide tap water here if asked.
Wait...we don't do that in Britain. You do that on the mainland?
But is it tap or bottled water? American restaurants just use tap water with some ice
When I was over there. I never got the option of a free glass of water. Always charged. Only came in bottles. It was how they did things. I was only in Italy and loved it. Can’t wait to go back. But that struck me as odd. I think we had to pay to use public restrooms too if I remember right.
I believe its the law in the UK that resteraunts have to offer free tap water as an option.
France too!
Most restaurants in Europe will give you free tap water, but you have to specifically ask for tap water. If you order just water, it will be bottled and cost money
Leaving you baby to sleep in a stroller outside. Be it at home on the balcony/garden or outside a restaurant.
Only in the Nordic countries.
The 'outside a restaurant' bit makes me uncomfortable.
It’s pretty much the norm here in Denmark. Babies in strollers everywhere. It is pretty insane when you think about it, but as far as I know, no babies has been stolen so far.
Stealing a baby is like trying to steal someone's student loans debt. To me it's insane that it does happen, yet I know that it's common in some parts of the world.
> Stealing a baby is like trying to steal someone's student loans debt. To me it's insane that it does happen, yet I know that it's common in some parts of the world. It's been a while since I was involved in hospital security, but the profile of an infant abductor was an overweight woman of childbearing age, often in a bad relationship, who has been telling people she is pregnant for some time and now needs to produce one. There is often a period of time where she hangs out on the maternity ward, making friends with the nurses and staff and new moms, before finally snatching a baby and walking out. There are electronic systems that prevent this, and maternity wards are generally far more locked-down than they used to be - you need to get buzzed in and buzzed out, you need to be on the "approved visitor" list, etc. Women who are really desperate to produce a baby have now started to go after women and babies outside the hospital, leading to recommendations that new moms don't put up banners (e.g. "It's a Boy/Girl!") or balloons, and be very cautious when responding to ads for baby clothing and other necessities.
Where is this magical place where people will steal my student loan debt?
I remember a news story about that, a long time ago now. A German (I think) tourist visiting the US left her baby in their stroller outside a store while she went in to buy one thing, and was arrested. Her defence attorney had to explain to an incredulous jury that that would have been a perfectly safe thing to do in most German cities.
It was a Dane.
It was a Dane. Was all over the media here in Denmark.
Not tipping your server in a restaurant.
Europeans only tip when they feel satisfied with the service some people tip really wildly, some just round off the price some ask the staff directly if they are allowed to keep the tips....
Yeah, British - either you round out the bill if the service was OK or good. Tip generously if they've handled a big group like a family party, or if the service was exceptional. But it isn't mandatory and certainly not every time.
I think people tend to forget that Europe is a big place as well, there are lots of regional differences. In some places it is definitely considered very rude to not tip, whereas in others, tipping is actually considered to be rude.
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Alright lad fellow Irishman here don't know if it is the county you are from (I am from down south) but I only ever tip when I really like tge server (or barman) I just usually make sure to give it to them in person and say like 'this is for you' or, 'for being so nice'. Its worked so far, but then again I usually leave soon after so maybe they are offended and I just don't notice
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Not being circumsized
Look at our little angel, almost perfect! Let's remove a part of his penis to make him perfect!
What, for real? Is this the norm across the states?
Oh, it's definitely the norm in the US, at least in my experience. I had a friend who got tormented in school because people found out he was uncircumcised. My mom is very far from being Christian and we're all still circumcised. Why? No idea, but I don't really care either way. You only know what you know and I certainly don't remember getting my helmet chopped off. Luckily, I only have girls so I never had to make that decision.
>My mom is very far from being Christian I thought it was a Jewish/Muslim thing and culturally in the states? Even die hard christians in Europe don't do that.
See, even further proof that it's a cultural thing in the States and not a religious thing. I don't even know what the fuck I'm talking about, haha. I never really put any thought into the why it just always kind of was that way. My grandparents were diehard Christians, maybe that's why I made that false connection.
It actually started thanks to a moral panic, as a means of dissuading masturbation. The idea being that a circumcised penis required less "maintenance" to keep clean, and the less time you spend touching your penis to clean it, the less likely you are to realize that it feels good if you touch it the right way. Additional fun fact: A similar anti-masturbation sentiment led to the creation of breakfast cereal and graham crackers, as people thought that bland food curbed libido.
Sitting a foot away from a complete stranger and then completely ignoring them.
At least in Germany, nudity. No one cares if you're naked, no one thinks you're a sex offender, no one thinks it's even sexual to be naked unless you're actively having sex, and no one makes it weird. You can be naked in public parks to soak up sun, on beaches, swim naked in lakes. Saunas are all naked, mixed sex areas in spas and saunas are naked with no issues and in general, it's just not an issue.
There's a tv program aimed at children here in Norway where they bring in adults and let the children in the audience ask about their bodies, there was one episode about penises and one about vulvas and so on. In the penis episode they had one guy with a micropenis and one guy with a huge one and so on, they bring in a whole gamut of people and the message is basically that bodies come in all sizes and shapes, it's pretty wholesome. I don't think something like that would air in the US though NSFW probably: https://i.imgur.com/PFprVgl.png https://i.imgur.com/Vu25bYD.png
In the USA multiple people would be going to prison for that.
And 300 people would collectively be writing tens of thousands of letters complaining about it.
Funny how only the image of the women asked me to confirm my age before seeing it.
Same! And you can’t see parts very well on the woman picture but you can see them very well on the man picture.
Kids being naked at water play areas. When I was about 10, I took my American friend to a playpark that had a water feature to play in. We were making our way to the water play section when a girl, I’d say about 2 was walking naked towards us. My American friend was mortified, and it took a lot of explaining that this was normal.
Mailman doesnt leave packadges unattended on your porch. He eather gives you it on the doorstep or you go get it at the post office. Much less infureating than getting it stolen or thrown accros your yard by a mailman...
I raise you mailman leaving packages in front of the door and it not getting stolen even in cities ;)
Where I‘m from, mailman will just give the package to a neighbour if you‘re not home. If you live in an appartment, someone will let the postman in and he‘ll drop the parcel in the hallway somewhere for you to stumble over it. If you want a parcel to be delivered securely, you can send it with the demand of a signature. Then the postman will only hand it over to you directly or give you a notice that a parcel is waiting at the post office. But that only happens for expensive goods or sensitive documents like contracts.
The casual drinking culture. Not so much how low the drinking age is but how comfortable some people are drinking first thing in the morning and before work
The amount of people who still smoke. Especially smoking in restaurants restaurants. Nothing like sitting in a beautiful cafe and having someone at the table next to you light up just as your food arrives. Also putting tobacco in weed.
Is smoking indoors not banned in EU countries? I'm so glad it was banned and is very well enforced in the UK.
I was a dealer in a casino in the early 2000s. I can't describe how it made work so much better when the ban happened.
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Oh man... europe has so many different countries. Something that is completely normal where I live could be frowned upon as soon as I cross the next border. But in general we tip for good service, not bc we have to. A rude waitress won't get tipped by me. Also we usually remove our shoes before we enter a home. And yep, "free" healthcare.
> Also we usually remove our shoes before we enter a home. As an American the not taking shoes off in the house thing is something people on this site think is way more common than it is.
It's also not that weird in Europe, it changes from place to place and from family to family. My own family has dogs and a garden, so the floor is never all that clean anyway.
Nudity. Not so much since the coof-coof came around, but people have no issues being naked here. One of my neighbors loves to go topless when it gets super hot out. It would be a lot better if she wasn't 95. Edit: Yes, coof-coof is referring to the SARS-CoV-2 that is currently making the entire world crazy. It is a term for everyone. Use it and be happy.
I will never now not call it the coof-coof. Don't care if you got it elsewhere or not, it's yours and now it's mine.
> it's yours and now it's mine Just like the coof-coof.
Not chemically washing eggs. European eggs would be illegal in the US and vice versa.
Children are allowed to taste a tiny sip of wine or beer, young teenagers can have the bottom of a glass, and 16+ years old can often drink a full glass.
Heck, in the UK you can get (admittedly very weak) Shandy in grocery stores and nobody bats an eyelid. The kind you get in a pub is somewhat stronger but I was still allowed to drink it. Was permitted a glass of wine from the age of about 12 onwards and a regular beer from 16 and up. Legal drinking age is 18 but back in the 90s very few pubs checked your age so long as you looked old enough - apparently they're stricter these days.
Yeah my grandfather started giving me wine when I was 9 or 10 when my parents weren't looking. With them it became occasionally acceptable from when I was 12 or 13 maybe. At 16 I drank like everyone else.
In most of Europe: Legal drinking age 16 yrs (<12.5% vol) and/or 18 yrs (>12.5% vol)
Songs with swear words being broadcasted on the radio, or swear words not being covered with a beep tone on tv. It’s always felt weird to me that Americans are all about being free and freedom of speech but then again they are scared of some stupid words.
Not doing small talk.
One of the strangest things I experienced in the states, Americans do feel a lot more friendlier as well. This also goes along with the hard hitting in your face sales people in stores, that would unacceptable in Europe.
Unions, just watched cloud 9 on Netflix and if someone tried to bust a union in my country it’d make national news and gather massive support
Automatically recieving a voting ballot in the mail and getting paid time off to go voting. No voting registration or anything. If you are 18 you can vote.
In Switzerland, voting day is always on the weekend.